Türkiye’s newly appointed Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Işıkhan pledged Monday to improve conditions, safeguard workers’ rights and boost their welfare.

Işıkhan was named to the post on Saturday in a renewed Cabinet announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his new five-year term after he won a presidential runoff on May 28.

"Improving the well-being of employees will be our most important task," Işıkhan told a handover ceremony alongside his predecessor Vedat Bilgin.

"We will be active in workplace health and safety, we will protect the rights of employees," he noted.

During his term, Bilgin oversaw significant increases in workers’ minimum wage as stubborn inflation undermined their purchasing power and a landmark arrangement that allowed early retirement for over 2 million workers.

Seeking to safeguard households, the government has lifted state salaries and hiked pensions for millions.

The annual inflation rate in Türkiye slowed for a seventh straight month in May and fell under 40% for the first time in 16 months, official data showed Monday, driven by a temporary government measure offering free gas to households, offsetting price rises in other goods.

Consumer prices rose by 39.6% from a year ago, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed. It compared to 43.7% registered in April and marks a significant regress from the peak of over 85% in autumn 2022 before it started to ease as of November.