During its plenary session, the State Duma approved in the third and final reading a bill to raise the minimum wage in 2024. The news was reported by TASS. The measure forms part of a package submitted to the Duma by the Council of Ministers in September, together with the federal budget proposal for 2024 and the budgets of extra-budgetary funds for 2024–2026.
According to the draft law, the minimum wage will climb by 18.5 percent in 2024, bringing it to 19,242 rubles per month. At present, the minimum wage stands at 16,242 rubles.
Prior to the parliamentary decision, Freedom Finance Global analyst Vladimir Chernov suggested that a substantial increase in the minimum wage in 2024 could yield notable benefits for millions of Russians and for the country’s economy as a whole.
Starting January 1, 2023, employers paying employees less than 19,242 rubles were subject to fines reaching up to 100,000 rubles, according to Irina Mikheeva, a leading legal adviser at KSK Group.
In early November, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova reported that eight months of 2023 showed an average monthly salary rise of 7.5 percent, reaching 70.3 thousand rubles.
Earlier statements from Russia described the growth of average monthly wages over the first eight months of the year.