Russia plans to raise minimum wage by 18.5 pct next year

ST. PETERSBURG, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Russia intends to raise minimum wage by 18.5 percent next year, according to a bill submitted for public discussion on Monday at the portal of draft regulations of Russia.

The minimum wage in Russia is set at 16,242 rubles (about 182 U.S. dollars) per month. Russia's Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has drawn up a bill to increase it to 19,242 rubles (215 U.S. dollars)