Officials Demand Foreign Businesses to Raise Salaries to 250 USD :: Charter'97 :: News

Before the recent parliamentary elections and referendum Alyaksandr Lukashenka publicly told about average salary growth up to 250 $ that is to take place next year. The corresponding instructions were sent to the agencies of administration. In particular, Administration of the Free Economic Zone “Homel-Raton” sent foreign businesses the demands to raise the salaries to the aforesaid value.

In the letters of notification to foreign nenterpreneurs the head of the free economic zone “Homel –Raton” Ihar Kudzelya refers to the records of the consultations with Prime Minster on October 11. It was demanded to take measures to raise the salaries not less than 250 $ in ruble equivalent in the next year.

Failure to carry out this order, the letter warns, could lead to liquidation of the enterprise.

What do the directors of foreign businesses think about it?

“It could be done theoretically. But in practice it is not realistic. When I received the letter from the administration of the free economic zone “Homel-Raton”, I talked with the founder of our enterprise. Te founder told in answer to these demands that he does not want to invest money to the country with such laws and system at all,” told the director of one of the foreign firms in the free economic zone “Homel-Raton”.

The demands to increase salaries can be heard from other regional authorities as well. Meanwhile, average salary in the region in the period of nine months of 2004 is 324,000 BYR, which is equal to 150 USD. In the spheres of medicine, education, agriculture and trade the salaries are much smaller.