Minimum wage guarantee in Russia and its regions

The Object of the Study: Payment for work in the Rossiykaya Federatsiya The Subject of the Study: The minimum wage rate and dynamics in Rossiya and RF subjects The Purpose of the Study: Estimating the minimum wage substance in different periods of the socio-economic development of the country and identifying the reasons for different approaches to the minimum wage setting in regions. The Main Provisions of the Article. Minimum wage is a social guarantee of payment for work of employees that is set according to the tripartite agreement between the State, employers and trade unions representing the interests of employees. In the Rossiyskaya Federatsiya the substantive estimation of the minimum wage is based on its ratio to the amount of the subsistence minimum of able-bodied population. In international comparisons the most common statistical indicator for calculation of the sufficient minimum wage is the minimum wage ratio to median wage (Kaitz index) and average wage. The minimum wage dynamics in Rossiya is analyzed by four periods. Each of them reflects the socio-economic situation in the country. The first period (1992 - 1999) was characterized by formation of market relations accompanied by economic crisis and high inflation. The second one (2000 - mid-2008) - by a gradual normalization of the socio-economic situation and economic growth. During this period were adopted the laws that in subsequent years affected the situation with minimum wages in regions. The third (late 2008 - early 2018) - by periodically recurring crises in the economy. The fourth one started in May 2018 when the wage at the Federal level was set at 100% of the subsistence minimum of the able-bodied population of Rossiya in the second quarter of 2017. The authors consider in detail the situation in these years in the RF subjects with different natural climatic conditions. They conclude by saying that the notion of minimum wage in the legislation should be clearly defined as well as the criterion of its economic substance - subsistence minimum-should be changed.