{"id":202685,"date":"2026-09-07T15:30:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T12:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/202685\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T15:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T12:30:19","slug":"salary-rise-creates-problem-for-officials","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/202685\/","title":{"rendered":"Salary rise creates problem for officials"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Belarus has seen a rather unusual debate over salaries. Lawmakers have had to explain why the average salary is much higher than what most Belarusians see on their pay slips, while Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has told Minsk city head U\u0142adzimir Kuchara\u016d to slow down wage growth in the capital.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
\n \n
\n (Andrea Piacquadio\/pexels.com, Daryna Mitrakova\/nesvizh-news.by, Viktar Palstsiuk\/commons.wikimedia.org, Steve Buissinne\/pixabay.com\/Pozirk's collage)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The debate was sparked by Bie\u0142stat\u2019s report of a 13.9 percent year-on-year increase in nominal monthly pay before taxes to 3,172 rubels ($1,092 at the market exchange rate as of July 31). Real wages, adjusted for inflation, rose by 9.1 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers respond to social media anxiety about wage discrepancies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The rosy statistical picture has puzzled many Belarusians whose earnings are much lower than Bie\u0142stat\u2019s figures. Officials have taken notice of the discontent expressed on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the House of Representatives acknowledged that the average-salary figures had sparked debate online, particularly in the regions. Former Labor Minister and current MP Iryna Kostsevi\u010d reassured lawmakers and the public that the figures were accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media users are concerned about the wide gap between wages in the capital and elsewhere. In Minsk, the average salary reached 4,116 rubels ($1,416), compared with 3,236 rubles ($1,114) in the Minsk region and just 2,685 rubels ($924) in the Mahilio\u016d region. The gap between sectors is even wider. The average salary in information and communications was 6,413 rubels ($2,206), compared with 4,055 rubels ($1,396) in construction and just 2,176 rubels ($749) in education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, while the statistics accurately reflect the overall trend, they do not necessarily describe the situation of any particular individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, 3,172 rubels is the gross salary before taxes and social security contributions. The amounts credited to employees\u2019 accounts are considerably smaller. The average person does not necessarily understand the methodology used by official statisticians or the difference between an average and a median salary. They simply compare Bie\u0142stat\u2019s reports with the amounts shown on their own pay slips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka concerned about high salaries in Minsk<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Salaries in Belarus have risen rapidly over the past five years. This is happening not only because companies are performing better or employers have become more generous, but also because of a labor shortage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The labor market remains seriously imbalanced: there is a shortage of skilled tradespeople and high-skilled workers. When workers are in short supply, the market operates in a stubbornly simple way \u2014 employers have to pay more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If one company will not pay more, another will. If one industry does not offer enough money, a worker can move to another. Finally, there is always the option of going abroad. This is especially important for Belarus: in recent years, there have been noticeably more examples of relatives, friends and former colleagues finding quite decent jobs abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why the current rise in wages is to a considerable extent happening not because of successful economic development, but in spite of the economy\u2019s constraints. Labor is becoming a scarce resource, and scarce resources become more expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This brings up another aspect of the issue. While lawmakers were explaining to Belarusians why Bie\u0142stat\u2019s 3,000-plus rubels do not land in everyone\u2019s wallet, \u0141uka\u0161enka is looking at the problem from another angle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He expressed concern that incomes in the capital have been rising faster than elsewhere. His recommendation was that \u201cthis level needs to be maintained, but not accelerated.\u201d His reasoning was that wherever wages rise, inflation follows, and it will \u201cspread throughout the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wage growth that substantially outpaces labor productivity can indeed create inflationary pressure. But the problem is that ordering wages not to rise does not eliminate the reasons employers are being forced to raise them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skilled workers driven out of the country<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the debate over salaries is much broader than Bie\u0142stat\u2019s latest report. The issue of incomes appears to be sensitive within the system itself. It is not only ordinary public-sector workers and employees of state-owned enterprises who see a discrepancy between the statistics and their pay slips. Officials and security officers notice it too \u2014 they shop in the same stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before 2020, the gap between the statistics and people\u2019s everyday perceptions was regularly analyzed by independent media, economists and think tanks. They explained how the average salary differed from the median, why Minsk was wealthier than the regions, what was happening to real incomes, and how much money remained after taxes and inflation. They helped improve financial literacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This explanatory mechanism has been severely damaged by the crackdown on independent media. Although media outlets continue to work from abroad, the country\u2019s extensive censorship system prevents Belarusians from accessing blacklisted websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the demand for explanations has not disappeared. Officials\u2019 explanations are not very convincing. A person earning 1,500 to 2,000 rubels is unlikely to be satisfied with being told that 3,172 rubels is merely an arithmetic mean and that the gap between the capital and the regions is simply due to the \u201cconcentration of jobs requiring high-skilled workers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n
\n \"\"