FES BRIEFING UKRAINE Trade Union Monitor September 2024 The Ukrainian trade union movement continues to op­erate in extremely difficult conditions caused by the Russian aggression and consequent limitation of rights. Meeting the population’s basic social and hu­manitarian needs has become a tough task, while campaigning for aligning working conditions with Eu­ropean standards looks almost impossible. In the past two years, employee associations have focused their activities mainly on supporting Ukraine‘s defenders and the victims of armed aggression. Despite being a loyal ally of the state in the fight against the invaders, a majority of unions are constantly subjected to legal and political pressure. The lack of social dialogue has aggravated the workforce crisis and hinders the de­velopment of socially acceptable recovery plans. POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FRAMEWORK The trade union movement in Ukraine is represented by the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine(FPU) and the Con­federation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine(KVPU), as well as myriad smaller associations. The conditions under which they operate are determined by the state of the labour mar­ket, in which relations between employees and employers are far from harmonious. Negative socio-economic phe­nomena are often directly related to the consequences of political decisions made without proper social dialogue. level of registered unemployment has reached a record low, and about 80 per cent of employers are complaining about a lack of labour. 2 Understandably, Russia‘s full-scale armed ag­gression has led to the disappearance of millions of jobs, but the number of vacancies has increased to pre-war levels be­cause of increased business activity in regions far from the front. 3 But positive trends in unemployment should be viewed critically, as statistics are distorted by policymakers. The number of people officially recognised as unemployed declined to 110,000 people as of 1 March 2024, and the number of applicants for vacancies is also falling. For com­parison, as of 1 March 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 490,000 registered unemployed in Ukraine. 4 Unfortunately, this situation is by no means a con­sequence of the state‘s effective fight against unemploy­ment. Rather, it is a result of the deterioration of unemploy­ment benefits. 5 In the case of men, the risk of being quickly drafted to mili­tary service also influences their reluctance to register at the employment centre. In reality, the Ukrainian labour situation is characterised by huge unemployment, but at the same time strong demand for workers. This is a signal of the dysfunctionality of the employment regulation model. The desire to save money on unemployment benefits brought short-term benefits to The employment sphere is characterised by contradictory trends and paradoxes. 1 On one hand, Ukraine has high actu­al unemployment(about 20 per cent) and a declining em­ployment rate(up to 45 per cent), but on the other hand, the 1 Kalashnyk, P.(2023): The paradox of the wartime economy. The labor market in Ukraine is a major crisis of personnel and unemployment at the same time. How business finds solutions. Forbes Ukraine. Available at: https://forbes.ua/money/paradoks­ekonomiki-voennogo-chasu-rinok-pratsi-v-ukraini-tse-velika­kriza-kadriv-ta-bezrobittya-odnochasno-yak-biznes-znakhodit­rishennya-08122023-17756. 2 Reshetnyak, V.(2024): Salaries, vacancies, AI: What the labor market will be like by the end of this year. NV Business. Available at: https:// biz.nv.ua/ukr/experts/zarplati-v-ukrajini-u-2024-kogo-i-de-shukayut­ta-chi-dopomagaye-ai-rezultati-doslidzhennya-50398723.html. 3 More jobs and more money: in May, the labor market crossed the 90,000 vacancies mark. Work.ua. 2023. Available at: https://www. work.ua/articles/analytics/3103/. 4 State Employment Center(2021) Labour market situation and activities of the State Employment Service in January-February 2021. Available at: https://dcz.gov.ua/sites/default/files/infofiles/ sytuaciya_na_rp_ta_diyalnist_dsz_robocha_syla_2021_rik.pdf 5 A number of restrictions: how unemployment benefits will change. Sotsportal. 2022. Available at: https://socportal.info/ua/news/ryad­ogranichenii-kak-izmenyatsya-vyplaty-po-bezrabotitce/ 1