What will happen after the abolition of the living wage: the comment of social policy expert Andriy Pavlovsky

When it comes to the abolition of such a fundamental economic tool as the subsistence minimum, there are serious concerns in society about its impact on the most vulnerable categories of the population of Ukraine. The government is increasingly voicing the idea of ​​canceling the living wage, but do they realize the real consequences of such a step? Will this not become another opportunity for the authorities to manipulate social policy, depriving people of their legal right to minimal support?

Recently, the Ministry of Social Policy announced the possibility of canceling the subsistence minimum, noting that it will be replaced by a new social payment. This assistance will be calculated individually, depending on the composition of the family and household.

Andriy Pavlovskyi, expert on social policy issues, People’s Deputy of Ukraine of previous convocations stated, that the abolition of the living wage could lead to a significant reduction in government assistance to those who need it most. This indicator is currently used to calculate state support for vulnerable segments of the population, and its cancellation opens the way for the government to determine the size of social payments at its own discretion, based on available financial resources, rather than objective necessity.

As Andrii Pavlovsky notes, the rejection of the living wage will allow the government to arbitrarily set the amount of social assistance, which may depend solely on the state of the budget. Ultimately, this could leave the most vulnerable without the support they previously relied on.

“If the subsistence minimum is abolished, it opens the way to a significant reduction in the amount of social benefits. Now they are forced to calculate based on the size of the subsistence minimum, to rely on it.

If there is no subsistence minimum, the government will write numbers “from the ceiling”, if financial resources are available. Instead, the living wage is determined by law. In addition, state aid for vulnerable categories of the population will also decrease.” – the expert believes.

In addition, on his Facebook page, Andrii Pavlovsky drew attention to a surprising paradox: economic policy in Ukraine is developed by groups of experts from specialized centers known only to a limited circle of people.

“It is interesting that economic policy in Ukraine is developed by boys and girls from structures known to a narrow circle of interested persons. These are all kinds of centers of economic strategies and economic recovery.

I have a question, why do the prestigious scientific institutions of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine exist and what do they do? State institution “Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”
Institute of Industrial Economics
Institute of Demography and Quality of Life Problems of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
State institution “V.K. Mamutov Institute of Economic and Legal Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”
State institution “Institute of Market and Economic and Environmental Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”
State institution “Institute of Regional Studies named after M.I. Dolishnyi of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine”
Institute of Demography and Social Research named after M.V. birds
Transcarpathian Regional Center for Socio-Economic and Humanitarian Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Scientific and research center of industrial development problems.

I have not seen any appeals from scientists to Zelenskyi, Hetmantsev, Marchenko. I haven’t seen any loud statements about Hetmantsev’s Guscuba policy. Never heard of the war economy. They are silent about the schemes, they are silent about the allocation of the budget, they are silent about the policy of the NBU”, – wrote Andriy Pavlovskyi.

We will remind you that the subsistence minimum is a value estimate of the minimum set of goods and services necessary to ensure the basic needs of a person. According to the Ministry of Social Policy, the actual amount of the subsistence minimum per person in June 2024 was 3,023 hryvnias.

So, the question remains open: is the abolition of the living wage really a step towards economic stability, or is it just another way to reduce the state’s social obligations to its citizens?