Suspension of the railway collective agreement ruled illegal

The suspension of the provisions of the Ukrainian Railways collective agreement concerning the payment of financial assistance during the holiday period has resulted in a victory for the employees.

The management of Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ, Ukrainian Railways) did not have the right to suspend the provisions of the collective agreement on its own initiative. This was the conclusion reached by the Supreme Court.

To fight for this truth, Roman Bolbas, diesel locomotive driver and member of the Independent Trade Union of Railwaymen of Ukraine (WRU-KVPU), had to go all the way to the highest court. The district court ruled in his favour, declaring clause 1.1.4 of the protocol decision of 14.03.2022 illegal, although the appeal ruled in favour of the employer. It should be noted that so far, the courts of appeal have overwhelmingly produced decisions in favour of UZ, legitimising the disregard for the principles of social dialogue.

The victory was made possible thanks to the fruitful cooperation of Vyacheslav Fedorenko, head of the trade union organisation of Ukrainian railway workers KVPU of the Kryvoryz locomotive depot, and Vitaliy Dudin, co-founder of Sotsialnyi Rukh.

We invite employees to refer to the aforementioned Supreme Court ruling when appealing the non-payment of financial benefits under a collective agreement, and unions not to accept questionable decisions by the employer. The case of R. Bolbas is a precedent for hundreds of thousands of workers and proof that companies can be put in their place.

The decision confirms the need to repeal Law No. 2136, Article 11 of which allows employees to be deprived of their benefits and undermines the freedom of collective bargaining.

Sotsialnyi Rukh