Natalya Timoshkina's comment "Facing Unemployment" (July 21) touched on a very important question. The monthly salaries ranging from $300 to $1,500 that she cites are indeed pretty normal in Moscow, even for unskilled or semiskilled employees these days.
However, if a company plays by the rules, the existing network of taxes, social security charges and other expenses easily doubles this amount, making a Russian employee far more expensive than comparable employees in other countries of the former East bloc or Asia, which are the countries with which Russia must compete for foreign investment. Moreover, it is hardly a secret that productivity here is often lower than in many competing countries.
I am afraid that Russia will again price itself out of competition in this very important aspect of developing a suitable business environment needed for any investor, regardless of nationality.
With wages like this, investors will concentrate on "job efficient" investments, thus increasing the problem of raising unemployment. Or they will decide, adding this to the other current obstacles for business in this country, to avoid Russia at all.
Joerg Boese
Moscow
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