Among other issues, the social dialogue partners discussed and approved a joint statement of solidarity with Ukrainian employers, trade unions and workers in the hospital and healthcare sector.
The health workers’ union is negotiating with the Ministry of Health, the Ukrainian Federation of Health Employers and the Joint Representative Body of All-Ukrainian Representative Trade Unions on a new five-year agreement to cover the period up to 2026. A draft has been prepared covering some of the main issues including sustainable development of the sector, working conditions and work-life balance; job protection; health care; social protection, cultural needs and guaranteeing the activities of trade unions. The main challenge will be to resolve issues around pay and the union is looking to
The HWUU health workers' union met with the Ministry of Health to express its serious concerns about the situation facing health staff. It had five main demands for action in relation to provision of personal protective equipment (PPE); compulsory testing of medical professionals for COVID; remuneration (in case of emergency, overtime, etc.); insurance (to equate the work of workers in emergency conditions to the participants of hostilities); and the arrangements for commuting to work. The union has set up a hotline to support its members who face problems at work in relation to COVID-19.
On 17 October, around 20000 trade union members from both private and public sectors marched through Kyiv city centre and blocked the government quarter. The main demands of the demonstration were for investment in industry for decent jobs, raise the minimum wage to help stop emigration, not to increase utilities prices, for the state budget to allocate the equivalent of 7% of GDP to education and 5% to healthcare, to urgently pay outstanding wages to more than 100,000 workers and to stop state’s takeover of trade union property and respect trade union rights.
The Service and the State Employees’ Union of Ukraine (SEUU) has signed a new three-year agreement covering the protection of labour, social and economic rights of border guards. The agreement aims to improve working conditions, professional development, training and skills. It also covers health and safety, wages and working time. The SEUU sees this as an important agreement covering more than 7,000 workers in around 50 units.
The FPU trade union confederation has called a demonstration outside parliament on 6 December with a number of key demands on the government. These include: setting the minimum wage at the level not lower than the real living wage (UAH 4023); setting the basic wage of a worker in the lowest pay grade at the level above the minimum wage; settling all outstanding wage arrears by the end of the year; reducing utilities prices; ensuring the right to affordable and quality health care and preventing any curtailing of existing worker and trade union rights in adopting a new Labour Code.
The Health Workersù Union of Ukraine (HWUU) organised a major protest outside the national parliament on 19 September focusing on pay, healthcare funding and against the commercialisation of the health system. The union called on the government to respond to the labour dispute registered by the union last year and to deal with urgent issues around unpaid wages and failure to properly implement the agreed pay system. The union was also calling for increased funding for the sector and other initiatives to improve health provision. EPSU sent a message of solidarity.
The Health Workers' Union of Ukraine has called a national demonstration on 12 September in protest at the government's failure to respond to a labour dispute raised by the union last year. The union is claiming a general rise for all healthworkers as well as resolution of an issue relating to highly skilled workers' pay. The demonstration will also highlight the need to increase health sector funding and will protest against government plans for restructuring and to cut hospital beds.
(June 2016) The union for National Academy of Sciences Workers organised a demonstration outside the parliament on 15 June call for a major increase in spending on science spending. The union points out that, according to the final provisions of the Law on Science, such funding should be 1.7% of GDP by 1 January 2020, but last year it was only 0.3% of GDP, and this year is 0.2%. The lack of funding is having a direct impact on science workers and if there is no increase then employees of the National Academy will either have to go on unpaid leave or work part-time. This is part of a long
