Canadian physicians used to receiving cheques from provincial ministries of health may want to ponder the situation facing Russian surgeon Yury Zotov. “He is used to being paid months late,” the Moscow Times reported in mid-May. “He is even used to being paid in goods. But something inside him broke when the hospital where he works offered him 3 tons of manure in lieu of back wages.”
The English-language Russian paper reported that Zotov, who is supposed to earn 1300 rubles (US$45) a month, had previously been paid with an assortment of products, including building materials, “but there was a limit to what he would accept.”
The mayor who proposed the partial payment defended the offer, pointing out that manure “is a needed commodity for every resident” that could earn Zotov up to 500 rubles. He blamed the inability to pay normal wages on a shortfall in taxes.
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Photo by: Hugh Malcolm