ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses emergent features of pay in Russia which are strongly associated with immature and volatile market structures. It identifies profound inequities in national income distribution, absolute poverty across much of the working population, and a 'systemless' approach to the determination of pay, which rests virtually unilaterally in the hands of management. A prerequisite for the reform of pay in Russia is clearly the generation of funds at enterprise, and at national, level upon which to base pay enhancements. In both state and privately owned sectors of the economy, a chronic problem experienced in post-communist Russia has been the non payment of wages. Liberalization of pay has also been associated with the emergence of a 'topsy turvy' hierarchy of occupations from a Western perspective. The issue of discrimination and 'equal' pay is becoming pressing as deregulation of pay has clearly disadvantaged certain groups, particularly women and older workers.
