fighting against the Russian military invasion and for their workers’ rights
Women take to the mines
More than two hundred women currently work at the Bilozersk mine in the Donetsk region, nearly fifty of them in underground jobs. The number of miners at the coal-fired power station has fallen due to the mobilisation of men. The greatest shortage is now among underground miners, as well as drivers of underground installations and electric locomotives, and electrical fitters. Women are helping to meet the needs of these professions.
Hanna Dzhezhelova worked for seventeen years as a nurse in a hospital in the mining town of Bilozerske, Pokrovsky district, Donetsk region. When the staff were made redundant, she went to look for a new job. “After staying at home for a year without work, I went to the mine, thinking that maybe something suitable would turn up.” “I went down, I looked – here I have nothing to lose, I’m out of work. Since then, I’ve gone down to the mine almost every day, where I stay until 8 o’clock. I work in shifts. Before that, there were only men here. I’m the only one to have gone down into the mine on this site”, says the minor.
A total of 249 women work at the Bilozerska mine, 46 of them in underground jobs. This represents around five per cent of the total number of employees involved in underground work,” explains Vitaly Vilkhovy, Director of the DTEK at the Bilozerska mine, noting that the women began working underground at the start of a large-scale invasion, when the men left to defend the country.
The company created conditions that met women’s needs: separate showers were installed, and work clothes and shoes of appropriate sizes were purchased.
According to the President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of the Donetsk Region, Dmytro Zeleny, the shortage of personnel in the mining sector in the Donetsk region ranges from 20 to 30 per cent.
19 August 2024
Lviv University: dormitory or barracks?
The dormitories at the National Forestry University in Lviv are currently being refurbished. Our activists have therefore decided to familiarise the new arrivals with their rights, the plans for repairs to the dormitories, estimates and other documents relating to life in the dormitory.
Because of our attempts to inform NLTU students, we were simultaneously banned from the local [university] Telegram chat and the caretaker was ordered not to let anyone into the dorms. The students were more sympathetic towards us and therefore pointed out a number of other problems, including the fact that the management had recently ordered us to accommodate four people per room: “Absolutely all the rooms will be occupied by four students”. Previously, only 3 people per room had been living in the dormitory rooms for years, and this innovation caused outrage.
We decided to ask the management for clarification on the size of the rooms. It turned out to be 18 square metres. This means that there are 4.5 square meters per person in the room, which is a violation of health standards and the law.
We then reported the situation to Vice-Rector Yuriy Tsyntylyuk, who was not aware of the law. We asked for measures to be taken to find new places and build new dormitories, to which he replied that it was “unpatriotic” to ask for new dormitories in wartime.
On the same day, the administration found nothing better than to oblige each student in the dormitory to sign an agreement in which he or she undertook to “live with other people who could be accommodated with me beyond the standard per square meter”. Such an agreement is a flagrant violation of these regulations and has no legal value. The image opposite shows what this arbitrary declaration looks like.
It is easier for the administration to put ten people in a room or evict someone than to spend money on creating new places. Whether further steps will be taken to build new dormitories depends on the students themselves and their involvement in the life of the university.
29 August 2024
Priama Diia (Direct Action)
Wage arrears
In 2024, wage arrears in Ukrainian companies increased considerably.
According to the Ministry of Justice, as of 6 August, more than 34,000 cases of non-payment of wages had been registered and 1,872 companies had been recognised as debtors.
In 2024, these debts increased by a further 7.1% on the previous year.
State-owned enterprises and joint-stock companies top the list of debtors, accounting for 33.8% and 28.8% of all debts respectively. In third place are limited companies – 14.2%. Subsidiaries and utilities account for 12.5% and 4.3% of debts respectively.
In addition
The rise in prices of food, beverages and tobacco products is particularly notable, with prices up by 14.0%. Among food products, the leaders in terms of price growth were meat and dairy products.
The rise in product prices is reflected in inflation, which accelerated in July 2024 to reach 5.4% year-on-year in Ukraine, although compared with June, monthly price growth has come to a halt.
mapping of wage arrears
Kyiv: expulsion of students from dormitories
[this is not the first time this poses this problem] In September 2022, students of the Kharkiv Academy of Arts in Lviv were expelled from dormitories overnight which our comrade Katya Gritseva – here after 2nd statement of Priama Diia of the day plt]
The lack of places in the dormitories of KNU University – Kyiv
This problem has been around for a long time, but now it is becoming even more serious. The number of students from outside the city [refugees in Kyiv], especially those on scholarships, is increasing every year, while the number of dormitories is decreasing. That is why the KNU administration has come up with a rather radical solution to the problem: the expulsion of graduates from the “Bachelor” BA. In other words, a graduate who wishes to continue his master’s studies at KNU cannot keep his place in the dormitories and must find accommodation within a short period of time.
It can be seen, therefore, that after the expulsion of bachelors, there is still a catastrophic lack of places in dormitories, even for grant recipients. According to the public information provided by the University regarding the number of applications submitted for dormitories this year, we have 2,141 people. Of these, 965 are scholarship recipients, who should be placed on priority; 1176 are without scholarship. It can be seen, therefore, that after the expulsion of bachelors, there is a catastrophic lack of places in dormitories, even for grant recipients.
The only solution to this problem is the construction of new dormitories.
The latest information on the construction of new dormitories was published at the beginning of 2022, when 108 million hryvnias were allocated from the state budget for KNU for the construction of a new 420-room complex. However, there is no further information on this project, nor any updates on its construction. The question then arises: How is the University using the budget allocated to it by the state?
The answer can be found in one of the articles of the publication “Zaborona.” It turns out that there are 49 business centers and residential buildings planned on the territory of the KNU, instead of which the same student residences could easily be built. As the publication points out: “Ukrainian legislation prohibits the transfer of public land into private hands. In other words, a university or academy does not have the right to build, but can act as a client. In this case, the university does not have the right to build anything and the developer promises to transfer something to the university. “I don’t know,” he said.
This creates a vicious circle, where the university says it’s hoping for investment and is supposedly not involved with the developer. And the developer, in turn, says it’s just the executor of an application, so it’s really not clear if the university simply doesn’t have the capacity to build new dorms, or if it’s just a very profitable activity for it.
29 August 2024
Priama Diia (Direct Action)
A workers’ and union army
The Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU) and its regional sections and organizations, local sections try to help their comrades who are now at the front. On the day of the national flag, a representative of the 54th separate mechanized brigade named after Hetman Ivan Mazepa [a hetman of the Cossacks of Ukraine] visited the central office of the KVPU, with whom the deputy head of the Kyiv municipal organization of the KVPU, the head of the main organization of “Protection of Justice” maintain constant contact and, also with volunteers [soldiers] trade union.
Our friend went to his military unit with the necessary items at the front – a laptop and a charging station, which were given to the soldiers by KVPU activists, as well as assurances of support and help in the future.
The defender, on behalf of his military unit, thanked the trade union activists and handed over the flag of the 54th Mechanized Brigade separate from the name of Hetman Ivan Mazepa as well as the honors of the brigade to KVPU President Mykhailo Volynts.
Together, we are one force!
We are closer to Victory!
August 28, 2024
KVPU
Mariupol: Russian workers protest
The residents of Mariupol have repeatedly complained about the “repairs” suspended by the occupiers. The Russian workers simply abandon unfinished houses whose roofs are “open” and have no windows. The reason for this is that the developers have stopped paying them for their work. The Russian workers are outraged, they have not been paid for 6-7 months. They say they have already appealed to the Moscow authorities, but in response they only receive promises. The occupiers have already brought more than 30,000 Russian migrants to the city. They understand that this is cheap and illegal labor, which can be “abandoned” at any time, because they have no rights.
At the same time, Russian entrepreneurs are taking advantage of “repairs” that are “abandoned” and “unfinished,” and putting money in their pockets through schemes of bribes. Mariupol has been transformed into a place of corruption and disorder.*
September 3, 2024
Mariupol City Council (in exile)
Thanks to the military trade unionist
The Chervonograd regional association of the Independent Miners’ Trade Union of Ukraine, together with the main branches of the NPGU that form part of it, are providing ongoing assistance to the military units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the anti-terrorist defence units that are defending our country from the Russian invaders and in which their former members are currently serving as other miners.
Miners from the Lviv region continue to provide assistance to the military units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and land defence units that are defending our country from the Russian invaders and in which their former fellow miners are currently serving. Activists and leaders of the NPSU, who are part of the Chervonograd Regional Association of the Independent Miners’ Trade Union of Ukraine, are constantly taking part.
The miners of the Lvivvugilya state enterprise recently entrusted another “mavik” to aerial reconnaissance. This is in addition to the seven that the soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces received from the miners on the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day.
3rd September 2024
KVPU
Support to the purchase of ammunition for defenders
The regional union of the Independent Union of Miners of Western Donbas, in collaboration with the administration of PJSC “DTEK Pavlogradvugil,” continues to participate in the implementation of a joint initiative aimed at issuing certificates for the purchase of ammunition to mobilized workers. This project has been possible precisely with the direct participation of the unions.
« Beaucoup de nos syndicalistes défendent déjà le pays et continuent de rejoindre les rangs des Forces armées ukrainiennes”, a souligné le chef de l’association régionale du NPGU du Donbass occidental Yuriy Kryvoruchko. Il est important pour nous de prendre soin de ces personnes de toutes les manières possibles. C’est pourquoi, outre l’assistance directe à nos soldats, nous participons également à des projets communs. Nos militants sont également impliqués dans d’autres initiatives, notamment auprès des anciens combattants qui retournent à la vie civile. Nous continuerons à faire tout notre possible pour que nos mineurs sachent toujours qu’ils peuvent compter sur notre soutien.»
3 septembre 2024
KVPU
Against the dismissal of the postwoman
In the village of Velyka Vyska in the Kirovohrad region, the postwoman’s job has been abolished. For this reason, the post office manager, Valentina Shevchenko, wishes to resign. According to the head of the post office, her workload will increase after the postwoman’s disappearance, but not her salary. She said that she had received an order from the Director General of Ukrposhta to dismiss the postmistress in August. Valentina Maslyanikova had been working as a postwoman for 23 years. She served 250 people every day. Her salary is five thousand hryvnias [€109]. There are two thousand inhabitants in the village, 500 of whom are over 60. These people desperately need mail. 40 local residents opposed to the reduction in the number of postmen gathered near the only branch of ‘Ukrposhta’ in Velika Vyska. According to Olena Hrachova, they fear that the post office will be closed.
People are collecting signatures against the dismissal of the postmistress. “Every year, the number of public services decreases,” said one resident. The nearest post office to Velika Vyska is 35 kilometres away. According to Iryna Krochak, if the postwoman is sacked and the post office is closed, local residents will block the motorway near the village.
4 September 2024
Bilkis halts food distributions
Feminist group Bilkis announces this morning that it is stopping the distribution of free meals it was organizing in Lviv on Sunday morning. The main reason is that “the main members of the team, Ivanka and Oleksiy, have decided to enlist in the army.”
Dear friends,
We have some news for you – in September, our weekly vegan lunch gifts will be canceled.
It was a difficult decision, but there are several reasons for it. The most important is that the main members of the team, Ivanka and Oleksiy, decided to enlist in the military. In addition, the cooking place was the apartment of the project coordinator, which she was no longer able to rent. And the rest of the Bilkis team does not currently have sufficient resources to continue fundraising campaigns and reorganize the project.However, we want to remember how, for more than a year, we went out in the rain, heat and snow to help people with vegan food and other resources in the Shevchenkovskyi district of Lviv. And that’s not all:
Visitors to the food station found friends in the queue while they waited for their meal.
They were able to count on our emotional support during and after the distribution – for example, someone figured out how to send messages on their phoneThanks to our help, many people discovered the world of delicious food without animal exploitationIt helped spread social activism in Lviv.We are at least happy that there are still hot food outlets in Lviv and that people who need it have a place to eat.
The stove and blender we collected will continue to serve other good causes.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the project!
We appreciate you, we love you and we embrace you!
September 8, 2024
2nd Priama Diia (Direct Action) Congress
This summer has not only been a period of relaxation for us, but also an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and skills. As well as the Lviv Free School, delegates from our union’s university organisations met at the General Congress to discuss their work plans for the new academic year, develop a more effective structure for our union and gain valuable experience through workshops and conferences.
The second Direct Action Congress saw some important organisational changes. On the basis of the experience of our comrades abroad, in particular the Polish trade union Workers’ Initiative, we decided that the Congress of Delegates was the highest decision-making body and agreed on the main guidelines and general plan of activities. If necessary, a General Assembly will also be convened to consider the decisions. The executive body of the Congress, the Coordination, which will implement the decisions of the Congress, was elected, as was the Control and Audit Commission, which will monitor the work of the Coordination.
To a large extent, these changes are the result of a critical re-examination of our internal processes and problems, which have been described by a number of experienced campaigners (referring to Joe Freeman in The Tyranny of Structurelessness). Our internal work is now more transparent, more rational and more democratic.
It will now be easier for our members to fulfil their potential in a variety of areas, including document management, finance, the media and legal matters, as well as with the sectors responsible for the general development of the union, the adaptation and training of new arrivals, problems in the dormitories and the fight against various forms of discrimination.
In the absence of developed bodies of public autonomy, joint discussions on the question of votes and collective creativity have helped to develop forms of organising democratic processes among our members. This day-to-day reproduction of grassroots democracy is particularly important in the context of strengthening civil society, on which the future of Ukraine depends.
Our congress was not only an opportunity to share the experience of the student struggle in different parts of the country, but also a great opportunity to find like-minded people for common actions and to inspire each other to face new challenges.
Thank you all for your active participation in the Congress!
Together, let’s stay on course for change!
8 September 2024
Priama Diia (Direct Action)
Be like Nina in Parliament
On September 4, 2024, a meeting was held with the Chairman of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Public Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance, Mykhailo Radutsky. The meeting was initiated by representatives of Nina, Oleksii Chuprina and Oksana Slobodiana. The topic of the project of medical autonomy and the problems of the nursing staff of Ukraine were discussed. The most pressing problem is the workload of intermediate and junior staff and the loss of qualified staff (nurses who suffer excessive workload are dismissed with no future prospects).
So we have received answers on the issues of autonomy [of hospitals], but on the issues of medical staff, everything seems very complicated. The authorities acknowledge and understand the problems, but do not plan to solve them. However, the quality of services for the patient directly depends on the hospital’s provision, the necessary equipment and, above all, on a sufficient number of staff who will do their best to avoid complications.
9 September 2024
Be like Nina
Lviv: 6000 miners received their March salary!
Many persistent calls, meetings and even a protest action organized by the unions working at the Lviv State Coal Company, especially with the active participation of the Regional Union of the Independent Union of Miners of Ukraine in Chervonograd and the primary branches of the union gave the first results.On Thursday, September 5, the company received the first tranche of funds due for sales made before April and the employees finally received their unpaid wages for the month of March and part of the wages for the month of April.
“I hope that these important changes will be the first among others,” said the president of the Independent Union of Miners of Ukraine, Mykhailo Volynets. Because today there are many problems in this sector. More than 2 billion hryvnias of wage debts to miners of state-owned coal companies. 300 million hryvnias more to uranium miners of SE “Shid GZK” September 9, 2024
KVPU
Bombings: workers must be protected
In the last seven months, 275 deaths have occurred in the workplace, half of them war-related. Among the causes of these tragedies are sudden bombardments in border areas, failure to heed air warnings and inaction by employers to protect their staff.
These are the findings of the latest issue of the magazine Labour Protection (https://ohoronapraci.kiev.ua/…/mi-silni-tomu-so-mi-razom). The editorial’s main leitmotiv is to persuade employers to take all appropriate measures to protect the life and health of their employees. Many company directors fail to take the necessary measures due to a lack of resources or deliberate passivity, resulting in increasing loss of life and property.
The Social Movement fully supports the responsible position of the editorial committee, which raises the issue of the social causes of injury and loss of life and cannot allow employers to blame everything on the war. As you will see, at least 50% of workers’ lives are lost through the fault of their employers. This situation can be remedied by drawing up even stricter labour protection rules, in line with martial law: no work without fallout shelters, earmarking of profits to improve working conditions, extended powers for labour inspectorates, even to the point of closing down businesses to prevent unnecessary losses.
In this magazine, an article by a Social Movement lawyer criticises the pension authorities for refusing financial assistance to infrastructure workers injured by the Russian attacks for far-fetched reasons. The State must treat with respect those who risk their lives most after those who defend Ukraine!
The life of a worker is above all else!
13 September 2024
Sotsialnyi Rukh (Social Movement)
Improving the living conditions of soldiers
The independent Ukrainian Union of Miners in Western Donbass continues to help its colleagues who, due to a large-scale attack by the Russian aggressors, were forced to change their work clothes for military uniforms.Recently, union representatives organized a new trip to the front. They brought tools, camouflage nets, medical and hygiene products and other things necessary for a soldier’s life. The fighters were particularly pleased with the washing machine, which this time was brought to them, among other things, by the miners.Comme d’habitude, les volontaires de l’Association régionale du NPSU ont remis aux défenseurs des produits alimentaires à conservation longue et à cuisson rapide, très utiles dans des conditions de combat difficiles.
Meanwhile, activists of the NPGU miners’ union of Western Donbass and its main branches are preparing humanitarian aid for upcoming trips to the front line.
KVPU
17 September 2024
The KVPU is categorically against the introduction of the lock-out
A national-level meeting of the KVPU was held by videoconference. The meeting discussed the position of trade union organisations on the draft Ukrainian law “On Collective Labour Disputes” (Regulation No. 12034) and related bills… At the Verkhovna Rada [Parliament] on 16 September, a group of people’s deputies led by Galina Tretiakov proposed draft legislation on collective labour disputes… As representatives of the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU) pointed out, the most unacceptable aspect of the draft legislation is that it legalises the employer’s right to lock out employees. The draft also proposes to limit the number of members of the body “authorised” by the employees to lead the strike, and those who do so, in the event that the court declares the strike illegal, will be obliged to compensate the employer for the damage caused by such a strike in an amount specified by the court, and a warning strike can only take place once and for only 2 hours. In view of all these proposals and others no less anti-popular, the KVPU categorically opposes their adoption.
20 September 2024
Maternity ward being destroyed in the Khmelnytskyi region
In the town of Derazhnya, in the Khmelnytskyi region, the director of a local hospital has decided to close the maternity ward in violation of the law. Without consulting the staff, he has taken a decision that could result in 19 medical workers (women) losing their jobs and deprive the people of Derazhnya and neighbouring districts of adequate medical care.
Last year, the community had already defended this service, and this time the problem arose because of the absence of a neonatologist – the director is accused of not having wanted to find a replacement for the doctor who left on maternity leave. For this reason, the service will not receive funding.
“Our priority is the development of the hospital. As for the director, either he allows us to work in peace, or he cannot be the director of our institution, because there are no development objectives or at least stability on his part” stress the members of Be like Nina.
The care staff say that closure due to a temporary problem is a crime against the community! The staff are asking for public support and demanding an internal investigation into the director’s actions.
24 september 2024
Be like Nina
State budget 2025 does not provide funds for the repayment of arrears of wages of miners
According to the document submitted to the parliament on September 15, 3.1465 billion hryvnias are planned to support the coal industry through the bill No. 12000 “On the state budget of Ukraine for 2025”.The declared volume of expenditures should ensure:
– partial compensation of the costs related to the payment of salaries of employees of state coal mining enterprises and their mandatory payments related to their payment (the Ministry of Energy provisionally plans to cover 45.9 of the labor costs of the monthly budget and the expenses payable);
– continuation of measures of closure and liquidation of unprofitable coal mines;
Expenditures not included in the 2025 state budget for:
– repayment of debt for payment of wages (as of September 16, 2024, according to the Ministry of Energy, the debt to miners of operating state mines amounts to UAH 1,592 billion);
The Independent Union of Miners of Ukraine (KVPU) rightly noted that the accumulation of more than UAH 2 billion of wage debt to workers of state mines is not only an abnormal phenomenon, but a criminal phenomenon. Therefore, the Independent Union of Miners of Ukraine will raise this issue at all levels and will strive to obtain repayment of debt owed to miners and ensure the development of the coal industry.
September 24, 2024
KVPU
The state budget does not provide for an increase in teachers’ salaries in 2025
According to the Union of Education and Science Workers, in the draft state budget for 2025, the amount of the educational subsidy necessary to pay the salaries of educators in schools is set at the same level as 2024.The union notes that the amount of the educational subsidy “does not take into account the legislative guarantees regarding the level of salaries of teachers.” Currently, the minimum salary of teachers is only UAH 6,080, compared to UAH 24,000 guaranteed. Therefore, the current salary of a teacher, fixed at the level of the 9th grade tariff, is UAH 17,920, which is 3.9 times less than the amount guaranteed by law, the union says.
September 24, 2024
The army says it wishes not to limit the rights of mobilized citizens
The Volyn Recruitment and Mobilization Centers (TCC) will create special places where conscripts can meet their lawyers if necessary. This was reported by the National Association of Lawyers of Ukraine. The organization of lawyers claims that such a decision was taken by the military command after a meeting with its representatives. The TCC believes that this practice will have a positive result. Previously, the TCC of Volyn criticized the intervention of lawyers in the processes of mobilization and passing to the military medical commission. However, in a letter to the National Association of Lawyers of Ukraine, the army stressed that it has no intention to limit the rights of lawyers or to deprive citizens of their constitutional right to legal protection in any way.
“We understand that lawyers play an important role in protecting the rights of citizens and that the mobilization process, like any other state procedure, must take place with respect for the legal rights and freedoms of citizens,” says the TCC letter.
September 24, 2024