MINIMUM MONTHLY SALARY IN UKRAINE
BY ALEKS KRAVCHENKOMinimum monthly salary in 2011 is 985 UAH (USD 123) per month. Background information: Ukrainian currency is called Hryvna (though sometimes it is spelled like "Hryvnia"). While writing this article, a current rate of exchange between US dollar and Hryvna is: US $1 to 8 hryvnas (UAH), which means that for US $100 you will get 800 UAH.
When my girl friend heard a number that stands for minimum monthly salary in Ukraine, she said: "Good luck surviving on that little money!"
Retired people are pretty much struggling to survive because money they get from the government is a bit less than Ukrainian minimum monthly salary.
I remember one day when I was driving back to Poltava with a client from Canada whom I picked up at Borispol airport, in Kiev. And while en route to Poltava I asked him about groceries and how much they cost. I was surprised when he said he did not know how much they cost because he never pays attention to price labels. Well, here people who are getting paid a minimum monthly salary do take a notice of how much things costs.