Mordovia finds vodka-diluted wages hard to swallow

The Mordovia Prosecutor's Office has determined that employes of several plants and organizations, most of them state enterprises in the Insar area, received some portion of their pay in vodka early this year. The findings were based on information provided by the State Labor Inspectorate for Mordovia, to which several persons complained, Rosbalt was told.

Under current arrangements in Mordovia, fulfillment and overfulfillment of planned collections of taxes on alcohol brings significant monetary rewards to localities from the republic treasury. As a result, local governments are interested in maximizing vodka sales in areas under their control. But residents of country areas prefer home-brew because it is cheaper. This has made fulfillment of the tax collection plan difficult for local administrations, some of which then began paying 10% of budgeted salaries in vodka. The names of eligible employes were supplied to stores, which then supplied the workers with vodka.

This is a violation of Article 131 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Nine administrative law cases have been prepared in the matter, and leaders of organizations and local governments now face administrative hearings and fines.