“Socialny Rukh” (Social Movement) initialized the petition demanding the President of Ukraine to veto bills No. 5161 and No. 5371. The first law deprives employees of a stable income, and the second allows for unjustified dismissal.

In these two laws, deputies voted to legalize zero-day contracts and permitted depriving up to 70% of the country’s workforce of the protection guaranteed by national labor laws.

The latter measure means that the national labor code no longer applies to workers in small and medium-sized enterprises. Instead, each worker is invited to sign an individual agreement with their employer. The laws also remove the legal right of unions to veto layoffs in the workplace.

Considering the situation in the Ukrainian IT sphere these laws turn every affected worker into a figurative cash cow for both government officials and business owners.

As a labor law expert Vitaly Dudin stated in a comment for OpenDemocracy, the reform is a step toward precarisation, since entire categories of workers can lose their earnings. According to the Cedos expert Natalia Lomonosova, these bills aren’t approved by the Ukrainian society, which is inclined toward social democratic views. Former European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills, and Labour Mobility László Andor states that the passed laws do not meet EU standards.

European left-wing activists and union organizations created a change.org petition with demands to veto dangerous reforms for workers, and are collecting signatures at the moment.

“Withdrawing this law will ease the burden of millions of Ukrainians who are already suffering from the brutal Russian invasion, and thus will strengthen their resistance to it”, the initiators state.

How cutting the workers’ rights can help the situation at the frontline is a mystery. But it is clear how it can help individuals behind the frontlines to preserve and grow their wealth.

We urge you to support your colleagues and sign the international petition. The only way to peace is through solidarity and mutual assistance.

The crisis spares no one. Employees feel the biggest blow. Join a union to protect yourself!