The government plans to call its first national referendum to seek public approval of an economic reform plan that could throw tens of millions of people out of work, Soviet officials said Wednesday.
First Deputy Premier Yuri Maslyukov told a news conference that the government believes it must have a clear indication of public support before instituting a program that will switch the country to a market economy. The plan is expected to double food prices and lead to massive closures of inefficient factories.No date was set for the referendum. "If the public refuses to consent to the price rises, then perhaps we will have to resort to round-table discussions," Maslyukov said.
There have been calls in the Soviet Union by reformist groups for such discussions with the government and the Communist Party to accelerate political and economic reforms.
The new plan sets target price increases for various sectors of the economy, including an 82 percent rise in energy prices, a 43 percent rise in retail prices and a doubling in the price of food, which is now heavily subsidized.
Deputy Premier Leonid Abalkin said the potential number of jobs that could be lost might be in the tens of millions, even under the slow, less-drastic response the government is recommending.
Maslyukov said if the Soviet Union had chosen Polish-style "shock-therapy" reforms that instituted the economic changes in only two years, unemployment could rise as high as 40 million.
The plan was approved by Gorbachev's advisory council on Tuesday and was to be presented to parliament on Thursday.