Enterprise profitability must become a guarantee of high employee wages - S. Sidorsky

November 12, Polotsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Enterprise profitability should guarantee employees a real wage. This was stated today in Polotsk by Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky at a meeting with the work collective of OJSC "Polotsk-Steklovolokno", a BELTA correspondent reports. A few years ago, statements about bringing the average monthly wage to $200 seemed ambitious. The economic performance for the first 9 months of this year shows that the approved wage indicators are being achieved. In September, the average wage in the republic was $430 in equivalent terms, and in the public sector - $331. "However, the issue is not in wage growth, but in increasing it through enterprise profitability and thus receiving a real wage. Of course, wage increases are a priority, but technological development of enterprises must be put first. This is where the government sees the future," emphasized Sergei Sidorsky. The Prime Minister is convinced that each enterprise must master new types of competitive products and significantly increase their production volumes. For example, OJSC "Polotsk-Steklovolokno" has introduced a new furnace that will allow it to produce $100 million worth of new products. At the same time, the Prime Minister believes that this is not much, because these revenues are not compatible with the revenues received by global companies producing similar products. In particular, in the next five-year period, the government sets the task for petrochemical enterprises to become transparent, that is, to become part of transnational companies. "It is possible to create such companies with existing ones, but it is also possible to achieve promotion of one's products to third-country markets and be in demand there," said Sergei Sidorsky. In the next five-year period, the government intends to build high-tech production. -0-