KIEV, March 18 – President Viktor Yanukovych has instructed Deputy Prime Minister and Social Policy Minister Serhiy Tyhypko to take steps to eliminate wage arrears in the country.

Yanukovych met with Tyhypko on Friday and discussed virtually all of the most pressing social issues facing the country, the presidential press service said.

"...UAH 1.2 billion in wages still haven't been paid to the public. And there is a relevant instruction of the president that we should speed up and improve efforts to pay wage debts and avoiding such debts in future," Tyhypko said after the meeting.