Higher pay for Turkish university researchers expected

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu promised on Sunday to increase the wages of young academicians and research assistants at Turkish universities by around 35 percent soon after Eid al-Adha.
He made the remarks at a meeting of the Justice and Development (AK) Party in Istanbul’s Halic Congress Center.
"Hopefully, we will make a legal regulation following the Eid al-Adha to make up the difference between salaries of research assistants among the academic staff and those who begin working at the state institutions like the Undersecretariat of Treasury, Ministry of Finance and Foreign Affairs," he said.
The premier noted that the wage increase is aimed at balancing the wages of peer research assistants and public officers.
Davutoglu added that the raise would be followed by an additional incentive of up to 20 percent for academic studies.
"In this sense, we are resolute to take more comprehensive forward steps at our universities," he added.