Empowering Youth of the Public Servants Union

On August 3, George Sandul, Labor Initiatives legal director, and Inna Kudinska, a lawyer affiliated with Solidarity Center, held an online training session for Public Servants Union youth committee during the seminar called “Expanding Rights and Possibilities for Young Workers in Ukraine” supported by Swedish civil servants’ union Fackförbundet ST.

The seminar provided a platform for 25 participants from five war-affected regions of Ukraine (Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson) to strengthen the capacity of public servants unionists` networks, advocating for the rights of workers amid the war, and engage in discussions about the role of unions in promoting social dialogue and collective bargaining in the post-war reconstruction process. 

Inna and George gave an overview of labor law provisions adopted during martial law and the practice of their implementation, focusing mainly on simple ideas and tactics that may be helpful in the day-to-day work of union members. Young leaders expressed keen interest in the new law on collective bargaining as it would change collective negotiations requiring a proactive role of unions in it.