Doctors and teachers are holding a demonstration at Chinggis Khaan's Square, demanding pay raises of up to 60 percent, today. The demonstration comes just after the Labor Ministry and Finance Ministry made statements saying that salary increases were not possible in 2015-2016.

Today's demonstrators promised the attendance of 10,000 demonstrators but over 200  teachers from secondary schools and doctors from state hospitals attended.

The demonstrators held signs that read: “We demand a pay raise up to 60 percent", "We are not the nation's debt payers", "The cuts should begin with government spending", and "We want to live a good life at home“.

The teachers and doctors claim that they are paid an average of 500,000 MNT a month for their work, but these wages are not enough to make a living, and not enough to pay loans or housing leases.

The demonstrators said. "We are demanding a pay raise to cope with the present economic hardship. We will continue the demonstration if the government does not accept our demands. The government planned 500 billion MNT for salaries in the budget, but it is still uncertain where the money has gone.”

Some critics feel that it is not the right time to hold this kind of demonstration, when the government is planning 905 billion MNT in cuts and 15 percent layoffs of civil service workers.

The President of the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions, Amgalanbaatar, commented, “Never before has the government passed such a budget that missed social issues. There is no good way beyond a pay raise, so we will focus on this issue."