Neoliberal modernisation in Ukraine is nothing new. The processes and forces pushing it forward long predate the ousting of Viktor Yanukovych last February. But since the events of 2014, this process has been expedited and has now arrived at a crucial issue: the laws governing the way people work.
To that end, employers are currently lobbying Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, to pass a new labour code, relying for support within the ruling coalition (via representatives of the Poroshenko Bloc and Arseny Yatsenyuk’s People's Front), as well as the Opposition Bloc, a political party representing Yanukovych’s former allies.
The exploitation of workers, it seems, is an issue where the interests of the Ukrainian elite trump personal and political differences.
