Aliaksandr Bukhvostau: Salaries fall in 39 out of 40 companies

The situation in the Belarusian economy is not bad but very bad.

Reports come every day about salary cuts, shorter working weeks and orders to workers to take unpaid leaves for an indefinite period, head of the Free Trade Union of Metal Workers Aliaksandr Bukhvostau said in the programme “Talk with Kalinkina” on Belsat TV.

“I've analysed more than 40 enterprises, and only one of them raised wages in 2014 compared to the previous year. The rest cut wages by an average of more than 10%,” he said.

Many companies work short weeks or force workers to take unpaid leaves. In the first days of March, charter97.org received complaints from Gomselmash, the Automobile Units Plant in Asipovichy, the Concrete Products Plant in Svetlahorsk, the Tractor Parts and Units Plant in Babruisk, Mogilevtransmash, Strommashina, the Minsk Tractor Plant, Gomeldrev, the Minsk Bearing Plant, Belarusian Railway, Vitebsk Products company and others.