Astana, 28 October. In the text of the address published on Akorda's channel, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev orders the minimum wage raised from 85,000 to 110,000 tenge from 1 January 2027, but the Telegram channel Astanovka claims that on air the President said 100,000 tenge and that Akorda changed the figure to 110,000 in its text.
We checked what we could. The Kazakh-language text published by Akorda reads "from 85,000 to 110,000 tenge", and the same figure of 110,000 was repeated by the Kazinform agency, Ulysmedia, Kapital.kz and other outlets. The official full text of the address had not appeared on akorda.kz by 17:30 Astana time, and we were unable to check the broadcast recording, so we can neither confirm nor rule out a discrepancy on air. Akorda has not publicly commented on the channel's observation.
Deputies' first assessments concerned the measure itself. Kurultai deputy Nikita Shatalov said in the lobby that the rise would affect the public sector first of all: in his words, raising the minimum wage usually works for the lowest-paid public sector workers, such as cleaners and service staff in schools and hospitals. He said people had raised the issue during the election campaign as well.
What it means: The new minimum wage of 110,000 tenge is so far confirmed only by Akorda's written text; the report of a different figure on air has not been verified. The final answer will come from the official text of the address and the 2027 budget law, which sets the minimum wage.
Who benefits: For workers on the minimum wage the exact figure matters: the difference between 100,000 and 110,000 tenge is 10,000 tenge a month. The size of the extra costs for the budget and employers depends on it.
Background: The minimum wage of 85,000 tenge has applied since 1 January 2024; its level is set each year by the law on the national budget.
We have also reported that the minimum wage will rise to 110,000 tenge, the first increase in three years.
