Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

World Video | Defence | Foreign Affairs | Natural Events | Trade | NZ in World News | NZ National News Video | NZ Regional News | Search

 

Ukraine: ITUC Concerned About Wave Of Regressive Labour Laws

The ITUC has written jointly with the ETUC to senior politicians in Ukraine to raise serious concerns about ongoing regressive labour reforms in the country.

Several draft laws are being considered by the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) that are incompatible with international and regional labour standards, which has been confirmed by several reports, including by International Labour Organization (ILO) in the country.

The letter to the president, prime minister and chair of the Verkhovna Rada, explains that in their current form, draft laws 5388 and 5371 contain numerous violations, including:

  • excluding working people in medium and small enterprises from the protection of the general labour law;
  • a lack of safeguards to ensure work contracts comply with minimum labour standards;
  • the ability of employers to abuse the system and use successive fixed-term contracts;
  • a lack compatibility with requirements to guarantee working time, rest periods, minimum daily rest, overtime and leave.

ITUC General Secretary, Sharan Burrow, said: “The officials in Ukraine must not ignore this serious criticism of these laws that comes directly from the ILO technical assistance programmes, including with the European Union, which the government benefits from, as well as from labour law experts and Ukrainian unions. The draft laws are simply not compatible with international labour standards.

“We call on the government and parliament to respect these standards, to fully utilise ILO expertise and assistance, and sit down with the Ukrainian social partners to work on this together and ensure that all working people benefit from economic, social and democratic change in Ukraine.”

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Meanwhile, the Verkhovna Rada recently adopted the law “On Stimulating Digital Economy Development” despite strong criticism by Ukrainian unions. The law establishes a special category of “gig-specialists” and special “gig-contracts” that create the conditions for exploitation. The changes deprive IT workers of pay guarantees, rights to holiday, regulated working hours, safe working conditions, protection against unlawful dismissal, and the rights to join a trade union, strike and conclude collective agreements,

The ITUC Global Rights Index rates Ukraine as 5 – no guarantee of rights for working people.

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
World Headlines

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.