MINSK, 31 August (BelTA) - The government is preparing the proposal to ensure a more rapid increase in the minimum salary, Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Rumas told the media in Minsk on 31 August, BelTA has learned.
“The government is working on the proposal, to be submitted to the head of state, to ensure a more rapid increase in the minimum salary than it was previously planned. It is no secret that in some industries the salary is $200 in equivalent or less. This is why we are preparing the proposal to increase salaries of low-paid groups,” Sergei Rumas said.
If the proposal is approved, then employers of all types of ownership, in all industries will need to ensure that the minimum salary should correspond to the level which the government will raise every quarter.
On 31 August, the Council of Ministers signed a resolution on the first-class base salary and pay rise for certain categories of workers. According to Sergei Rumas, the document was drafted by the previous government in pursuance of the head of state’s instructions given during his visit to Slutsk District in February 2018.
According to the resolution, as from 1 September, an increase in salaries of workers in the education and healthcare sectors will range from 20% to 100%. On 1 October 2018, the first-class base salary will increase from Br34 to Br35.5. “According to our calculations, all these measures will help us reach the target of securing the ratio of the public sector average salary to the country’s average salary at least at 80% in Q4 2018. In December 2018 the average salary of state employees should reach Br850. These measures are the first step towards the fulfillment of the task set by the head of state to double the salaries of workers in the education and healthcare sectors by 2025,” the head of government said.
Funds needed to increase salaries for public sector workers this year will be allocated from the head of state’s reserve fund.