No sooner had transport unions defended their employees’ right to strike than lawmakers buried it in a new draft law on collective labour disputes, which is to be made part of the future Labour Code.
Draft Law No. 12034 ‘On Collective Labour Disputes’ was registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 16 September 2024 and includes provisions that contradict the Constitution of Ukraine and international labour standards.
The Trade Union of Railwaymen and Transport Construction Workers of Ukraine categorically objected to these norms at the stage of drafting the bill.
Thus, Article 48 of the draft law establishes special conditions for employees of critical infrastructure enterprises, including transport. Collective bargaining agreements of such enterprises must define the mutual obligations of the employer and employees to perform the minimum required amount of work and services to be provided by individual employees (within their job function) during the strike.
The trade union insists that it is virtually impossible to determine the minimum required amount of work and services at enterprises, including transport.
This means that the transport strike will again be blocked for decades.
As a reminder, on 18.10.2022, the Law of Ukraine ‘On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on the Enforcement of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights’ amended Article 18 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Transport’, according to which a strike, previously prohibited at transport enterprises, may now be applied in accordance with the Law ‘On the Procedure for Resolving Collective Labour Disputes (Conflicts)’.
Thus, having barely complied with the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, lawmakers renewed their intention to restrict the right of transport workers to strike. So has Ukraine really chosen the path of European integration? After all, in Europe, the right of transport workers to strike is a powerful lever in negotiations between trade unions and employers. Therefore, a rule that makes strikes in transport impossible is not just at odds with European labour standards, it sets Ukraine back many steps on its path to the European Union.
Moreover, Articles 50-54 of the new draft law provide for another serious instrument of pressure on employees – the right of employers to lockout.
A lockout is a temporary full or partial suspension by an employer of the operation of an enterprise and/or restriction of access to workplaces for all or part of its employees (without termination of employment contracts) in response to a strike.
The Constitution of Ukraine defines the right of employees to strike, but there is no right of employers to lockout. This is justified, as the right to strike is granted to employees due to their position as a weak party. In order to equalise the parties to the collective bargaining process and mitigate the economic pressure of employers, employees have the advantage of being able to go on strike. The use of a lockout reduces this advantage to nothing.
Therefore, instead of creating an effective mechanism for resolving labour disputes, the legislator completely sides with the employer and deprives employees of their legal right to protect their labour rights.
