Ukrainian trade unions reported in June 2014 that they faced constant attacks against their leadership and members by nationalist radicals. A meeting of the Presidium of the FPU national trade union centre was interrupted by a crowd seeking to intervene in the meeting, while in the Verhovna Rada, the Ukranian Parliament, a resolution was tabled seeking an investigation into the union’s activities and especially the use of the properties of the union. For many years there have been attempts to confiscate buildings, holiday and health resorts to make the work of the unions more difficult and to seize on prime real estate. The resolution in the Rada accused the unions of having relations with the past government, now considered to have been criminal. The unions underlined that they have relations with governments and employers in order to defend workers’ rights.
The most worrying developments, however, have been in Eastern Ukraine with continued interventions by armed groups in the internal affairs of the unions. This included, notably, attempts to bring the Federation of Trade Unions of Lugansk Oblast (FPLO) under the control of the self-proclaimed leaders of the “Lugansk People’s Republic”. FPLO officials were told, at gunpoint, to convene a meeting of the Federation to disaffiliate from the national trade union centre FPU and were threatened with reprisals if they took part in FPU meetings. The KVPU national centre also reported violence and intimidation against its members and officials in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.