Ukraine: Zelensky signed the law No. 5.371, another total madness and a crime of power
ByOleg Vernyk – president of the Ukrainian Independent Trade Union«ZahistPratsithe consent for the strike must be granted by half of the labor collective and only economic demands can be presented
At this moment in Ukraine and the world, the public learned that President Volodymyr Zelensky, signed the anti-worker and anti-union law No. 5.371, voted by the Parliament of Ukraine on 19 July 2022.
We already wrote that thisbill removed workers from companies with less than 250 Labor Code workers. And these companies represent more than 80% of the total. This anti-popular law deprived workers of the opportunity to enter into collective contracts with employers., transferring the entire scope of labor regulation to individual employment contracts. When collective labor contracts, in accordance with the current labor legislation of Ukraine, unions celebrate them, authorized labor groups and employers.
The destruction of collective labor agreements for the overwhelming segment of Ukrainian companies is not only blatantly neoliberal and anarchic in relation to wage labor, but it is also a violation of a series of international conventions of the International Labor Organization (OIT). This will also give employers the impetus to break up large companies as much as possible., in many smaller ones to also remove them from the Code of Labor Laws and reliable state protection of labor rights. We are well aware that the content of individual employment contracts, in a situation of massive unemployment caused by Russian armed aggression against Ukraine, It will depend solely on the will of the employer. In the current situation, Workers will be forced to accept the worst working conditions, even the most draconian and inhuman. further, Employers have received the right to terminate individual employment contracts at any time and without explanation.
The approved bill has deprived unions of the opportunity to block the dismissal of workers and union activists who fight for workers' rights in companies. Now any attempt to protect workers' labor rights will be immediately punished with the dismissal of activists, while unions are already deprived of the right to protect them.
The article 22 of the Constitution of Ukraine clearly indicates that when amending existing laws, It is not allowed to restrict the content and scope of existing rights and freedoms. Nevertheless, the oligarchic clients of this bill did not care about the requirements of the Constitution and the rights of wage earners.
I want to point out that Ukrainian and world trade unionism and the left tried to prevent the adoption of this neoliberal and anti-labor law with a united front. The bill was strongly opposed by the International Trade Union Confederation (CSI) and the European Trade Union Confederation (CES). Even by the AFL-CIO, that very rarely reacts to this type of situation in different parts of the world. Our International Socialist League (LIS) has also madeefforts to collect protest signatures of politicians and union leaders in many countries around the world. Nevertheless, Zelensky rudely ignored the opinion of the world community and signed the law, which was initiated in parliament due to its political strength, headed by one of their hateful leaders, Galina Tretyakova.
It is clear that our labor struggle will continue. And it is also obvious that, with this step, the neoliberal authorities dealt themselves a devastating blow, undermining the basic democratic principles of labor law, attacking rights, social and labor freedoms of Ukrainian workers. In the context of the continuity of Russian military aggression, the neoliberal policy of the Ukrainian authorities is complete madness, a crime against the people and the working class.
