Ukrainian minimum wage

The Kyiv Post ran an interesting article today on the minimum wage in Ukraine - that covered an experiment run by the Ukrainian National trade Unions forum despite the fact that the "experiment" was flawed - costs vary across Ukraine and so 1 person from 5 different regions doesn't reveal much - it is still interesting. When one considers that the average pension is even lower than the official minimum wage - around $95 a month you can see that the situation can be very desperate for some.

However, one thing the article failed to mention is how people with this money normally "survive"

1) Most students or young adults live with their parents - minimum wage but no rent or utilities. If they have left home, having gone to the city to work often their parents are often sending them products - potatoes, cottage cheese, etc.

2) most people would try to pick up extra jobs and work.

3) for the pensioners - they have their own apartments normally and they don't have to pay for public transportation. They still must pay for utilities and these prices continue to go up as the government can't afford to subsidize them. The costs are still far from the real value.

If you are unlucky enough to not have an apartment and to not have family who can send food or help out -- you do have a very dismal life indeed.

The article was very accurate on the quality of food - the average shopping bag would be cheap meat - like hot dogs, probably some buttermilk (kefir) which would be a meal replacement, and bread. Potatoes and oil are a must.