What makes up the salary of livestock specialists in the Orsha district after the introduction of the new remuneration scheme
Last April, the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee issued Decree No. 109, introducing a new remuneration scheme for specialists in zootechnical and veterinary services, heads of agricultural sections, and livestock brigade leaders, linking it to the final results. How effectively is this scheme working today in the Vitebsk region, and who specifically has benefited and how much has been added to their personal wallets?
The branch of the selection and hybrid center "Zadneprovsky" of JSC "Orshansky KHP" is the largest in the district by area, occupying one-third of it, and by headcount – the workforce numbers 1080 people. Director Igor Vasilenko provides a brief description: 8 dairy farms with 1561 cows, two cattle complexes with a total of 5960 heads, plus 49,516 pigs. Milk is mainly produced as "extra" grade, with 90 percent commercial yield.
"The main activity is animal husbandry," says Igor Arkadyevich. "Crop production is secondary, mainly to feed the livestock. We are engaged in breeding Belarusian pig breeds. The main problem is the shortage of qualified personnel. We are also concerned about the weak, unfortunately, level of training of those who come to us after graduation. In my opinion, the reason is that often completely unmotivated young people apply to agricultural institutions as a last resort. If they weren't accepted into oil and gas engineering, they'll go for agronomy or zootechnics. But this is a bad trend. There are very few true agricultural professionals today, although we do everything we can to keep young people in the countryside. In the village, you need not just to live, but to work hard. It's a pity that some people don't understand that a cow, like a person, can get sick at night or on a Sunday. This means the veterinarian needs to come and help, regardless of their personal time. Or stay at the farm for a few extra hours at the end of the workday because young calves need help."
According to its head, "Zadneprovsky" offers the most important bonuses to attract young people to the village – decent conditionswork, good salary, and service housing. Currently, the cattle breeding industry employs 4 artificial insemination operators, 7 zootechnicians and veterinarians, and 12 farm managers and foremen. Among them are 8 young specialists, and two are on maternity leave. However, the farm needs at least 5 more veterinarians, programmers for the robotic farm, zootechnicians...
Together with the CHIEF economist and head of the production and economic department, Irina Dyvlyash, we monitor the salaries of specialists at cattle farms and complexes from January to September 2019. At the beginning of the year, a zootechnician's salary was over a thousand rubles, and by September, it had increased by almost 200 rubles. A veterinarian received about 700 rubles in January, and in August, their paycheck increased by a hundred rubles. The insemination technician's salary is also 150 rubles higher, resulting in a thousand rubles plus a few hundred. Irina Frantsevna assures that with interest in the final result and increased performance, considering all bonuses, one can earn over two thousand rubles. On average, during the period of the new scheme, specialists' salaries increased by 110-120 percent.
The size of the tariff salary is determined by the monthly minimum wage (330 rubles). Here is an example of calculating the remuneration for specialists in zootechnical and veterinary services, heads of agricultural sections, and foremen in three categories: average skill level, highest level, and heads of structural divisions. The tariff salaries are 305, 366, and 427 rubles, respectively. The final line of the maximum tariff salary for complexity and specificity of work shows significantly higher amounts – 763, 915, and 1068 rubles. The maximum bonus for length of service is 153, 183, and 214 rubles. The annual performance bonus is 4578, 5490, and 6408 rubles for each category. Simply put, the salary is supplemented by continuous work experience in the industry, a bonus for complexity and intensity, an increase in average daily weight gain, and growth in milk sales volume compared to the previous year. Inseminators receive an additional 10 rubles for each calf born. Based on the year's results, for each calf, provided the survival rate exceeds 85 percent, there is an additional 11 rubles. However, if excellent work is rewarded with substantial monetary incentives, then similarly,
— I will definitely have twelve hundred, although I haven't been working here for long. I know that the salaries of interested specialists have increased significantly. I repeat, interested ones. Yes, our work has its own peculiarities. For three years in a row, I spent New Year's Eve on the farm, assisting with calving, and with some complications. I'm a city dweller myself, I didn't even have grandparents in the village. Once I decided to study veterinary medicine with the confidence that I would be treating cats and dogs, and all piglets look like Piggy. Now I treat farm animals with more reverence than pets. Yes, they are powerful, but we have tamed them, without us they are completely helpless. Cows often cannot even calve on their own. It may sound grandiose, but the health of all humanity depends on our profession. We cannot allow meat or milk from a sick cow to end up on people's tables.
Lyudmila Pavlovna confirms her supervisor's words: not all employees are ready to "go through fire and water" even for their own well-being. Initially, she had to "twist the tails" not of cows, but of individual subordinates. For example, a calf tender who did not properly wash and disinfect the calf house and did not warm the milk for the young. Some are still trying to resist the requirements:
— Many saw vaccination as a panacea for all ills, and all blame was directed at veterinarians. They believed that since the calf was vaccinated, it could be placed in manure, fed cold milk with dirty hands. There was resistance at first, now it is gradually breaking down. And when other results appear, they see that it's not that difficult after all. Fortunately, there are specialists who can be relied upon. And it's unlikely they dedicate themselves to work solely to increase their income. At the "Dnepr" farm, a young vetврач Рома Беленков. Жаль, что скоро в армию пойдет. Вот такие работники нужны сельскому хозяйству. Неравнодушный человек не стесняется спрашивать, ничего не утаивает, если вдруг заподозрил что-то неладное с животными. Таких специалистов обязательно нужно материально стимулировать. Поэтому введение новой схемы оплаты труда — очень хорошая идея.
ДУМАЮ, понимают все: бедные сельхозпредприятия не смогут дать своим работникам высокую зарплату. А основные деньги все хозяйства получают за счет мяса и молока. Вот и выстраивается замкнутая цепь. И если хотя бы одно звено выпадет… Недокормила или недоглядела доярка буренку, а та не дала молока или заболела. Оставила без должного присмотра родившегося малыша — не выжил. Решил зоотехник, что животные могут прожить на жесткой диете, а они болеть стали, и снова молоко пропало. А тут и ветврач проспал или не захотел лишний раз подойти и проверить. Не сработал ленивый и безответственный техник по искусственному осеменению — не родился здоровый теленок либо вовсе корова стала яловой…
Вот и хозяйство недосчитается солидного рубля, тогда нечем будет платить и тем, кто старался, но в одиночку не потянул этот воз, и даже тем, кто «честно отлынивал» от работы.
Заместитель председателя комитета по сельскому хозяйству и продовольствию Витебского облисполкома Наталья БАЛИЦКАЯ:
— В производстве валовой продукции области животноводство занимает 66 процентов, в связи с этим основная задача распоряжения председателя Витебского облисполкома — не только материально заинтересовать работников отрасли животноводства, но и сохранить престиж данных профессий. В целом 45 процентов сельхозпредприятий области обеспечили рост производства молока к уровню прошлого года, 63 процента — обеспечили рост приплода телят к уровню прошлого года. Среднемесячная зарплата специалистов зооветслужбы за первое полугодие 2019 года на уровне 970 рублей, операторов по искусственному осеменению животных — 1030, по сравнению с первым полугодием 2018-го она возросла на 275 рублей.
doctor Roma Belenkov. It's a pity he'll soon go to the army. These are the kind of workers agriculture needs. A caring person is not afraid to ask questions, does not hide anything if they suspect something is wrong with the animals. Such specialists must be financially stimulated. Therefore, the introduction of a new remuneration scheme is a very good idea.
I THINK everyone understands: poor agricultural enterprises cannot offer their employees high salaries. And all farms earn their main income from meat and milk. This creates a vicious cycle. And if at least one link breaks... A milkmaid didn't feed or look after a cow properly, and she didn't give milk or got sick. A calf was left without proper supervision and didn't survive. A zootechnician decided that animals could live on a strict diet, but they started getting sick, and milk production dropped again. And then the veterinarian overslept or didn't want to come and check. The lazy and irresponsible artificial insemination technician failed to ensure the birth of a healthy calf, or the cow became infertile...
And then the farm will be short of a considerable amount of money, and there will be nothing to pay those who tried hard but couldn't carry this burden alone, and even those who "honestly shirked" their work.
Natalia BALITSKAYA, Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Committee for Agriculture and Food:
— Livestock farming accounts for 66 percent of the region's gross output. In this regard, the main task of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee Chairman's directive is not only to financially incentivize employees in the livestock sector but also to preserve the prestige of these professions. In total, 45 percent of the region's agricultural enterprises have ensured an increase in milk production compared to last year, and 63 percent have ensured an increase in calf births compared to last year. The average monthly salary for veterinary service specialists in the first half of 2019 was 970 rubles, and for animal artificial insemination operators – 1030 rubles, an increase of 275 rubles compared to the first half of 2018.
The branch of the selection and hybrid center "Zadneprovsky" of JSC "Orshansky KHP" is the largest in the district by area, occupying one-third of it, and by headcount – the workforce numbers 1080 people. Director Igor Vasilenko provides a brief description: 8 dairy farms with 1561 cows, two cattle complexes with a total of 5960 heads, plus 49,516 pigs. Milk is mainly produced as "extra" grade, with 90 percent commercial yield.
"The main activity is animal husbandry," says Igor Arkadyevich. "Crop production is secondary, mainly to feed the livestock. We are engaged in breeding Belarusian pig breeds. The main problem is the shortage of qualified personnel. We are also concerned about the weak, unfortunately, level of training of those who come to us after graduation. In my opinion, the reason is that often completely unmotivated young people apply to agricultural institutions as a last resort. If they weren't accepted into oil and gas engineering, they'll go for agronomy or zootechnics. But this is a bad trend. There are very few true agricultural professionals today, although we do everything we can to keep young people in the countryside. In the village, you need not just to live, but to work hard. It's a pity that some people don't understand that a cow, like a person, can get sick at night or on a Sunday. This means the veterinarian needs to come and help, regardless of their personal time. Or stay at the farm for a few extra hours at the end of the workday because young calves need help."
According to its head, "Zadneprovsky" offers the most important bonuses to attract young people to the village – decent conditionswork, good salary, and service housing. Currently, the cattle breeding industry employs 4 artificial insemination operators, 7 zootechnicians and veterinarians, and 12 farm managers and foremen. Among them are 8 young specialists, and two are on maternity leave. However, the farm needs at least 5 more veterinarians, programmers for the robotic farm, zootechnicians...
Together with the CHIEF economist and head of the production and economic department, Irina Dyvlyash, we monitor the salaries of specialists at cattle farms and complexes from January to September 2019. At the beginning of the year, a zootechnician's salary was over a thousand rubles, and by September, it had increased by almost 200 rubles. A veterinarian received about 700 rubles in January, and in August, their paycheck increased by a hundred rubles. The insemination technician's salary is also 150 rubles higher, resulting in a thousand rubles plus a few hundred. Irina Frantsevna assures that with interest in the final result and increased performance, considering all bonuses, one can earn over two thousand rubles. On average, during the period of the new scheme, specialists' salaries increased by 110-120 percent.
The size of the tariff salary is determined by the monthly minimum wage (330 rubles). Here is an example of calculating the remuneration for specialists in zootechnical and veterinary services, heads of agricultural sections, and foremen in three categories: average skill level, highest level, and heads of structural divisions. The tariff salaries are 305, 366, and 427 rubles, respectively. The final line of the maximum tariff salary for complexity and specificity of work shows significantly higher amounts – 763, 915, and 1068 rubles. The maximum bonus for length of service is 153, 183, and 214 rubles. The annual performance bonus is 4578, 5490, and 6408 rubles for each category. Simply put, the salary is supplemented by continuous work experience in the industry, a bonus for complexity and intensity, an increase in average daily weight gain, and growth in milk sales volume compared to the previous year. Inseminators receive an additional 10 rubles for each calf born. Based on the year's results, for each calf, provided the survival rate exceeds 85 percent, there is an additional 11 rubles. However, if excellent work is rewarded with substantial monetary incentives, then similarly,
They are de-incentivized for a decrease in the specific weight of milk of the extra grade and the level of offspring, an increase in culling, and the presence of reprimands and remarks. Accordingly, the amount to be paid may vary monthly. However, the economists themselves also have more work to do. Before accrual, they analyze the performance indicators of each specialist individually.
Universal milking robot "Astronaut A4".
Universal milking robot "Astronaut A4".According to Olga Koreshkova, Head of the Economic Regulation Department of the Agricultural and Food Administration of the District Executive Committee, the innovation has significantly increased livestock production at Zadorovye OJSC in 2019. As a result, decent wages have been achieved.
"Of course, there is still room for improvement, and both we and the organization's specialists understand this," says Olga Vladimirovna. "Labor motivation plays a crucial role in achieving the desired results. Therefore, I believe we will succeed."
I was also curious about something else. To increase production volumes at the livestock complexes, which should lead to higher specialist salaries, it is necessary to strengthen control over ordinary workers. After all, these people are responsible for complying with the technical regulations. This means they need to pay more attention to cows and calves, feed them well, monitor their health more closely, and clean the "nursery" more often and thoroughly. I was interested in how the machine milking operators themselves reacted to the innovation. After all, the improvement in their material status has not yet affected them, but slacking off and shirking responsibility will no longer be possible. Of course, this is if the specialists overseeing them are interested in earning more. I was warned that milkmaids are paid on a piecework basis, and their earnings vary on different farms. The average wage across the farm is 657 rubles.
I received an answer to my question from both the farm manager and at the Brazdetchino livestock complex. But first, a clarification: cows at this complex are milked by robotic manipulators. With such computerized "innards," the number of workers is small.
Mechatronics engineer at Brazdetchino livestock complex Andrey SHARAY.
"Of course, there is still room for improvement, and both we and the organization's specialists understand this," says Olga Vladimirovna. "Labor motivation plays a crucial role in achieving the desired results. Therefore, I believe we will succeed."
I was also curious about something else. To increase production volumes at the livestock complexes, which should lead to higher specialist salaries, it is necessary to strengthen control over ordinary workers. After all, these people are responsible for complying with the technical regulations. This means they need to pay more attention to cows and calves, feed them well, monitor their health more closely, and clean the "nursery" more often and thoroughly. I was interested in how the machine milking operators themselves reacted to the innovation. After all, the improvement in their material status has not yet affected them, but slacking off and shirking responsibility will no longer be possible. Of course, this is if the specialists overseeing them are interested in earning more. I was warned that milkmaids are paid on a piecework basis, and their earnings vary on different farms. The average wage across the farm is 657 rubles.
I received an answer to my question from both the farm manager and at the Brazdetchino livestock complex. But first, a clarification: cows at this complex are milked by robotic manipulators. With such computerized "innards," the number of workers is small.
Mechatronics engineer at Brazdetchino livestock complex Andrey SHARAY.
While talking with Andrey Sharay, a mechatronics engineer (operator of robotic milking units), I observed from the sidelines how some cows tried to break through to the feeder-lure for compound feed several times. They were already receiving it while the milking process was underway. Because the computer scanner shows: this cow has already given her milk, and she won't go through a second time. Here, the robot-computer, however, needs human help. There are 6 robots and 6 mechatronics engineers on the farm, and the herd is over a thousand. Mostly men work, one day on, two days off. There are also many young guys among the drovers. Andrey's two groups have 326 cows, and he gets 29-30 kilograms of milk from one cow per day:
— I'm local, and my mother was a milkmaid once. I worked at the complex for about a year and a half before serving in the army. The salary was low, a little over 500 rubles, although robots were milking even then. Now I get a little over a thousand clean in hand. We have our own output, and the salary is calculated from that. Yes, it was only raised for specialists. So what? Operators are not left at a disadvantage. I understand that my income depends on milk. If you just sit and complain, nothing will come of it.
One cannot but agree, but the head of "Zadneprovsky" had to listen to complaints from some machine milking operators more than once about "unfairness towards them." Igor Arkadyevich is used to this:
— One milkmaid complains, for example, "my friend has 3 cows, and she got 100 rubles, but I got 20, and my salary is only 50." But the issue is different, the person doesn't understand the simple thing. This friend can milk as much from three cows as she can from 20! She knows each animal, she'll come over an extra time, she'll look. And, accordingly, she gets a good return from the cow. The "came-left" approach won't work. I've noticed changes this year. Those who are interested in a higher salary have also shown different results. But people are different, you understand. There are, as they say, "lay down - curled up, stood up - shook off." You can pay them 20 thousand, but you won't make them work. But those who want to work should be paid accordingly.
The work of Lyudmila Skakun, the chief veterinarian for cattle at "Zadneprovsky," is specific, as is that of all livestock breeders. In order not to take away
a person from an urgent "operation", and she was taking blood from cows for biochemistry, I had to wait a few minutes. As soon as I asked about personal income, the specialist confidently replied:— I'm local, and my mother was a milkmaid once. I worked at the complex for about a year and a half before serving in the army. The salary was low, a little over 500 rubles, although robots were milking even then. Now I get a little over a thousand clean in hand. We have our own output, and the salary is calculated from that. Yes, it was only raised for specialists. So what? Operators are not left at a disadvantage. I understand that my income depends on milk. If you just sit and complain, nothing will come of it.
One cannot but agree, but the head of "Zadneprovsky" had to listen to complaints from some machine milking operators more than once about "unfairness towards them." Igor Arkadyevich is used to this:
— One milkmaid complains, for example, "my friend has 3 cows, and she got 100 rubles, but I got 20, and my salary is only 50." But the issue is different, the person doesn't understand the simple thing. This friend can milk as much from three cows as she can from 20! She knows each animal, she'll come over an extra time, she'll look. And, accordingly, she gets a good return from the cow. The "came-left" approach won't work. I've noticed changes this year. Those who are interested in a higher salary have also shown different results. But people are different, you understand. There are, as they say, "lay down - curled up, stood up - shook off." You can pay them 20 thousand, but you won't make them work. But those who want to work should be paid accordingly.
The work of Lyudmila Skakun, the chief veterinarian for cattle at "Zadneprovsky," is specific, as is that of all livestock breeders. In order not to take away
— I will definitely have twelve hundred, although I haven't been working here for long. I know that the salaries of interested specialists have increased significantly. I repeat, interested ones. Yes, our work has its own peculiarities. For three years in a row, I spent New Year's Eve on the farm, assisting with calving, and with some complications. I'm a city dweller myself, I didn't even have grandparents in the village. Once I decided to study veterinary medicine with the confidence that I would be treating cats and dogs, and all piglets look like Piggy. Now I treat farm animals with more reverence than pets. Yes, they are powerful, but we have tamed them, without us they are completely helpless. Cows often cannot even calve on their own. It may sound grandiose, but the health of all humanity depends on our profession. We cannot allow meat or milk from a sick cow to end up on people's tables.Lyudmila Pavlovna confirms her supervisor's words: not all employees are ready to "go through fire and water" even for their own well-being. Initially, she had to "twist the tails" not of cows, but of individual subordinates. For example, a calf tender who did not properly wash and disinfect the calf house and did not warm the milk for the young. Some are still trying to resist the requirements:
— Many saw vaccination as a panacea for all ills, and all blame was directed at veterinarians. They believed that since the calf was vaccinated, it could be placed in manure, fed cold milk with dirty hands. There was resistance at first, now it is gradually breaking down. And when other results appear, they see that it's not that difficult after all. Fortunately, there are specialists who can be relied upon. And it's unlikely they dedicate themselves to work solely to increase their income. At the "Dnepr" farm, a young vetврач Рома Беленков. Жаль, что скоро в армию пойдет. Вот такие работники нужны сельскому хозяйству. Неравнодушный человек не стесняется спрашивать, ничего не утаивает, если вдруг заподозрил что-то неладное с животными. Таких специалистов обязательно нужно материально стимулировать. Поэтому введение новой схемы оплаты труда — очень хорошая идея.
ДУМАЮ, понимают все: бедные сельхозпредприятия не смогут дать своим работникам высокую зарплату. А основные деньги все хозяйства получают за счет мяса и молока. Вот и выстраивается замкнутая цепь. И если хотя бы одно звено выпадет… Недокормила или недоглядела доярка буренку, а та не дала молока или заболела. Оставила без должного присмотра родившегося малыша — не выжил. Решил зоотехник, что животные могут прожить на жесткой диете, а они болеть стали, и снова молоко пропало. А тут и ветврач проспал или не захотел лишний раз подойти и проверить. Не сработал ленивый и безответственный техник по искусственному осеменению — не родился здоровый теленок либо вовсе корова стала яловой…
Вот и хозяйство недосчитается солидного рубля, тогда нечем будет платить и тем, кто старался, но в одиночку не потянул этот воз, и даже тем, кто «честно отлынивал» от работы.
Заместитель председателя комитета по сельскому хозяйству и продовольствию Витебского облисполкома Наталья БАЛИЦКАЯ:
— В производстве валовой продукции области животноводство занимает 66 процентов, в связи с этим основная задача распоряжения председателя Витебского облисполкома — не только материально заинтересовать работников отрасли животноводства, но и сохранить престиж данных профессий. В целом 45 процентов сельхозпредприятий области обеспечили рост производства молока к уровню прошлого года, 63 процента — обеспечили рост приплода телят к уровню прошлого года. Среднемесячная зарплата специалистов зооветслужбы за первое полугодие 2019 года на уровне 970 рублей, операторов по искусственному осеменению животных — 1030, по сравнению с первым полугодием 2018-го она возросла на 275 рублей.
I THINK everyone understands: poor agricultural enterprises cannot offer their employees high salaries. And all farms earn their main income from meat and milk. This creates a vicious cycle. And if at least one link breaks... A milkmaid didn't feed or look after a cow properly, and she didn't give milk or got sick. A calf was left without proper supervision and didn't survive. A zootechnician decided that animals could live on a strict diet, but they started getting sick, and milk production dropped again. And then the veterinarian overslept or didn't want to come and check. The lazy and irresponsible artificial insemination technician failed to ensure the birth of a healthy calf, or the cow became infertile...
And then the farm will be short of a considerable amount of money, and there will be nothing to pay those who tried hard but couldn't carry this burden alone, and even those who "honestly shirked" their work.
Natalia BALITSKAYA, Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Committee for Agriculture and Food:
— Livestock farming accounts for 66 percent of the region's gross output. In this regard, the main task of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee Chairman's directive is not only to financially incentivize employees in the livestock sector but also to preserve the prestige of these professions. In total, 45 percent of the region's agricultural enterprises have ensured an increase in milk production compared to last year, and 63 percent have ensured an increase in calf births compared to last year. The average monthly salary for veterinary service specialists in the first half of 2019 was 970 rubles, and for animal artificial insemination operators – 1030 rubles, an increase of 275 rubles compared to the first half of 2018.