Collective negotiations have begun to set the minimum wage for 2023. It is reported by the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine.

The negotiations are attended by representatives of trade unions, employers, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Social Policy.

During the meeting, the parties voiced possible approaches to determining the size of the main state social guarantee in the context of the military aggression of the Russian Federation and the huge blow dealt to the economy of Ukraine, and also presented their positions.

As the representative of the Ministry of Economy noted, according to the results of the first quarter. GDP fell by 15.1%. In general, according to the estimates and assumptions of the Ministry:.

the fall in GDP in 2022 may reach 30-35%;

the consumer price index is expected to increase in 2022 to 31-32% at the end of the year, in 2023 - 30%.

At the same time, it was noted that this forecast may change depending on the situation and the decisions taken..

The position of the Ministry of Finance, in turn, is to contain social spending - in particular, the ministry does not see the possibility of raising the minimum wage and proposes to leave it at UAH 6,700 in 2023. It was also proposed to suspend the increase in the salary of an employee of the I tariff category of the UTS at the current level, since its growth will require significant expenditures from the state budget.

At the same time, the Ministry of Economy notes that, given the positive impact of the minimum wage on the average wage level and the volume of taxes, as well as inflation expectations, proposals have been sent to the Ministry of Finance to establish a minimum wage from 01. 01. 2023 at the level of UAH 6700 with its further increase to ensure the level of UAH 7250. on average per year.

At the same time, according to the Ministry of Social Policy, the actual size of the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons in June 2022 prices is estimated at UAH 7,000 and is projected at UAH 8,200 at the beginning of 2023..

At the same time, representatives of the Party of Employers supported the position of the Ministry of Finance on maintaining the minimum wage at UAH 6,700 in 2023..

The negotiators from the trade union side, given the difficult economic situation in the country and the negative impact on the economy of large-scale Russian aggression, proposed to establish a minimum wage from January 1, 2023, based on its size determined for 2022, increased by at least the inflation rate.

Trade unions also insist on the need to increase the size of the official salary of an employee of the I tariff category of the Unified Tariff Scale (ETS).

This proposal was supported by the Ministry of Economy, which informed that the Ministry was preparing a draft decision to increase the size of the official salary of an employee of the I tariff category of the UTS in connection with the increase from 01. ten. 2022 minimum wage up to UAH 6700 in order to maintain the existing ratio between the official salary of an employee of the ETS tariff category and the minimum wage at the level of 44.5%.

Recall, on January 4, in the Verkhovna Rada, people's deputies registered bill No. 6500, which proposed to amend the state budget and significantly increase the minimum wage, as well as draft law No. 6499 to increase the subsistence minimum to its actual size.

According to the bill, it was supposed to increase the minimum wage in 2022 to an amount not lower than the actual subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons, taking into account the family component, not lower than 60% of the average wage:.

7 000 UAH - from January 1;

7 500 UAH - from July 1;

8 500 UAH - from December 1.

On an hourly basis, it was proposed to increase the minimum wage as follows:.

42.13 UAH - from January 1;

45.14 UAH - from July 1;

51.35 UAH - from December 1.

Interestingly, in the crisis year of 1994, the then head of state, Leonid Kuchma, warned against raising the minimum wage, warning that this could lead to an "

In 2020, the minimum wage in Ukraine in terms of euros and dollars for the first time exceeded the minimum wage in Russia and Belarus.