Employment of veterans: what the analysis of Ukrainian legislation and research of international best practices have shown
30% of veterans are currently unable to find a job, despite the fact that the labour market is in need of workers. This is evidenced by the Ukrainian Veterans Fund’s research ‘Retraining and Employment of Veterans. Challenges and opportunities’.
The Foundation’s experts analysed the current legislation on ensuring the labour rights of veterans and developed a set of recommendations for improving the regulations. They also researched and presented the best international practices for the successful implementation of labour rights regulations for veterans.
‘The Ukrainian Veterans Fund specialises in in-depth research of the veteran’s portrait and the problems and challenges they face in the process of reintegration. As for the social protection of veterans, especially in terms of their labour rights and guarantees, the legislation does not always meet current needs and needs to be improved. Therefore, we have been working on the best international practices that can be adapted and used in Ukraine. The state’s resources are very limited today, so we cannot implement ineffective programmes,’ says Yulia Kirillova, First Deputy Executive Director of the Ukrainian Veterans Fund.
According to the study, the legislative support for veterans’ labour rights is not unified and is scattered in more than ten legal acts. This complicates access to information and, as a result, to the benefits and guarantees guaranteed to veterans by the state.
The authors of the study advise creating a comprehensive support system that includes professional retraining, education funding, active cooperation with employers, mentoring programmes and gender mainstreaming.
‘The Ministry of Veterans has developed a project on Veteran Development Centres, which have been opened in different regions of Ukraine. There are currently 15 of them. Returning home, veterans can get knowledge and education in various fields,’ says Alyona Skorzova, acting head of the Veteran Development Division of the Department for Ensuring Transition from Military Service to Civilian Life at the Ministry of Veterans.
During the discussion, the research also drew attention to the importance of inclusive approaches in the workplace.
‘If we want to fully employ veterans, there is no other way than barrier-free and inclusive approaches. Many people with combat experience and disabilities who could work if the working conditions were suitable for them are unable to find employment,’ says Olha Halchenko, manager of the Civilian Resilience Programme at the International Renaissance Foundation.
Taras Tarasenko, MP, member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans‘ Rights, shared the legislative initiatives that have been developed to improve the situation with the protection of veterans’ rights:
‘There is a draft law 5344, which provides for a change in the conditions for employers to hire people with disabilities. Another draft law that is in the committee is on veteran entrepreneurship. We expect it to be introduced in the Parliament. Another recently registered draft law was developed as a response to the violation of veterans’ labour rights and provides that the term of an employment contract should be automatically extended for the period of service. After all, having such a contract is a guarantee of employment. At the level of the Ministry of Veterans, there should be a support programme to advise businesses on how to work with veterans.’
In addition, the MP drew attention to the need to develop convenient electronic services based on the US model and to use all resources, both those of the Ministry of Veterans and the State Employment Service.
Anatoliy Ostapenko, MP, stressed that Ukraine’s experience in implementing veterans’ policy is special, given the number of veterans we have now and will have in the future.
‘Today we cannot say that a veteran is reintegrating into the community. We can say that a veteran equals a community, and a community equals a veteran,’ the politician stressed.
By holding the roundtable, the Ukrainian Veterans Fund initiated a dialogue between the state, business and civil society, which will further lead to changes in the field of veterans’ rights.
Source: Gomin Halychyny
