The State Duma abolished the indexation of civil servants' salaries

The State Duma of Russia adopted in the first reading a bill on the abolition of indexation of salaries of civil servants in 2015. Its action extends to civil servants, military personnel and persons equivalent to them, judges and prosecutors.

The bill also provides for the indexation of social payments and benefits only at the level of 5.5 percent - that is, in line with the inflation rate that was predicted before the start of the economic crisis in Russia.

• In February, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov proposed to abandon the indexation of social payments and public sector salaries in 2015. According to him, such a decision would allow "to ease the budget of the current and subsequent years."
• Director of the department of long-term strategic forecasting of the Ministry of Finance Maxim Oreshkin said that the indexation of wages and social benefits only leads to an increase in inflation. “Following the rise in prices, budget expenditures, salaries, social payments begin to be indexed, and this leads to the fact that inflation becomes permanent. Moreover, as practice shows, the indexation of the same social expenses and salaries does not really protect, but only leads to a serious deterioration of the situation, ”Oreshkin said.