The Ukrainian government is planning to allocate extra funds for the payment of wages in December, Ukrainian Premier Mykola Azarov has said.

"Today, we will decide on the allocation of extra funds for the payment of wages in December. So, everyone can be sure that we will celebrate New Year in good mood and with optimism," he said, while opening a meeting of the government on Wednesday.

He added that the government has analyzed the situation with wage payment delays and decided that it is "not critical, but unacceptable."

The premier instructed the Finance Ministry and the Social Policy ministry to hold a phone conference on November 29 with all regional heads and clarify why wage payments have been delayed. He also instructed officials to provide people with financial aid in cases when this is really necessary.

"In addition, I demand you to ask regional heads how they used budget funds in the last month," the premier said.

According to him, there are cases when some officials spend budget funds on non-priority issues hoping that the government will help them pay wages.