One of the main reasons behind YABLOKO's demand to dismiss the Cabinet is the refusal of the government to increase wages to teachers and doctors. Such a statement was made by Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science Alexander Shishlov (the YABLOKO faction) at the parliamentary hearings (June 10, 2003) devoted to the problems of developing legislation on wages. "The Cabinet is deliberately postponing the resolution of these extremely acute issues, therefore parliament members should take the initiative into their own hands," said Shishlov.

Shishlov also drew the attention of the participants of the hearings to the fact that the Cabinet had only acknowledged due to the joint efforts by deputies and trade unions (in February 2003) that the draft project Concept for Wage Reform proposed by the Labour Ministry was unacceptable and that the transition to a sector-based principle for wages could not be performed without due financing, and that federal guarantees should be provided at a legislative level in addition to the minimum wage.

These are set forth together with other demands in the recommendations of the parliamentary hearings on the problems of the wages of teachers conducted by the State Duma Education and Science Committee on January 14, 2003. However, the authors of the recommendations prepared by the centrist factions of the Duma (from June 10, 2003) demonstrated their complete inability to resolve the problem. "United Russia" dared not demand from the Cabinet either federal guarantees on behalf of the state to provide wages to budget workers, or, most importantly, at least a two-fold increase in the wage fund in the federal budget for 2004.

"We cannot wait for mercy from the Cabinet and the pro-government Duma majority any more. We shall develop and submit to the Duma a draft law on wages for budget workers which will envisage minimum guarantees on wages for the most important budget sectors and will allow for a phased transition to a sector-based wage systems”, stressed Shishlov.

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