A draft law “About Collective Bargaining Agreements” considerably narrows the scope of collective bargaining agreements. A copy of the law, issued by the Ministry of Social Policy, was sent by the Joint Representative Body (JRB) to the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU) for approval. The KVPU was not consulted during the preparation of the draft Law.
If the new law is adopted, national and territorial collective agreements will be liquidated, which could result in less protection for workers. The new bill also states that collective bargaining agreements are not obligatory measures, enabling the employer to reduce obligations and guarantees. Furthermore, the draft gives the employer the right to suspend implementation of a collective agreement for an uncertain period of time. The bill does not contain measures to hold anyone to account in the event of violations of a collective agreement.
Furthermore, it introduces language to weaken existing laws. For example, part 7 Art 65 of the Industrial Code of Ukraine is to be changed from “must conclude the collective agreement” to “can conclude”.