“Science is not poor there, it is strong”
The President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexander Sergeev, proposed raising the salaries of scientists in the regions to 300 percent of the average at the place of residence on Friday, speaking at a press conference dedicated to the results of the work of the General Meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Summing up the results of the outgoing year of Science and Technology, the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences stressed that this year has increased the prestige of the scientist, but it would be nice if this was supported by a decent level of funding for institutions.
So, when asked about the salaries of scientists, he replied that recently there has been a revival in society about this. “Probably, it is connected with the order of the government on the allocation of additional funds for the salaries of scientists in order to raise them to 200 percent, as previously promised, in all regions,” Sergeev said.
We are talking about a government order dated December 11 to allocate over 5.2 billion rubles from the reserve fund to increase the salaries of scientists.
“But now they come, and how to spend them?” – asks the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences. If money is allocated on the basis of ensuring the average salary of each employee of the institute, then further distribution within the organization, according to Sergeev, depends on the head of the scientific organization.
“On the other hand, the question arises: why should we determine the salary of a scientist depending on the region? – said the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences. – Scientific results are not measured by region. And the answer about the difference in the cost of the consumer basket does not pass … I think it would be right for the leading research centers in the regions, which have confirmed their high level, to receive 300 percent (of the regional average). Science is not poor there, it is strong. “
In conclusion, Alexander Sergeev said that it would be good if the regional authorities themselves could also allocate money for their federal institutions: “Some leaders say:” We are ready to allocate funds, we need this, “but the law does not allow yet.”
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