Youth Platform “The Lake of Knowledge” 2.0

From August 30 to September 2, Labor Initiatives co-sponsored a union camp for 85 young activists from the Nuclear Power Plants Workers Union (Atomprofspilka), who represent over 20% of the union’s total membership.

Like in 2024, the camp was held at White Lake, near Varash, a satellite town of the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant.

The main goal was to gather members of youth councils to establish and enhance networks among all nuclear power plants operating in Ukraine and related energy facilities. Many union leaders were elected in wartime and needed an overview of union functioning and an explanation of the ABCs of organizing and union positioning among workers.

Participants engaged in various workshops and roundtables, including reintegration of war veterans into civil life, union structuring, union positioning, video editing, and legal sessions.

Labor Initiatives lawyers Kateryna Shvets and Alina Antonenko led a series of workshops featuring hands-on activities on an overview of Ukrainian labor law during martial law, in particular the current legislation regarding collective agreements and the new law that will take effect six months after the cancellation of martial law.

They also presented a comprehensive analysis of the collective bargaining agreements in the nuclear energy sector at both the sectoral and company levels.

*This event is part of the program “Trade Unions Fighting Inequality and Reconstructing Peace and Democracy in Ukraine”, implemented by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) in partnership with the NGO Labor Initiatives, with financial support from Norway.