In accordance with Article 133 of the Labour Code of the Russian Federation, the minimum wage is established simultaneously on the entire territory of the Russian Federation by a federal law and cannot be lower than the subsistence level of the working population.
However, implementation of this clause is postponed by Article 421 of the Code, which stipulates that the procedure and timeframe for the gradual increase of the minimum wage to the subsistence level shall be established by federal law.
According to the procedure for the annual adjustment of the minimum wage, it is equal to the nationwide minimum subsistence level of the working population for the second quarter of the previous year.
From January 1, 2018, the minimum wage was set at 9,489 rubles per month, or 85 percent of the minimum subsistence level for the second quarter of 2017.
The draft federal law proposes raising the minimum wage to the minimum subsistence level of the working population, setting it in the amount of 11,163 rubles per month, as early as May 1, 2018, which will meet the requirements of the Labour Code of the Russian Federation.
Enforcement of the new legislation will affect three million people, of which 1.6 million are employed in state and municipal institutions.