The chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights, Halyna Tretyakova, announced the development of a new version of the law 'On Labor Remuneration'. According to her, the current norm is based on an 'outdated Soviet procedure' and does not reflect modern economic realities.
'Currently, the discussion has resumed on how the minimum wage should be established. We in the committee are working on a new version of the law, which still includes the outdated Soviet procedure,' Tretyakova noted during the forum 'Dialogue Between Government and Business: New Opportunities for the Development of MSMEs'.
Comments on the minimum wage and new employment rules
The parliament member emphasized that trade unions and employers are effectively deprived of influence on the mechanism for determining the minimum wage. The government proposes to include a 'lowered indicator' in the draft budget for 2026, which contradicts current legislation. In her opinion, establishing a real level of minimum wage could provide the economy with an additional 30-40 billion UAH in revenues.
According to the law, the minimum wage cannot be lower than the subsistence minimum including taxes. 'The subsistence minimum is currently at the level of 9700 UAH including taxes. Therefore, the minimum wage before taxation should be about 10,000 UAH,' Tretyakova explained.
The parliament is also discussing the introduction of an hourly equivalent of the minimum wage. According to Tretyakova, this could create risks, as transportation costs to work in large cities may exceed the hourly rate of the worker.
'It is unlikely that you can find a person of any profession for 32 UAH today... For example, in Lviv, transportation costs 25 UAH, in Kyiv - 8 UAH for the metro and 15 UAH for a minibus,' she noted.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy is proposing a new approach to labor relations: flexible mixed contracts that allow combining different modes of employment. 'You can agree that the person works four hours regularly, two hours remotely, or overtime,' Tretyakova said.
The Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada is developing a new version of the law on labor remuneration since the current norm is already considered outdated and does not meet modern economic conditions. The chair of the social policy committee, Halyna Tretyakova, revealed that issues relating to the establishment of the minimum wage and new employment rules are being discussed. The existing minimum wage indicator raises discussions, and the possibility of implementing hourly wage payment is also being discussed. Reforming the legislation could significantly impact the economic situation in Ukraine and create the potential for increasing the country's revenues.