27 April 2004 11:48
Russian minister expects wages go up 20 per cent in next four years
Moscow, 27 April: Russia's nominal annual wages are expected to grow 21 per cent within the next three or four
years, acting Labour and Social Reform Minister Aleksandr Pochinok told an economy conference on Tuesday [27 April].
According to the Federal State Statistics Service's report released last week, the nominal monthly wage stood at
R6,571 in March, up 30.4 per cent on the year and 7 per cent on the month.
"It is necessary to think about increasing labour productivity, which is currently lagging behind the rise in
wages," Pochinok said.
He said that consumer demand growth might be held at 8-9 per cent in the medium-term and there is every chance of
keeping it at this level in the longer term too.
According to Russia's finance minister, Aleksey Kudrin, who spoke last week, Russian inflation was at 3.5 per
cent in January-March. The Russian government forecasts inflation to be down to 8-10 per cent this year compared with 12
per cent in 2003.
[Prime-TASS news agency] |
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