Money on hold: salary debts in Russia have tripled
Wage arrears in Russia tripled at the end of the first quarter of 2025, according to a report by the General Confederation of Trade Unions (VKP). With reference to official data, they note that at the end of 2024 it amounted to 0.5 billion rubles, and by the end of March it reached 1.5 billion. However, according to the trade unions' own calculations, it was significantly higher in the first quarter — 2.4 billion rubles. Rostrud is verifying information from trade union organizations, the agency told Izvestia. They noted that the monitoring includes indicators on the debt of liquidated enterprises, and may also contain already repaid or significantly reduced debts.
What is the salary arrears?
Salary arrears in Russia at the end of March 2025 increased significantly and became a record, according to a report by the General Confederation of Trade Unions (Izvestia has it).
"In 2025, the problem of timely and full payment of salaries is getting worse in a number of countries," the document says. — So, in Russia, mainly in the manufacturing sector, in March 2025, wage arrears increased threefold compared to December 2024, reaching 1.5 billion rubles, according to statistics, and 2.4 billion rubles, according to trade unions," the document says.
By "statistical data" we mean the calculations of Rosstat. As of January 1, 2025, the amount of debt amounted to almost 508 million rubles. At the end of May, it turned out to be more than 1.6 billion rubles (an increase of 3.4 times compared to the corresponding period of the previous year). This amount is the maximum since 2020, when the amount of salary arrears amounted to 2.1 billion rubles, according to the report. In 2021 — 1.6 billion, in 2022 - 0.8 billion, in 2023 — 0.6 billion.
According to the trade union report, the increase is explained by the lack of working capital at enterprises and difficulties in obtaining loans due to high interest rates from banks.
In Rostrud, Izvestia was informed that they had received data from trade union monitoring, which contains information on 71 organizations with a total debt of about 2.4 billion rubles.
"A reconciliation of the information received is currently underway," the department said. — It should be borne in mind that monitoring includes data on the debt of liquidated enterprises, as well as debt that has already been repaid or significantly reduced at the moment.
The real fact of the debt is established by the state Labor Inspectorate during control and supervisory measures and the analysis of primary documents, the department noted. In five months of 2025, according to the results of inspections, the rights of over 117 thousand employees have already been restored.
"We also remind you that since March 2025, interdepartmental commissions have been working in each subject of the Russian Federation to monitor the situation with payments, including tracking the facts of debt, the reasons for their occurrence and offering comprehensive solutions to eliminate debts," Rostrud said. — We expect that due to the work of such commissions together with state labor inspections, prosecutor's offices, industry departments and employers themselves, they will be repaid as quickly as possible.
The report of the CPSU was based on data from the statistical services of the CIS countries and research from national trade union centers. As follows from the document, salary arrears in Tajikistan as of March 1, 2025 increased by almost 20% compared to the same period in 2024, exceeding 33.1 million somoni ($3 million). It mainly related to enterprises in the extractive industry, agriculture and transport.
And in Uzbekistan, as of January 1, 2025, overdue salary arrears amounted to almost 293 billion soums ($23.1 million), the bulk of which accounted for large companies in the oil, gas and geology sectors. As of February 1, 2025, the total debt in Kyrgyzstan amounted to 94.2 million soms (more than $1 million), which is 6% lower than the same indicator last year.
According to the results of the second quarter, there are no trade union data for Russia yet, but, as follows from their operational monitoring, the debt for April is estimated at 911 million rubles (which is less than Rosstat data), however, it notes that there are no figures for a number of enterprises that appeared in the monitoring for March. The situation is similar with May, where the trade unions estimated the amount of debt at 834 million. But their monitoring notes that there is no data on six companies where salaries have not been paid for two months, two where they have not been paid for five months, and one where they have not been paid for four months. In addition, there is no data on a number of companies that are in bankruptcy.
Where are the highest debts
According to trade unions, the debt volume in Russia is highest in the new regions: in March it amounted to more than 1.3 billion rubles, and in May — 561 million, but the decrease may be explained by unreleased data.
In March 2025, DSK LLC from the Tver region, working in the field of road construction, was listed among the non—paying salary leaders. As noted in the document, the company owed 608 million rubles to 3,657 employees. This company is not included in the operational monitoring in May. Izvestia tried to contact the company, but they did not respond to calls. According to the Rusprofile database, the company is currently acting as a defendant in 48 arbitration proceedings totaling almost 930.3 million rubles. Analysts note that a sharp increase in lawsuits against the company may be an indicator of counterparty problems and the risk of liquidation or bankruptcy.
Inskaya Mine LLC is in the process of bankruptcy. The company is located in the Kemerovo region and is registered in Novosibirsk. In March, it owed 65 million rubles to its employees. In May, the Federal Tax Service (FTS) imposed interim measures on 11 of the company's property. In the May monitoring, it is noted that the trade unions have no data on whether the debt owed to employees has been repaid.
LLC Rassvet from the Tula region, which operates in the field of catering, owed its employees 36 million rubles in March. The company is also in bankruptcy. Currently, bailiffs have 59 enforcement proceedings against this organization in the amount of almost 37.5 million rubles.
And in the May monitoring, one of the anti-leaders was Energotekhservice LLC from Bashkiria, which was engaged in work in the field of electrical installation. The company has now been liquidated, but debts, according to trade unions, remain.
In the Yaroslavl region, the highest salary arrears, according to data for May, relate to the liquidated trading company Ruskhleb — this is 49.3 million rubles. In May, another 21.7 million was owed to employees of Kaliningrad Enterprise Era Shipbuilding JSC, which is in the process of bankruptcy.
Dmitry Pischalnikov, Vice President of Opora Russia, chairman of the Committee on Efficient Production and Productivity Improvement, recalled that at the end of May 2025, the largest wage arrears were recorded in construction - about 776 million rubles, in manufacturing — about 200 million rubles, in the field of water supply and waste disposal — more than 150 million rubles.
— According to the regional distribution, the most tense situation is recorded in the Ural Federal District, as well as in the Siberian Federal District. These are industrial territories with a high proportion of enterprises dependent on borrowed funds and government orders, which makes them particularly vulnerable in the face of harsh financial policies," Dmitry Pischalnikov said.
The expert noted that in 2024, the Federal Labor Inspectorate recorded more than 18,000 complaints from citizens about wage delays — 37% more than in 2023. In 2025, this trend continued: in February alone, the number of referrals increased by more than 2.3 times compared to the same period last year. In his opinion, this trend will continue.
— The largest number of complaints are received from employees of small and medium-sized enterprises, including organizations working on government orders or focused on the domestic local market. A significant increase in complaints was recorded from employees of the construction industry and manufacturing enterprises, especially in remote regions," Dmitry Pischalnikov said.
Why is the debt growing
Debt is a consequence of a lack of working capital among enterprises, says Natalia Kazantseva, associate professor at the Department of Economic Policy and Economic Measurements at the State University of Management.
"The high key rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has made it impossible to replenish it with credit funds, and payments have to be made first for loans already taken out and obligations to the budget," she said.
Dmitry Pischalnikov called the situation not only the result of cash gaps, but a consequence of a combination of acute macroeconomic factors: a high key rate, the strengthening of the ruble to 80 rubles per dollar, which reduces the ruble earnings of exporters, and interest rates on corporate loans, which in 2025 are at the level of 22-25%. He called inflationary pressure another factor.
— Annual inflation in May 2025 was 9.88%, which significantly reduces purchasing power, increases costs and at the same time does not allow enterprises to compensate for costs by increasing prices. Yields are falling and liabilities are rising," he said.
Independent expert Andrey Barkhota called the situation an "existential challenge" for companies.
"Costs are growing faster than revenue," he said. — Most businesses have loans at floating rates. With a record key interest rate, the monthly payment on company debts may increase by 30-70% compared to 12-18 months ago. As a result, businesses are faced with a diabolical choice: to allow salary payments to be delayed or loans to be serviced late. But the latter may permanently close financing opportunities in parallel with a credit rating downgrade. As a result, enterprises are more often forced to allow delays in payment.
Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global, noted that we should not forget about the overheating of the labor market.
"Enterprises experiencing a shortage of qualified personnel were forced to raise salaries in order to lure or retain employees, especially in regions with active industry," he recalled. — However, in the context of dwindling demand and stagnation in a number of segments, salary obligations are beginning to put pressure on operating budgets, which leads to the accumulation of debt.
What is the threat of non-payment of wages
Salary delays are especially painful for employees — people are forced to take out loans to feed their families and pay off their rent, Deputy Secretary General of the CPSU Margarita Usova told Izvestia.
"For help from trade unions, employees need to contact primary trade union organizations, branch trade unions, their organizations in the regions, or national trade union centers," she said.
Depending on the amount and duration of wage arrears, financial, disciplinary, administrative or criminal liability may be applied to the company and its management, Denis Bushnev, adviser, head of Labor Law and Data Protection practice at Stonebridge Legal, recalled.
"As a rule, the parties prefer to resolve this issue peacefully," he said. — For example, by gradually paying off debt with interest payments. Interest is accrued daily, starting from the day following the day on which these amounts should have been paid.
For example, with a debt of 70 thousand rubles, the amount of the sanction will be approximately 38 rubles for each day of delay, added Mikhail Merkulov, Candidate of Law, director of the KSK Group Organizational Development practice, expert in behavioral personality analysis (CPBA).
In addition to financial liability, fines from 5 to 50 thousand rubles are also possible, and even criminal penalties of up to three years in prison for the head of the enterprise, said Oleg Grinev, senior associate at the labor law practice at the Central District Law Firm.
"Especially if we are talking about a long delay in payments," he stressed. — When an enterprise goes through bankruptcy, its employees acquire the status of creditors in relation to the organization.
During this procedure, according to him, wages are paid to them as current payments, that is, as a matter of priority, before the claims of creditors who were in arrears before the bankruptcy proceedings began are satisfied.
In the absence of property and funds from a bankrupt employer, all debts, including wages, are terminated, that is, they are forgiven, Mikhail Merkulov added. The only chance of recovery remains through bringing the employer's beneficiaries to subsidiary responsibility.
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