Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Termination of Employment Convention, 1982 (No. 158) - Ukraine (Ratification: 1994)

The Committee noted in its 2011 direct request the Government’s intention to adopt a new Labour Code which would replace the previous legislation, as well as a number of other legal acts and regulations which currently supplement the Labour Code of 1971. The ongoing revisions aim to adapt labour legislation to market conditions and introduce changes to the current law. The Committee notes the observations made by the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU) in July 2012 and the Government’s response in November 2012. The KVPU recalls that section 48 of the draft Labour Code increases the probationary period from three to six months and that section 49 of the draft Labour Code provides the employer with an unlimited right to dismiss a worker during the probationary period. The Government indicates that, in principle, the probationary period is three months. Section 48 of the draft Labour Code sets the probationary period for a period of up to six months for specified categories of employees, such as managerial personnel. The Government adds that section 49 allows employers to dismiss a worker during the probationary period following a written notice to the worker. The Committee understands that the remarks of the KVPU are based on a draft project of the Labour Code and that the 1971 Labour Code of Ukraine, as amended, is still in effect. The Committee trusts that the Government will be mindful of each of the provisions of the Convention, in order to ensure their full and effective application, when reviewing its Labour Code. It also invites the Government to provide a report containing relevant information on the application of the Convention if modifications to the current termination of employment legislation were to occur before 2016 when its next report is normally due. The Committee also invites the Government to provide in its next report information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including examples of collective agreements and court decisions dealing with grounds for termination, consultations with workers’ representatives in case of terminations for reasons of economic, technological, structural or similar nature (Article 13(1) of the Convention) and available statistics on the number of appeals against unjustified termination, the outcome of such appeals, the nature of the remedy awarded and the average time taken for an appeal to be decided (Part V of the report form).