Real wages in Ukraine in July 2019 increased by 9.5% year-over-year, while compared with June 2019 increased by 2.4%, the State Statistics Service has reported.
According to the service, the average nominal wage of full-time employees in July 2019 compared with the previous month increased by 1.7%, in annual terms – by 19.6%, reaching UAH 10,971.
The authority said that in June 2019 it amounted to UAH 10,783, in May – UAH 10,239, April – UAH 10,269, March – UAH 10,237.
According to the statistics department, the largest increase in the average wage of full-time employees in July 2019, compared with July 2018, was observed in Vinnytsia (24.8%), Mykolaiv (23.7%), Donetsk (23%), Kyiv (22.9%), Cherkasy (22.3%), Zaporizhia (22.1%), Dnipropetrovsk (21.8%), Rivne (21.6%), Ternopil (21.5%), Volyn (21%), Khmelnytsky (20.6%), Luhansk (20.2%), Chernivtsi (19.8%), Kharkiv (19.5%), Chernihiv and Sumy (19.1% each), Ivano-Frankivsk (18.6%), and Kherson regions (17.7%).
The highest level of wages in July was recorded in Kyiv city – UAH 16,249, and the lowest – in Kherson region (UAH 8,547). Meanwhile, the average wages of the employee in Donetsk region totalled UAH 12,010 and UAH 9,291 in Luhansk region (except for temporarily occupied territories).
In July 2019 compared with the same month of 2018, wages increased the most in agriculture (25%), industry (24.7%), administrative and support services (23.8%), in the field of IT and telecommunications (23.1%), in transport, warehousing, postal and courier activities (by 22%), building (20.7%), healthcare (20.7%), financial and insurance activities (18.5%), in the field of temporary accommodation and catering (18.1%), arts, sports and recreation activities (17.8%).
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 29/08/19
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of August 29
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
The group for the preparation of the first meeting of the newly elected Verkhovna Rada has voted on the agenda of the first session of the parliament for the period of consideration of organizational issues of the first session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the ninth convocation. The first working meeting of the parliament will begin with the formation of a temporary presidium of the first session of the Rada. Then, Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman will announce the resignation of powers by the Cabinet of Ministers in front of the new Verkhovna Rada.
After that, parliamentary factions and groups will be formed. Then the issue of a coalition of deputy factions (a deputy faction that has coalition rights) will be resolved.
The accounting commission of the parliament, its chairman, first deputy and deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada will be elected.
Next, an extraordinary message from President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on the internal and external situation in Ukraine will be heard.
MPs also intend to dismiss the head of the Security Service of Ukraine and appoint a new head of the agency, to resolve the issue of giving consent to the dismissal from office by the president of the prosecutor general of Ukraine and the appointment of a new prosecutor general.
Ukrainian businessman Ihor Kolomoisky has proposed to increase the iron ore production royalty from 8.8% to 75%. “… If you export raw materials [from the country], then give back at least 75% from $80 per tonne – this is $60, and keep $20,” Kolomoisky said in an interview with the Censor.net ezine.
According to the businessman, these current royalty rates stimulate the export of raw materials.
“However, there is a second option – don’t sell ore right away!.. Produce steel – you have capacities, and instead of loading enterprises you reduce capacities, because now it is easier for you to sell ore, and not engage in production,” Kolomoisky said.
In addition, he stated the need for nationalization of the largest enterprises and the development of mineral resources.
“For the salvation of Ukraine, the universal nationalization of large state-forming enterprises plus the nationalization of the deposit development, that is, in several sectors, we need state capitalism,” the businessman said.
Lawyers are working on a possibility of waiving Ukraine’s debts to the Russian Federation or Russian companies as part of the execution of decisions of international courts in lawsuits won by Ukraine and Ukrainian companies from Russia regarding the loss caused to Ukraine in Crimea, one of the initiators of the litigations and former owner of PrivatBank Ihor Kolomoisky has said.
“Lawyers are working now to ensure that Ukraine’s debt, for which Ukraine is suing… there are billions of dollars in obligations to the Russian Federation, or, for example, $110 million for Tatneft, perhaps after a victory in the courts it will be possible to legally waive them. It is not an easy task, but it is being implemented,” he said in an interview with the Censor.net ezine.
According to him, an alternative to such debt repayment is the work of seizing Russian assets abroad.
Kolomoisky recalled that he was the first to sue the Russian Federation because of the damage suffered as a result of the annexation of Crimea, but now such disputes in international courts are initiated by Rinat Akhmetov’s companies, state-owned PrivatBank and Oschadbank.
