Ukraine: PROFBUD starts campaign to get back workers’ wages

The BWI-affiliated Construction Workers’ Union of Ukraine (PROFBUD), in partnership with LabourStart, has launched a campaign to support workers at the KVARSYT defense plant, who have not received wages and been deprived of social security contributions for more than three years.

The state-owned enterprise KVARSYT, which is located in the Donetsk region, reportedly suffered a massive market sales loss as a result of the  military conflict in the East of Ukraine.

However, PROFBUD said that the management did not take appropriate measures to mitigate the negative impact of the company’s market loss. The union said that for the last five years, the company continued to pile up wage arrears and social security contributions debts. 

PROFBUD said that the Ukrainian government, from its President down to the “Ukroboronprom,” the state agency supervising the company, made no real attempts to address the workers’ concerns. At the moment, the company’s total debt amounts to more than UAH 47 million (USD 1.6 million), and is increasing every month. The dire situation is forcing the company’s workers to work with no salaries. 

“The payment of wage arrears to KVARSYT workers determines the survival of hundreds of workers and their families,” PROFBUD said. 

The union said that the Ukrainian Constitution guarantees that workers must receive wages in exchange for their labour. It asserted that this right must be guaranteed regardless of government policy and the economic performance of an enterprise. 

PROFBUD also said that the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Protection of Wages Convention No. 95, which was ratified by Ukraine, but largely ignored by the government, must be recognised and implemented. 

To support PROFBUD’s campaign, please sign the petition.