Major unions united under the umbrella of the Labor Platform said that the IMF's proposals are unacceptable and warned that protests and work stoppages will continue. Union officials are demanding that wages be increased to match the 34 percent rise in inflation. According to Reuters, an unnamed senior economic official said the government would "call for sacrifices from all sides...including restraint in upcoming collective wage negotiations."

A political crisis in Turkey's fragile coalition government precipitated a severe financial collapse in February, forcing the government to float the lira, which has since lost a third of its value against the dollar.  
 
 
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