Yanukovych: Increasing salaries is one of the priorities of social policy

At the meeting with trade unions’ representatives the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych suggested joining the European initiative to declare 2010 as the Year of Fighting Poverty.

The President has emphasized that now it is important to elaborate a complex plan of development of Ukraine. First of all this plan should concern improving social standards, pensions, allowances to the disabled, poor, etc.

"Fighting poverty shall be a core task for our joined actions", Viktor Yanukovych said, presidential press office reported.

Among the primary objectives of social policy Viktor Yanukovych named raising salaries. "This is a task for all of us. The Government should not save on the citizens or solve its problems at their expense", said the President.

Viktor Yanukovych also stressed the importance of solving the problem of “shadow salaries”. "We must ensure legal payment of salaries. Based on this principle the process of raising pensions will begin. We should not have lower pensions and salaries than in other countries", he said.

"We set ourselves a task to raise salaries, being well aware that without this the Pension Fund cannot be filled and other sectors of economy will not work", Viktor Yanukovych said. The President also added that social insecurity and low salaries cause the growth of crime.

Separately, President Yanukovych pointed out urgent issue of providing the youth with jobs and young families with housing.

"A broad social dialogue should become a part of new government’s ideology and main instrument of the state policy", stated Viktor Yanukovych.