President RB obliges officials to open new workplaces and raise wages

The totals of the Program for raising the living standards of the Republican population in 2007-2010 were summed up by the Government RB today. The meeting was headed by the President of Bashkortostan Rustem Khamitov.

Having listened to the reporters – the Vice-Premier Fidus Yamaltdinov and the Minister of economic development Vladimir Balabanov, the President RB said that much work in this direction laid ahead: the average per capita income, the average monthly wage and the purchasing capacity still run behind the reality. 8,8% of population have no job and live on doles; the state statistics doesn’t take the unemployed people, not registered and thus left without doles into account.

Social housing also remains a big problem: 74 thousand families stand in the queue. Social stratification is growing up: at present time the average income of the poor is 18 times less than the average income of the rich.

The struggle with poverty has become the main subject of the discussion.

“We face no real breakthrough here” – Rustem Khamitov stated – “Our first and the most important aim is to supply people with jobs, otherwise what we’ve established the business undertakings committee for? We have to remove the barriers, hampering small and medium business. Wages are the next moment. How one can earn three-five thousand rubles in agriculture? And what are these employers, paying such wages, represent? We have to check the situation with wages at every enterprise and the employers have to pay normal money. I demand to apply absolutely individual approach to our enterprises with the object to the wage rise”.

“The share of the social expenses makes up 76% of the budget -76 billion rubles of 100. This is the absolute limit of our resources; we can’t take more from the budget. Only 24 billion is left for the rest and it means our economics stands idle. Perhaps it is worth to revise the structure of the Government and establish the department for development of human potential”.

When elaborating a new strategy of the Republican social policy for the nearest ten years the President RB suggested that the following aims should be set:

- To raise wages in the nearest years at least 1,5 times and in the comparable prices the average wage should be equal to 24 thousand rubles by 2015.

- To lower the unemployment by one third (from 8,8 to 5%).

- The poverty level should come down from 11,5% today to 9% by 2015.