Wage arrears up to UAH 3.79 bln across country in Oct

Wage arrears accumulated by Ukrainian enterprises to their employees across Ukraine in October 2020 were up by 6.5% on month, amounting to UAH 3.79 billion (US$132.99 million) as of November 1.

That's according to the State Statistics Service.

In particular, economically active enterprises as of November 1 owe their employees a total of UAH 2.53 billion ($88.78 million) in unpaid wages, which is 8.9% more than on October 1.

Read alsoMinimum wage increase to US$229 postponed until Dec 2021 – finance ministerThe stats agency notes that the data are provided without taking into account the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as part of the temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Background

Minimum wage in Ukraine from January 1, 2020, increased by UAH 550, up to UAH 4,000 ($140).

On August 25, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law raising the minimum wage to UAH 5,000 from September 1.

According to the State Tax Service, 11.6 million people of 34.6 million of the economically active population (15-70 years old) receive official salaries.

On November 27, 2020, Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko said the date for the increase in the minimum wage to UAH 6,500 ($228)was postponed from July 1, 2021, to December 1.