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Putin says wages of cultural workers to go up 30 prcnt in 2013

“I’d like to urge you to make everything this way,” Putin told members of the Presidential Council for Culture
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, September 25 (Itar-Tass) — Wages in the sphere of culture will go up 30% to 33% in 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday as he addressed a session of the Presidential Council for Culture.

“In spite of certain budgetary problems, we’ve decided to step up the financing of culture as of 2013 precisely in what concerns the increase of salaries in the total amount of 4 billion rubles /USD 1=RUB 32.5/,” Putin said. “This will help the cultural sphere to make a considerable step forward.”

He said the increases of cultural workers’ wages will prompt officials and executives to take more responsible steps towards optimization and restructuring, in which case wage rises may be even bigger.

“I’d like to urge you to make everything this way,” Putin told members of the Presidential Council for Culture.

He said warned however that wage increases will not embrace all the categories of workers, saying the government will take a decision on how much money should be added to what categories and where.

Still he hopes the government, which has the power to upgrade the wages, will give primary focus to those whose wages “are below the admissible at the moment” – the librarians and museum workers first and foremost.