1.   The federation says it also gives local construction companies more of a competitive chance against transient contractors who might win federal contracts by paying wages below the local standards.

2.   According to press reports, business leaders agreed to eliminate temporary contracts, often given to younger workers to avoid paying wage and health benefits.

3.   But it has rejected paying back wages for slave laborers, arguing the companies involved were responsible.

4.   In the campaign, both candidates blamed each other for delays in paying wages and pensions, plunging production and rising unemployment.

5.   The government has begun paying back wages to coal miners whose recent strikes helped send the Russian financial markets into a tailspin, news agencies reported Tuesday.

6.   When he was selected as Prime Minister in September, Primakov made paying back wages one of his top priorities.

7.   Yeltsin, meanwhile, has been shaking up his government and trying to project a forceful image on everything from the war in Chechnya to paying back wages.

8.   The government has also been set the task of paying wage and pension arrears of some seven billion dollars, and boosting industrial output.