MINSK, 17 February (BelTA) – Today the growth of real wages is outpacing labor productivity, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he received the government’s performance report for 2025, BelTA has learned.
Speaking on the topic of labor and earnings, the head of state emphasized: “In essence, this is the quintessence of all economic programs. Each of them sets an invariably correct goal – to improve people's well-being. Qualitative growth must be ensured through effective labor.”
However, currently, the growth of real wages is outpacing labor productivity, the president noted. In 2025, the labor productivity rate was 101%, while the real wage growth rate was 109%. The average monthly wage amounted to Br2,693 or $886. “Moreover, this trend has been going on for several years. What is the price of this well-being that we tout as an achievement?” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president noted that the Council of Ministers has suspended its decision regarding compliance with the “productivity-wage” coefficient, which should exceed 1 (it is currently 0.93).
“On one hand, you assure us that we retain the necessary personnel through wages. But the fact is we lag behind developed countries in labor productivity by a factor of two or three. So perhaps we need to increase output?” the head of state asked rhetorically. “If you're retaining personnel, then the personnel should be working hard and putting in the effort. And not in intermediary structures, but in production.”
“I am not calling to cut workers” incomes indiscriminately (as we tend to do). I demand that all flows in the economy be balanced. So that later we don’t have to heroically correct mistakes or, worse, leave them for future managers," Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.
What is striking, as the president noted, is the other extreme: the existence of organizations where people barely earn 1.5 times the minimum wage: about Br1,100 after tax deductions. Across the country, there are approximately 150 such organizations (including educational centers, construction companies, and even a polyclinic), employing 7,000 people.
“How should we interpret this fact? Is it low-skilled labor, legalized slavery, or tax evasion and under-the-table salaries?” the head of state asked a question. He instructed that the situation at these 150 enterprises be studied and, where possible, people be transferred to other organizations. “And don't tell me now that there's a shortage of something somewhere. We have enough of everything, if only there were discipline and organization of labor,” the president said.
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