DISINFO: New Ukrainian labour law permits employees to be fired for no reason
SUMMARY
A new labour law in Ukraine includes permission to fire anyone from work at any time and for any reason.
RESPONSE
This is another example of the Kremlin's ongoing disinformation campaign to portray Ukraine as a failed state, misrepresenting the essence of a proposed Ukrainian labour law by selectively and hyperbolically reporting only on one provision and omitting the remaining context.
In total, four draft labour laws are under consideration in the Ukrainian Parliament. The final version of the law in question is not yet set, as discussions in the Verkhovna Rada are still ongoing. However, Economy Minister Tymofiy Mylovanov explained that while the Labour Bill does refer to the possibility of dismissing an employee on the initiative of the employer, this must not happen without an explanation of the reason. Moreover, Mylovanov wrote on his Facebook page, current legislation offers no material protections for employees who have been dismissed: according to the current code, there are ten reasons to dismiss an employee, and an employer can do so without bearing any financial responsibility for this decision. Under the new Labour Law, however, material compensation for dismissed employees would be made mandatory, also to discourage the transformation of business enterprises under false pretences for the sake of staff reduction. For the relevant excerpt of the bill explaining these provisions, see here.
For similar cases misrepresenting Ukrainian reform legislation, see for example here, here, and here.