ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONTINUES CONSIDERATION OF UKRAINE REPORT
Press Release
HR/4254
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONTINUES CONSIDERATION OF UKRAINE REPORT
19951201 GENEVA, 29 November (UN Information Service) -- The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning continued its consideration of the third periodic report of Ukraine, focusing on the question of non-discrimination and equality between men and women, the right to work, the right of trade unions and the situation of Crimean Tartars.The delegation of Ukraine, headed by the Minister of Labour, Mykhaylo Kaskevich, told the Committee that Crimean Tartars had been well integrated within Ukrainian society upon their return to Crimea. One expert on the Committee asked why 75,000 of the 250,000 returned Crimean Tartars had been unable to acquire citizenship. The delegation replied that none of the returnees had been denied citizenship and that their ability to find employment was unrelated to the question of citizenship. Any citizen of Ukraine, including the Crimean Tartars, could work in Russia, Belarus or Moldova under a multilateral agreement among those countries.
Responding to further concerns of the Committee over the status of the Crimean Tartars, the delegation of Ukraine acknowledged that international cooperation was needed to overcome the problem of their resettlement. Nevertheless, the Government had undertaken measures to facilitate their resettlement by providing housing and other forms of assistance. Regarding their possibility of working in the judicial and legal system, the delegation stated that since the Crimean Tartars had only returned to Ukraine very recently, their representation in law-enforcement, courts and procurator's offices was very limited. In addition, work in those fields required experience, which some of the Tartars did not have.
With regard to the employment of women, the Minister of Labour said that women made up 56 per cent of the work force and 54 per cent of the total population. He said there were three women cabinet ministers and several vice-ministers. Half of the Government's civil servants were women. Unfortunately, there were only 20 women among some 400 elected parliamentarians. He also acknowledged that out of 100,000 officially unemployed persons, some 90 per cent were women. Special legislative measures were envisaged to protect the working conditions of women relating to health and maternity.
As to restructuring of the economic system, the delegation of Ukraine noted that the transition in ownership from former government enterprises to the private sector had resulted in the redundancy of many workers because of lay-offs by the new owners. Nevertheless, the vast majority of enterprises still remained in the hands of the State.
Concerning working conditions, the delegation stated that new legislation this year fixed the minimum wage under a mechanism comprising State, employer and employee representatives. During recent years, the rate of inflation had surpassed percentage increases in the minimum wage, but it was expected that the situation would be reversed this year.
With respect to security at the work place, the delegation noted that the trade unions, which had formerly been State organs and part of the management, were still responsible for that question. New legislation was being prepared to transfer the responsibility to the State. An insurance plan, funded by enterprises, was also envisaged to cover accidents at work. There were 15 professional associations, including the trade union federation of Ukraine, with 21 million members.
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