'Hey, Where's Money: Belarusians Receive Irrational Wages'

How much Belarusian medical professionals, teachers and young specialists earn.

Lukashenka says that "the salaries of health care, education, culture and social service workers are growing". Is it true?

Charter97.org learned what employees of these spheres say about their salaries.

" The overtime last month amounted to 800 rubles".

Despite the shortage of doctors in Belarus, salaries are not the highest.

A nurse from Baranavichy says that her salary, together with overtime, amounted to 800 rubles for a month.

"At the moment, I live in a dormitory in the same block with two other girls. I pay about 100 rubles per month. This fee also includes Internet.

There is enough work for medical staff and sometimes one forgets to have a snack. We don't have a canteen, the shop is a bit far, so I have lunch in the cafeteria. I always take something for 5 rubles: a salad, yoghurt, a bun and some juice. Such snacks cost about 100 rubles a month.

Another 200 rubles goes to buy groceries. We don't have a big fridge for three of us, so I buy something ready-made, something I cook myself. My shopping list includes meat, sausage, milk, cottage cheese, juices, yoghurt, fruit, vegetables, ready-made meals, bread and chicken," she says about her expenses.

The nurse has almost no money left for clothes.

"I consider such a salary as irrational".

Another vulnerable category of Belarusians is young specialists.

So, graduates of Pinsk college of engineering and technology are offered a job with a salary of 255 rubles per month.

"The first job is, of course, great, but not with a monthly salary of 255 rubles. I think that salary is irrational," a Pinsk woman says.

"Hello, where is 1,400 rubles?"

Minister of Education Andrei Ivanets stated that the average salary of teachers in Belarus is 1, 400 rubles. However, these figures are much lower in reality.

"My salary of a teacher with 25 hours of work is about 800 rubles. Aw, where's 1,400 rubles?" a teacher from Zhodzina says.

"If you have 25-30 years of experience, if you work 25-30 hours, if you have supervision of classes, if you participate in bonused projects, plus you run clubs, you can earn money. But an ordinary teacher gets 700-800 rubles, not more," another teacher says.

"Every Saturday we have activities and tutorials at the end of the school day. Sometimes I even have to go to school on Sunday to get all the documents filled in. Besides, the teachers' councils, the board, and a teacher has to write at least one research project with a student in a year. In other words, you live at school, nobody says a word to you, and you earn 1200 rubles a month. All this increase in earnings is a mocking, because for the same amount last year I earned 1500 and worked five days, not six", another teacher sums up.

"God forbid you fall ill!"

To survive, many Belarusians have to take out loans and credits. An accountant in Minsk told her salary amounts to 1300 rubles. However, this amount, she says, is catastrophically insufficient. Prices go up, two loans have to be repaid each month, so she has to borrow money all the time

"Every month, after receiving my salary, I put almost half of it (500-650 rubles) on my 'Halva' and pay another 80 rubles for a consumer loan. In addition, I owe 250 rubles to a friend - I haven't been able to pay it off yet," she said.

Asya lives alone and rents a one-room flat for 255 rubles a month. She also spends about 70 rubles on utilities, another 40 rubles on Internet and TV (by the way, she is going to switch off TV, also because of its high cost).

"I often don't have enough money for everything I need, so I borrow money from friends. I pay them back after my salary and, on average, that's minus 60 rubles," she said.

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