At the same time, there is a tendency towards a decrease in wage arrears.
"In March, they decreased by 2.3 billion rubles, and in April - by another 1.5 billion," he specified.
In Alexander Zhukov's words, 24,000 organizations were checked over four months. About 10,000 heads of enterprises and officials were fined for delaying wage payments.
The vice-premier also said that there were no wage arrears to budget-sector workers in 85 regions of Russia.
Vladimir Putin remarked in this connection that "you must continue this work and actively cooperate with both state and private companies. They must abide by the law."
Vladimir Putin demanded that the Russian Federation's government should urgently examine issues related to the defense order and money allowances for servicemen.
To quote him, "the government is actively working on the budget now, and I would ask it to urgently examine issues related to the defense order and money allowances for servicemen."
Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said that these issues had been discussed at a Cabinet session Friday. The prime minister assured the president that "the relevant instructions have been given and this work will be continued."
Mikhail Zurabov, Russia's minister of public health and social development, said that this May 1,739,000 war veterans and former concentration camp prisoners would receive presidential money payments.
At the end of March, Vladimir Putin signed a decree, "On Measures Aimed at Improving the Material Situation of Some Categories of the Russian Federation's Citizens in Connection with the 60th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)".
In keeping with the decree, additional monthly payments will be established for war invalids and veterans of the Great Patriotic War, to servicemen who did not fight at the front, and to former concentration camp prisoners. Monthly payments to various categories of citizens vary from 500 rubles to 1,000 rubles.
In Mikhail Zurabov's words, work is being done now to revise and specify the lists of former adult prisoners of concentration camps, ghettos and prisons.
Vladimir Putin asked the minister to step up the solution of problems connected with payments to these categories of people. To quote him, "I ask you to promptly resolve this problem, so as not to entangle people in red tape making them visit one office after another."
