Ukrainian businesses and utilities faced an unprecedented personnel crisis after the full-scale invasion of Muscovites began. Due to mobilization, vacancies have not been filled for months.
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…Lutsk, six o’clock in the morning, passing a German factory that makes electrical networks for cars. Several soldiers, accompanied by police, check the registration documents of men leaving the night shift and leaving for the morning shift. Some are let through, some are issued a summons to the army recruitment center.
This plant, like many others, has already lost its workers in the Russian-Ukrainian war. But mobilization continues, and the plant continues to lose workers.
Five men are currently working with Sergey Kochubey on his farm (Volyn). In the last week, two of them were drafted into the army, and in total, four of his workers are already fighting.
24-year-old Bogdan Glum works as a tractor driver for a farmer. Before that, the guy went to Poland to earn money, but returned because he found work at home. He says that until he is called to the army, he will work in the field.
To support the agricultural sector, the government extended the period of reservation from the mobilization of workers, but not more than half of the military-liable men in a particular farm.
Neighboring Lviv is one step away from transport collapse. They are looking for 90 tram and trolleybus drivers and 120 municipal bus drivers. The city has decided to teach women to drive for free.
The shortage of drivers is forcing trucks traveling abroad to stand idle.
We have 46 vehicles, – says Viktor Berestenko, owner of the logistics company OOO Inter Trans Logistics. – Of these, only 20-30 are working because there is no one to drive. Some drivers have gone abroad, leaving our trucks there and do not want to return. Some panicked after the adoption of the law on mobilization and quit. The work of our company is paralyzed.
Due to mobilization, Ukraine will launch a national program to train women to drive trucks, said Deputy Minister of Transport Serhiy Derkach.
Factories risk shutting down
During the war, the shortage of personnel turned out to be perhaps the most acute problem among those faced by the Ukrainian industrial company Interpipe (a manufacturer of pipes and railway wheels), – says the company’s page on the social network. – Now there is no shortage of people at the level of 12%, and in some production areas – 25%.
There are several reasons for this. This includes the departure of people abroad due to military actions, and the mobilization of workers (more than 10% of their total number). In addition, there remains a natural turnover of personnel, which existed before the war. And since May, an additional risk has emerged – the strengthening of mobilization legislation, especially the acute situation in Nikopol.
Currently, Interpipe is working to solve this problem in several areas: training new employees, outsourcing, attracting women to production, working with young staff, said Vitaly Pakhomov, the company’s HR director.
There is also a shortage of workers at construction sites. Over two years, the number of officially registered workers in the construction sector has decreased by 25.4%, according to the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine.
Construction company managers plan to attract migrants. One developer in Ivano-Frankivsk expects about 50 workers from abroad to arrive in June. The company currently has 35 projects. The developer needs masons, concrete workers, and assistant masons and concrete workers.
Construction companies are looking for labor in Moldova, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Foreigners are not mobilized and builders can plan their business for a longer period.
74% of companies in Ukraine are experiencing a shortage of personnel, according to a labor market study conducted by the European Business Association. In autumn 2023, this figure was at 55%.
The labor market has recently resembled a deserted desert: there are fewer candidates every day, competition for vacancies is constantly decreasing, – this is how analysts from one of the job search portals assessed the situation with the labor force in Ukraine.
The situation is also affected by the fact that between 5 and 7 million people left Ukraine because of the war.
For 60% of employers, finding qualified workers is the number one problem. The main reason is the lack of personnel due to mobilization. This is indicated by the results of a survey by the Ministry of Economy, published in early June.
We reserve from the army
Meanwhile, five bills on “economic protection” from mobilization have been registered in parliament.
One provides for the employee’s reservation if the employer pays 20,400 hryvnia (500 euros) of military tax per month. The second provides for reservation with a high “white salary”, the amount of which must be at least 36 thousand hryvnia. Another one combines the salary criteria with the payment of military tax of more than 20 thousand hryvnia.
In July, two more bills on “economic reservation” of workers for 20,400 hryvnia were introduced to the Rada. Enterprises must meet the following criteria:
- pay a single social contribution of more than UAH 40,000;
- have a staff of 10 or more people.
In this scenario, up to 50% of conscripts, military personnel and reservists at the enterprise may be reserved.
The bill on economic reservation is planned to be put to a vote in the Verkhovna Rada by the end of the month, said “servant of the people” Dmitry Natalukha, head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development, for the podcast “What’s with the Economy.”
The relevant committee will determine which bill will be submitted to the Rada in a few weeks.
Natalukha noted that the main model of economic reservation today is the reservation of workers for 20,400 hryvnia of additional military tax per month.
Such reservation does not imply a link to salary and profession. At the same time, the applicant for reservation should not have tax debts, he explained.
In addition, if the employer is a sole proprietor, he can also book himself. To do this, you must be registered as a sole proprietor for at least 6 months before the law was adopted. The second condition is that the sole proprietor’s income for the previous reporting period must be at least three months of booking, i.e. 60 thousand hryvnia.
Natalukha explained that only 50% of workers can be economically reserved. After the employer has decided on the list of workers, he must submit an online application, including a list of workers and a financial report for the last six months. After that, the tax office will check for the absence of monetary and tax debt.
The MP added that enterprises subject to strategic reservation, meeting the criteria of Cabinet of Ministers resolutions No. 76 and No. 45, will not be able to reserve additional workers for money.
Yuri Konkevich
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.