KYIV. Aug 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to raise the minimum wage is supported by the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine, First Deputy Chairman of the Joint Representative Body of Trade Union Associations, Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine Oleksandr Shubin has said.

"Regarding the proposals made by the head of state today, the trade unions have analyzed these indicators, and here, analyzing these figures, we rely on the provisions of the General Deal, which we signed in 2019 with the government authorities and employers. Due to the norms of this General Deal, when determining the level the minimum wage we proceeding from two indicators: the first is that the minimum wage cannot be lower than the actual subsistence rate of an able-bodied person. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Social Policy, the actual subsistence rate is UAH 5,150, " Shubin told Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.

He said that the first step to be considered by the parliament on 25 August will be to raise the minimum wage to this level. The second step will be to increase, according to the president's initiative, the minimum wage from January 1, 2021 to the level of UAH 6,000.

"With the third step, which is envisaged in the middle of 2021, we should actually get closer to the next indicator, which is the benchmark in the General Deal. This is a European indicator that is guided by the recommendations of the European Parliament in 2008 and says that the level of the minimum wage in the country should to be no more than two times less than the average wage in the country. That is, the minimum wage should be at least 50% of the average wage," Shubin said.

Thus, the Federation of Trade Unions believes that Zelensky's initiatives are fully consistent with the previously reached agreements between the government, employers and workers.

As reported, on August 6, Zelensky submitted to parliament a bill on amendments to the 2020 national budget, which plans to increase the minimum wage to UAH 5,000 from September 1.

Last week, the government approved a macroeconomic forecast for 2021, which also provides for a two-stage increase in the minimum wage to UAH 6,000 and UAH 6,500 in 2021.