Market relations have led to substantial changes in wages, the mechanism of legal regulation of remuneration has changed significantly, and there are many difficulties and problems, unresolved issues. In this regard, according to the author’s intention, the article determines the legal regulation of wages in comparative-legal aspect, analyzes the concept, nature and the general state of wages in Russia and other CIS countries, taking into account the principles of work organization, consistently analyzes the shortcomings of remuneration of labour in Russia, because wages are still undergoing through some turmoil (unjustified super-differentiation in wages, low level of wages of most workers and the minimum wage). The aim of this work is the study of the legislative regulation of wages, development of recommendations on improvement of certain provisions on payment for labour in the Russian Federation. Taking into account the fact that in the wage regulation in the labor code and the labor codes of other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) there are many achievements and successful solutions to many pressing issues of remuneration, and also the fact that that the application of the comparative method allows identification of existing problems and contradictions, the article studies the most important areas of restructuring of the legal organization of wages in the Russian Federation and other CIS countries, as one of the key regulators of the market economy.