We, Ukrainians, are all living in a state of war. Along with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrainians are facing another threat: since March we have also experienced a full-scale attack on the labour rights of all working people in Ukraine. This is, unfortunately, one of the dominant narratives of the present day, unabated in recent years.
Clearly, after 24 February 2022, the labour sector could not remain in its former state and had to change and undergo reforms. Nobody in their right mind would insist on the same working conditions as before the war and the full rights and guarantees they were entitled to up till then. For entirely logical reasons, practices employed before the onset of the war — such as strikes and peaceful assembly — are now prohibited.
In March, at the very start of the war, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) passed a new law ‘On the Organisation of Labour Relations During Martial Law’, which unfortunately meant that certain extreme forms of liberalisation of labour rights became a legal reality. This law, in fact, contained very few provisions conducive to strengthening the defence capabilities of the state during a war. However, it did include several provisions which fundamentally undermined the labour rights of those who had been working at the frontlines since the start of the invasion. In particular, the proposed ‘suspension’ of the employment contract. According to this concept,...
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