14 April 2000
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Tatarstan's Minimum Wage To Be Raised
Tatarstan's State Council Committee on Social Issues and Children and Youth Affairs discussed amendments to republican laws on minimum wages at its meeting on 13 April, Tatar Radio reported. A new minimum wage is expected to be introduced, according to the first two drafts of a law. The third one supposes that the average wage will be lifted to allow people to be able to earn a theorized minimum consumer budget. The minimum consumer budget currently equals 2,650 rubles a month in Tatarstan, while average wages in industrial jobs is 3,200 rubles, and in the rest of the economy about 1,900 rubles.
Republican Companies Restructure Debts To Moscow
Tatarstan's board of the Russian Tax Ministry has restructured some 800 million rubles worth of debts from more than 90 companies in Tatarstan that owe the federal budget, Tatar-inform reported on 13 April. More than 20 enterprises that also applied for debt restructuring were liquidated because of their insolvency. Of the 11 firms that owe the federal budget more than 20 million rubles, only the petrochemical company Nizhnekamskneftekhim was permitted to restructure its debts. The other requests, from such companies as Nizhnekamskshina, KamAZavtoagregat, Neftedor, Tattransgaz, and Tatneftegeofizika, are still being considered by Moscow. Tax Ministry officials have composed a list of 500 firms that owe over 1 million rubles to the federal or republican budgets and failed to apply for restructuring. The list will be sent to Tatarstan's Committee on Bankruptcy.
Tatenergo Switches Debtors Power Off
The press service of Tatarstan's energy monopoly, Tatenergo, reported on 13 April that an energy crisis currently plaguing almost all of Russia's regions hasn't hit Tatarstan yet due to the coordinated activities of the republic's government and the Tatenergo, Tattransgaz, and Tatgazinvest companies. It was reported that Tatarstan's government, however, will be unable to live up to the terms of an agreement with the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom because energy consumers in the republic still are not paying their debts. Tatenergo is currently owed more than 3 billion rubles by debtors. The company began on 12 April switching off the power of companies that owe huge amounts of money. The Bugulma china plant was the first to experience the blackout when it lost its power for more than an hour.
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova