The Ukrainian parliament is preparing to grant the government powers to confiscate potentially billions of dollars worth of trade union property – in a move widely seen as an attempt to pressurise the country’s main trade union federation.
At stake are dozens of office buildings, sanatoriums, health resorts and cultural and sports complexes built in the late Soviet era, including the giant House of Trade Unions building and the October Palace arts centre, both in central Kyiv. During the final years of the Soviet Union, this property was transferred to what is today the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine (FPU) .
The draft law, which was approved by Parliament on 4 November, comes as the Ukrainian government attempts to liberalise workplace protections and reduce trade union rights via a new general labour law. The FPU opposes this draft labour law, claiming it will significantly reduce the role of unions at Ukrainian workplaces.
