Minimum wage increase in Abkhazia - experts say concern for citizens has nothing to do with it

Minimum wage increase in Abkhazia

The minimum wage in Abkhazia increased by 5,000 to 10,000 rubles on January 1, 2023 [from about $73 to $145]. But many economists believe it isn’t intended to improve the lives of citizens.

According to a new decree from the Abkhaz government, the minimum wage should not be lower than the subsistence level, which at the moment is 9,343 rubles [$136]. Previously the size of the minimum wage and the cost of living were not tied to each other, so the growth in the cost of the consumer goods did not affect the minimum wage, which had not changed since 2005.

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But there is one caveat: the minimum wage will increase only for employees of commercial businesses. It will not apply to state employees.

Thus many economists believe that the government does not care about the well-being of citizens at all.

“When the government decides that the minimum monthly wage should be increased only in commercial enterprises, this indicates that the authorities are going to increase the state budget profitability through deductions from salaries in businesses. Do not look for concerns about the social situation of citizens here,” economist Beslan Tsvinaria says.

Minimum wage increase in Abkhazia

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