In six years, the “minimum wage” should be 35 thousand rubles per month
From 2025, Russia will establish a ratio between the minimum subsistence level (SMW) and the median salary. Vladimir Putin announced this at the plenary meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
“In the future, we will tie its indexation to the general growth of wages in the economy. Starting next year, the ratio of the minimum wage to the median salary received by the majority of people employed in our economy will be established,” the president emphasized.
The head of state clarified that starting next year the minimum wage will be 48% of the median salary, exceeding 22 thousand rubles per month. And compared to this year it will increase by about 15%. Then the ratio with the median salary will also increase.
As you know, the May presidential decree set a goal: by 2030, the minimum wage should reach 35 thousand rubles per month.
In 2024, the minimum wage is 19,242 rubles. According to Rosstat, the average nominal salary in 2023 increased to almost 74 thousand rubles. Since 2022, it has grown by 14.1%, while real wages over this period have risen by 7.8%.
— It was decided to tie the minimum wage to the median salary. Why not the average salary in the country? Which indicator is more objective?
“The median is always lower than the average salary,” explains former Deputy Minister of Labor of the Russian Federation, member of the Council of the Confederation of Labor of Russia Pavel Kudyukin, “and is more accurate than the arithmetic mean. It more objectively characterizes the situation in the country’s economy as a whole. Although in this case there are opportunities for manipulation. What percentage of the median will be taken to determine the minimum wage? We do not know. In fact, he is appointed by the government.
— There are no legislative acts or scientifically based data on this matter. To a certain extent, this is an arbitrary political decision.
— No, it was determined on the basis of the subsistence minimum, and the subsistence minimum, in turn, was calculated based on the cost of the consumer basket. According to the Labor Code, adopted in 2001, the “minimum wage” should not be lower than the subsistence level. And although this situation was fixed, the minimum wage for a long time did not reach the subsistence level. The transitional provision noted that the increase would be gradual. And only at the end of the 2010s did the minimum wage reach the level of the subsistence level.
— When wages rise in the country, it’s good for everyone. The purchasing power of the population increases, and incentives to expand production appear. True, we don’t know what inflation will be like by 2030 and what we can buy with 35 thousand rubles…
For reference. The median salary is an amount that is, as it were, at a watershed: one half of the country’s residents earn less than the median salary, the other half more. The median salary should not be confused with another indicator — the average salary, which is formed largely by wealthy residents, and therefore looks very respectable. Simply put, add up the salaries of a supermarket cashier and a deputy and divide by two — you get 250 thousand rubles a month.