OREANDA-NEWS. April 08, 2013. Vice Prime Minister Oleksandr Vilkul has held a teleconference on redemption of arrears of wages.

"There is a phenomenon, which is worse than any natural disaster. Some leaders of enterprises are not thinking about the people who need to feed their families. Wages have to be paid on time. Government will find a mechanism to call them to account," Oleksandr Vilkul said.

"For three years from March 2010, wage arrears decreased by 44% - from UAH 1 billion 737 million to UAH 978.6 million. Government increases control over observance repayment schedules," Oleksandr Vilkul said.

The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Vitaliy Belousov, Minister of Social Policy Nataliya Korolevska, Infrastructure Minister Volodymr Kozak, Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Eduard Stavytskyi, Minister of Industrial Policy Myhailo Korolenko, all the leaders of the regions, as well as heads of major enterprises-debtor.

Since the beginning of the year wage arrears at enterprises, which are controlled by the central executive bodies, decreased by 2.6 mln. (0.6%) and is 457.3 mln. This is 47% of the total arrears of wages in the country.

"Ministry should review the effectiveness of managers, who are subordinate to him. If required to do personnel conclusions, said Oleksandr Vilkul. - It is necessary to increase the efficiency of state-owned enterprises, it concerns the development of new markets, the introduction of modern technology, more competitive".

Since January 1, 2013 wage arrears at economically active utilities declined by almost 20% (7.3 million UAH).

As of March 29, 2013 there are no wage arrears of public sector employees.

"Timely payment of wages is under constant control of the Government. It should be ensured effective communication between the central and regional authorities, business representatives. For 2011-2012, courts have considered and appropriate decisions on criminal cases in 1305. Now law enforcement authorities investigated 1505 criminal proceedings relating to the late payment of wages. The state protects the interests of workers. Wages must be paid on time," Oleksandr Vilkul said.