Deputies from Kazakhstan’s parliamentary social and cultural development committee recommended on October 22 that the government increase the minimum wage from 85,000 tenge to 110,000 tenge ($157 to $204), shortly before the Parliament voted to adopt a new three-year budget that the government says includes no funds for such action.
The recommendation by the parliamentary committee, which oversees legislation related to social welfare and labor, stands to revive a national policy debate that has endured since late June, when labor minister Svetlana Zhakupova first stated that the government was considering raising the minimum wage from 85,000 tenge ($157) to 90,000 tenge ($167) from January 1, 2026.
That announcement was later walked back in mid-August by Serik Zhumangarin, Kazakhstan’s deputy Prime Minister and economy minister, who said that the government was “not considering” an increase at that time.
The committee’s recommended minimum wage increase of 25,000 tenge ($46) far exceeds the 5,000 tenge ($9) hike initially recommended by Zhakupova, and later echoed by finance minister Madi Takiyev. The former would be twice as much as the rate of inflation, which is close to 13% in 2025.
According to the committee’s proposal, the suggested increase “takes into account the recommendations of the International Labor Organization (ILO)” when adopting the methodology for determining a new minimum wage.
On September 10, the Majlis, the lower chamber of parliament, ratified the ILO’s Convention 131 on minimum wage fixing, which mandates that minimum wages are determined in consultation with employers and workers’ organizations, and takes into account cost of living, economic conditions, and social security benefits.
Yet, early signs from the government on October 22 do not indicate that a minimum wage change is forthcoming.
Answering questions on the sidelines of the Majlis prior to the new budget’s adoption, vice finance minister Yerzhan Birzhanov told journalists that the “budget doesn’t include any funds for increasing the minimum wage,” despite Takiyev later announcing that the budget will include 10.7 trillion tenge ($19.9 billion) for social expenditures in 2026, up from 9.8 trillion tenge in 2025.
According to the ministry of labor, 1.1 million people in Kazakhstan officially earn less than the minimum wage, although Amanat ruling party statistics place the number higher at around 1.8 million people.
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