Belarusians Can Stay Without Side Hustle

Officials want to punish the enterprises that pay salaries below the "minimum" one.

According to the resolution of the Council of Ministers, from January 1 next year, the control over organizations that pay less than 305 rubles to their employees will be strengthened. To this end, the employers will provide quarterly data on the amount of payments, and not once a year, as they do now.

Co-chairman of the Republican Confederation of Entrepreneurship Viktar Marhelau notes in his comment to Salidarnasts that "there are black and white colors" in this innovation.

– There are structures that actually pay low salaries, – he notes. – But there can be different cases. For example, not quite commercial organizations or firms that perform seasonal work. In these cases, the average salary may be below the established level. But there is nothing wrong with that.

And there are really commercial enterprises that pay salaries in envelopes. They pay employees a minimum, and the economic results are not bad. And here the most important task is to separate the first ones from the second ones.

The government's decision may cut down on Belarusians who work part-time, as well as pensioners, students, or mothers on maternity leave. These categories of citizens seek secondary employment most often.

– If this moment is not taken into account and they just start to press, then the firms will simply refuse to employ part-time and, in general, temporary workers. They will keep the minimum number of people with a higher salary. That's all. In this case, a lot of Belarusians will stay without side jobs or temporary workplaces, – Viktar Marhelau says.