An Inconvenient Question For The Authorities

The equation worked out, the culprit was found after all.

A surprising thing - Alexander Lukashenko praised the Europeans. But only to once again reproach the Belarusians for not working efficiently enough, writes "Salidarnasts".

- People from well-known regions came to us, ours started to say: well, how is it so. I say, fine, no migrants, it is strictly controlled here. But then labor productivity should be as high as in the European Union - 3-5 times higher," said the governor on June 9 at a meeting with the governor of Kaliningrad region.

Lukashenko added that Belarus has "the economy, which is inherent in the whole European Union," so domestic producers need to compete with European ones. And the state, they say, will support and make sure that the enterprises can take loans, produce the necessary goods and sell them "in our vast space in our Fatherland," as well as abroad.

At first glance, there is logic in Lukashenko's words. According to the calculations of the International Labor Organization, in 2024 our country will take only 71st place in the world - between Turkmenistan and Kuwait - in terms of labor productivity. On average, one working hour of a Belarusian is estimated by the ILO at $31.5.

In all neighboring countries of Belarus, this figure is higher: Lithuania - 39th place ($54.7 per hour), Poland - 47th ($48.8), Latvia - 51st ($45.7), Russia - 52nd ($44.3). Ukraine is not on the list.

On the other hand, in Pakistan, for whose labor migrants Lukashenko so much advocates, the productivity is abysmal: $7.2 per hour. In Azerbaijan - $26.5. In China, with which the regime is so eager to be friends - $19.8. And on average in the European Union - about $71, that is, not 3-5 times higher, as the ruler claims.

By the way, not so long ago his claims were not so tough - in April this year, Lukashenko said that labor productivity in Belarus was 2-3 times lower than in the EU. Did the Belarusians manage to get so "lazy" in a month, or does the ruler take the figures from the ceiling?

But another thing is much more interesting. Are the working Belarusians really to blame for the low labor productivity?

It's very difficult for Lukashenko's regime not to take the blame itself. After all, the lowest productivity is given by industrial giants - these are state enterprises, with a large number of employees and with salaries (at least in the bank of vacancies) much higher than the national average.

At the same time, these salaries are not supported by anything but the lack of personnel: domestic producers are not doing very well with the export of products, stocks are growing - that is, enterprises have no profits to pay their employees. And they can't raise prices for nothing - "thanks" to the wise decision of the government and personally citizen A. Lukashenko for the state control over prices.

Nobody will risk to stop unprofitable production - there is a plan for output. And by taking loans for it, they have to be paid back from something, but domestic goods, as we remember, sell poorly - and so on in a circle.

Moreover, the majority of state enterprises (as economists have repeatedly said) do not need such a number of workers receiving the very increased wages.

But for many years Lukashenko and Co. have been proudly telling about "saving" the production facilities and preserving jobs. And he continues to keep them afloat by subsidizing unprofitable factories and writing off their debts.

After modernization, domestic factories do not start working better for some reason, Lukashenko appoints managers to enterprises, as well as removes them, at the snap of his fingers, without any connection with their managerial competence - and then it turns out once again that the directors are full of corruptors, bribe-takers and swindlers.

Why, one may ask, why should labor productivity in Belarus grow under these conditions?

Oops. It seems that the equation has been solved and the guilty party has been found, but the Belarusian authorities will obviously not like the answer.

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