Lukashenka: Nobody jokes with wages in difficult times

Having understood in 2011 how raising wages ahead of the “elections” ends, the dictator chooses not to do it this time.

Aliaksandr Lukashenka says the growth of wages is low this year because it depends on productivity growth, AFN news agency reports.

“This is right. These are the laws of economics. You cannot ignore them. No country jokes with these issues, especially in difficult times. If wages are not high, pensions will be not high either because they are pegged to wages,” Lukashenka said today, hinting that pensioners shouldn’t hope for an increase in pensions. He did the only thing he could – demanded full and timely payment of pensions and social allowances.

“We have more than 2.5 million pensioners in the country. As many as 646,000 of them work, but the rest live only on pensions. It is our duty to pay pensions on time and in full,” Lukashenka said.