Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Paid Educational Leave Convention, 1974 (No. 140) - Ukraine (Ratification: 2003)

The Committee notes the Government’s report received in August 2010, which includes information in reply to its previous direct requests, and a list of laws and regulations applying issues related to paid educational leave.

Article 2 of the Convention. Formulation and application of a policy designed to promote the granting of paid educational leave. The Government indicates that paid educational leave is provided in accordance with procedures established by the national legislation. The Government also indicates that the right to educational leave shall be provided to the citizens of Ukraine who are engaged in employment relationships with undertakings, establishments or organizations regardless of their form of ownership, the branch of activity and the economic sector, as well as to the workers employed by a person under a contract of employment. The Labour Code provides that vocational training and skill upgrading of the workers will be authorized by the employer who shall organize the individual, collective or any other occupational training at the cost of the enterprise, organization or establishment. It also provides that during this period of training, skill upgrading or re-training, the workers shall be paid their wages and salaries in accordance with the procedure and in the amounts established by the national legislation. Furthermore, the Government indicates that all days of educational leave are paid in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in the Rules for calculating the average wage. The Committee notes that the period of paid educational leave is assimilated to the period of effective service and is taken into account as the length of service. The Committee notes however that the Government does not describe the respective policy designed to promote the granting of paid educational leave. The Committee invites the Government to describe in its next report its policy to promote the granting of paid educational leave for the purposes specified in the Convention.

Article 6. Association of governmental institutions, other bodies and the social partners. The Government reports that the Final Provisions of the General Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Association of Employers and Entrepreneurs Organizations of Ukraine, and the Trade Union Federation of Ukraine for 2008–09 provide that the elaboration of draft legislative texts related to economic, labour and social protection issues should be conducted with the participation of the employers’ and workers’ organizations of Ukraine which are the parties to the Agreement, in accordance with the procedure corresponding to the provisions of the Consultation (Industrial and National Levels) Recommendation, 1960 (No. 113). The Government further indicates that consideration and adoption by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of the legal texts relating to the social, economic and labour rights and interests of workers and employers without preliminary social dialogue shall not be admitted. The Committee invites the Government to indicate in its next report how social dialogue is used in the formulation and application of the policy for the promotion of paid educational leave.

Part V of the report form. Practical and statistical information. The Government reports that inspections conducted in order to supervise the compliance of the labour legislation did not allow the discovery of significant violations relating to the compliance with the standards of the Convention. In 2009, inspections were held at 43,486 undertakings and 36 minor violations relating to the provisions of paid educational leave were discovered. Furthermore, following a statistical survey the Government indicates that the total level of absenteeism of workers related to educational leave and other reasons, registered at the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on 11 January 2008, amounts to 14,230,226 working hours. According to the data of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the total number of students engaged in evening classes at higher educational establishments amounts to 11,121 persons, and 12,020,621 persons in correspondence courses. The Government also states that there is no record of a specific number of workers provided with paid educational leave. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including any extracts from reports, studies or inquiries, and available statistics.