Wage arrears down by almost UAH 300M – economy ministry

That’s according to the press service of the Economy Ministry, Ukrinform reports.

“According to the operational data of the State Labor Service of Ukraine, in August-September 2021 there was a positive trend toward the reduction of wage arrears against July 1, 2021. In particular, the amount of arrears decreased by 7.5%, or UAH 295 million,” the report says.

Deputy Economy Minister Svitlana Hlushchenko says the 7.5% drop in arrears over the past month and a half is factual evidence that the negative trend is over.

“The issue of liquidation of wage arrears is under permanent control of the state leadership. I’d also like to remind everyone of the Prime Minister's order to pay off wage arrears. All companies that have accumulated arrears up to UAH 15 million must pay them off by year-end, while the rest are supposed to reduce them by at least 50%. This order must be fulfilled, so I ask everyone to intensify efforts to this end,” Hlushchenko added.

The most difficult situation of wage arrears remains at the enterprises managed by central executive bodies. As of September 13, 2021, the arrears amounted to more than UAH 2.1 billion. At the same time, in August-September, a positive trend is being observed as arrears shrank by UAH 45.7 million.

The Ministry of Economy seeks to introduce practices of taking wage arrears into account when assessing performance of regional administration chiefs. The relevant appeal has already been prepared to be considered by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, as of June 24, 2021, wage arrears across Ukraine exceeded UAH 3.2 billion, with 81.3% of the amount generated by economically active enterprises. Wage arrears in companies undergoing bankruptcy procedures account for 18.7% of the total.

im