Viktor Pinsky: “Trade Unions of the CIS Countries Propose Setting a Higher Minimum Wage Standard”
The minimum wage in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States should reach a level that ensures a fulfilling life for citizens, said Viktor Pinsky, deputy of the State Duma of Russia, Secretary General of the General Confederation of Trade Unions. According to the deputy, the minimum wage should be brought to the level of the minimum consumer budget.
“In almost all CIS countries, the minimum wage has increased tenfold over the past twenty years and reached the minimum subsistence level, for example, in Uzbekistan this figure has increased 195 times. Today, the unions of the Commonwealth have a new goal – to make sure that wages take into account real prices and living expenses in each specific country. Therefore, the trade unions are launching a new campaign, the purpose of which is to achieve an increase in the minimum wage to the level of the minimum consumer budget,” Viktor Pinsky said at a meeting of the GCTU Executive Committee, which took place in Moscow on December 8.
The CIS trade unions propose to recalculate the consumer budget so that it takes into account the real living costs in each country: high-quality food, an up-to-date range of essential goods and services. The size of the consumer budget should grow along with the prices of the goods and services included in it.
At the meeting of the GCTU Council, trade union leaders from 7 CIS countries – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan discussed the results of the campaign “Minimum Wage – to the Minimum Subsistence Level”, the goals of the campaign “Minimum Wage – to the Minimum Consumer Budget Level” and other relevant socio-economic topics.
GCTU News
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For trade unions, March 8 is not just a day of spring and renewal.
For trade unions, March 8 is not just a day of spring and renewal.
For trade unions, March 8 is not merely a day of spring and renewal. Above all, it is an opportunity to once again reflect on the role of women in the world of work and in global development as a whole. Today, women perform 55% of the world’s total labor. They work longer hours than men—by 6 to 13 hours per week—and still earn less: on average, women’s wages amount to 66–84% of men’s wages, depending on the country. There is objective evidence that the more a country values women’s labor and the smaller the gender pay gap, the more developed its economy. A special issue is the “invisibility” of women’s domestic and, as experts call it, reproductive labor. This is why trade unions should continue to fight for justice for working women.
I congratulate all women of the CIS, my colleagues in the parliamentary corps, and women in trade unions on International Women’s Day. I wish you justice, decent work, success, and prosperity!
Viktor Pinsky
General Secretary of the General Confederation of Trade Unions, Member of the State Duma
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General Confederation of Trade Unions Proposes Securing Trade Union Rights in Enterprise Bankruptcy
General Confederation of Trade Unions Proposes Securing Trade Union Rights in Enterprise Bankruptcy
The General Confederation of Trade Unions’ (GCTU) proposals are reflected in the draft CIS model law “On Cross-Border Insolvency and Bankruptcy.”
Trade unions must have the right to represent and protect workers’ interests in the bankruptcy of international companies, according to Viktor Pinsky, Member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and General Secretary of the GCTU.
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GCTU Launches International Educational Program “Regulation of Labor Relations Based on Social Dialogue Principles”
GCTU Launches International Educational Program “Regulation of Labor Relations Based on Social Dialogue Principles”
The program is designed for specialists and trade union activists involved in collective bargaining at all levels of social partnership. It consists of four modules and will include about two hundred participants from six countries.
The first module—a lecture session—will be held on March 3, 2026. Leading experts from the General Confederation of Trade Unions, educational organizations of four national trade union centers (Belarus, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, and Uzbekistan), and Lomonosov Moscow State University will deliver lectures.