On August 21, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted draft law №13388 “On Amendments to Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Organization of Labor Relations under Martial Law.” The law relates to the procedure for suspending collective bargaining agreements. The Chairman of Parliament signed the Law on August 29, but the President of Ukraine has not yet signed it.
In Law No. 2136 “On the Organization of Labor Relations under Martial Law,” adopted in March 2022 at the start of the full-scale invasion, there was a provision allowing an employer to initiate the suspension of certain collective bargaining agreement provisions during martial law. In practice, this has caused many unlawful situations with unilateral suspensions without any justification or consultation with the unions.
The newly adopted draft law №13388 aims to address the situation by amending the Law No.2136 with a rule that the employer may initiate the suspension of provisions in a collective bargaining agreement. Still, such suspension can only occur after the other party (the union) gives its consent. Additionally, after the law enters into force in three months, parties to the collective bargaining agreement are obliged to negotiate the possibility of restoring previously suspended provisions if they were suspended unilaterally by the employer.
On July 17, 2024, a new draft law No.11405, “On Amendments to Some Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Improvement of the Foreigners’ Employment Procedure in Ukraine,” was submitted to the Parliament.
On June 25, a group of MPs submitted a union-initiated draft law No. 11367 on amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Status of War Veterans, and Guarantees of Their Social Protection."
