The Report of the Chairman of the Trade Union Committee Mykhailo Bezugly on the Results of the Fulfillment of the Collective Employment Agreement of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute during the Period from April 2021 to September 2022
Dear delegates of the staff conference, employees and students of the university, all guests!
For the first time in the recent history of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute the academic year begins in the conditions of war. The unprecedentedness, aggressiveness, and brutality of this war shatter against the bravery, courage, and self-sacrifice of every citizen, every Ukrainian. More than 80 university employees defend our lives and Ukrainian statehood in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and their paramilitary formations, hundreds of students and thousands of graduates of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute stood up to defend Independence. Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded polytechnic students on the front lines, whom Mykhailo Zakharovych has already mentioned; and practically everyone who continued teaching and studying became a member of the rear front and volunteer and direct efforts, time and money to support Ukrainian soldiers. From the very first hours of the invasion, the functioning of the university was ensured by the First Vice-Rector Yuriy Yakymenko and the Vice-rector of educational work Nataliia Seminskaya, as well as the director of the campus Olexander Ishchenko, for which they are greatly thanked by the employees. Until the moment the enemy left the territory of Kyiv oblast, students and workers kept watch and took care of household and security issues around the clock, while those who were outside the university campus actively helped and handed over food, money, and medicine.
By its decision dated March 17, 2022, the trade union committee of the university transferred 1 million hryvnias to a special account in the National Bank for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, marking the beginning of centralized support from Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. By the same decision, within the budget of the trade union committee, the Foundation for financial support of university employees, whose housing was damaged as a result of hostilities in the territory of Kyiv and Kyiv oblast, was established. All trade union units, without exception, participated in the financial replenishment of this foundation. More than 21,000 zloty came from the employees of our fraternal Warsaw University of Technology. A specially created commission carried out a review and assessment of damages based on the submitted applications during May and June, and as soon as in July, more than 1 million hryvnias were paid to 27 employees as assistance in case of complete destruction of residential premises with the cap of 100,000. Great gratitude to the Kyiv City Organization of the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Ukraine and its chairman O.M. Yatsun, who took a joint part in assisting university employees and provided a total of 168,000 hryvnias to the most affected. The work of this foundation and the corresponding commission was elongated until the end of 2022 by the decision of the trade union committee, since some university employees were only able to return to their dilapidated homes and submit an application now. I would like to emphasize that this assistance does not replace state guarantees that were announced at the highest level, but is additional support from the staff of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and friendly organizations.
The help and participation of the university staff did not stop there, and the trade union committee has been supporting university employees, as well as the units of the Armed Forces where they serve for more than half a year. The changes that were made to the Tax Code allowed us to provide charitable support without the excessive taxation inherent in peacetime. Since the beginning of the war, the trade union committee has purchased and transferred to the front line 30 radio sets and communication systems, body armor, generators, a mine detector, military first-aid kits, a laptop, a pad, mobile phones, snap hooks, sleeping bags, tactical clothing and much more for a total amount of 285,000 UAH.
At our request, the Kyiv City Organization of the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Ukraine helped to repair the vehicle of the intelligence unit where our colleague served. And as long as the war continues and martial law is in effect, the university's trade union committee will continue to accumulate funds, material values and human resources to help university employees who are in the military.
The humanitarian mission of the trade union committee was expanded to help residents of the territories where military operations took place, in particular Bucha and Borodianka; thanks to charitable organizations headed by university employees, as well as caring graduates of the Faculty of Management and Marketing, the delivery and transfer of more than 10 tons of humanitarian aid was organized.
And, of course, we welcome the decision of the University Students Conference, which decided to transfer the funds allocated for the activities of student self-government bodies in the amount of 1.5 million hryvnias to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Thus, as of September 1, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute's centralized support for our military is about 3 million hryvnias, and together with aid to the persons aggrieved, it amounts to 4.5 million hryvnias.
The war and the imposing martial law also affected the state's approach to managing the sphere of education and science, labour relations, and budgeting state-financed organizations. Without dwelling on the legislative basis, I will note that Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, like the state in general, was forced to introduce unusual forms of labour relations organization, such as down time, including through no fault of the employee, vacations outside the agreed schedule, including at their own expense, reduction in the amount of work performed, including the one caused by the absence of students and employees at the workplace. And if remote work has already become a common category for the academic staff, educational support staff, and especially students during the pandemic, then for the maintenance department, managerial and administrative staff, whose work cannot be provided outside the workplace, needed adjustment. For this purpose, as well as for the purpose of balancing internal regulations with changes to the legislation, since March the university has been developing and issuing monthly orders with mandatory participation and coordination with the trade union committee regarding the specifics of remuneration, standardization of allowances and benefits for the execution of work instead of temporarily absent employees etc. And despite the university budget was cut by almost 10% of the general fund from May 2022, we consider the decisions made to be the most balanced and implemented in the interests of the entire workforce.
Analyzing the situation in other institutions of higher education, as well as the results of recommendations for qualifying for free tuition, which are compared with the previous year, we have conservative estimates as for the university budgeting until the end of 2022. Decisions regarding staff lists of university departments and units will be made in September and October. At the same time, despite the abolition of formula budgeting of higher education institutions, the criteria for evaluating the activity of academic staff, their fulfillment of contract conditions and compliance with license conditions, together with the social component, which includes the presence or absence of additional sources of income, such as, for example, working pensioners, should form the basis of individual decisions regarding the workload and the share of the wage rate.
Today's reports are difficult to separate from today's events, but they are accounting, including for the peacetime period. Therefore, I will mention briefly the quantitative and qualitative indicators of the work and the analysis of the Collective Employment Agreement implementation.
Last year, for the first time in the history of Collective Employment Agreement campaigns at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, the contract was concluded for three years, and the commission approved by the staff conference was granted authority of ongoing monitoring and, if necessary, making changes and additions, which was done once during the reporting period. During this time, the commission held four meetings, on which relevant protocols were drawn up. According to the Staff Conference, it is recommended to recognize the fulfillment of the Collective Employment Agreement for the period from April 2021 to September 2022 in general, and to finish implementing the unfulfilled clauses of the labor protection agreement by the end of the current year.
The commissions and councils approved by the previous staff conference performed their functions in accordance with the current legislation. During the reporting period, 24 meetings of the work collective council on housing and welfare issues were held under the chairmanship of Vice-rector of educational work Nataliia Seminskaya, where issues of temporary placement of employees and university graduates in dormitories, including families of students from the fighting zone, or those categories of employees whose homes were destroyed were discussed. There were no comments or complaints about the council's work. The commission on labor disputes, headed by the First Vice-Rector Yuriy Yakymenko, did not review applications due to their absence, which has already become a good tradition of the university.
The reporting of managers at different levels was delayed this year, but was carried out in full. The financial report is posted on the university's website and is published in this issue of the "Kyiv Polytechnic" newspaper.
The statutory activity of the university's trade union committee in 2021 was aimed at implementing measures for welfare assistance, social and legal protection, and the rehabilitation of employees and their family members. In 2021, 1,498 university employees issued 2,944 sick leave certificates, which is half as much again as in 2020. The registration was carried out in accordance with the legislation exclusively on the basis of electronic medical records.
In 2021 and at the beginning of 2022, 528 employees and members of their families were provided with recreation activities at university recreational centers, sanatoriums and facilities for parents with children for a total amount of over UAH 740,000. Organizational support was provided by the social insurance and rehabilitation commission of the trade union committee. This year's recreational season at the university recreational centers did not take place for known reasons, but the facilities are in satisfactory condition, including the "Mayak" recreational complex, which is located on the temporarily occupied territory.
In the summer of 2021 and 2022, children's rehabilitation in the "Karpatsky Zori" and "Verkhovyna" camps in Ivano-Frankivsk oblast for the children of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute employees took place for a 55 children for a total amount of over 40,000 UAH. This year, the trade unions of the Warsaw University of Technology initiated the restoration of the summer children's camp for the children of university employees, and in July and August 2022, 44 children rested at the mountain base in the city of Hrybów for two weeks, visited Kraków, Nowy Sonch, etc. with excursions. This number of children became a record indicator for all the years of international cooperation and made it possible to satisfy all submitted applications.
The center of physical education and sports resumes its work, including the small and large swimming pools, and according to a separate schedule of visits to specific sections, it is ready to receive employees and their family members on preferential terms. The constant support of veteran teams gives fruitful results: for example, the volleyball teams of age groups 70+, 75+ and 85+ have won numerous cups and prizes in the last year and a half, the last achievements being dated July this year. The mass sports commission of the trade union committee headed by S.O. Zhuravliov organized a Christmas futsal tournament and a Children's futsal tournament, as well as charity tournaments to raise funds for the support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in April and May 2022.
The trade union continued to support various categories of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute employees financially, including veterans of war and veterans of work, family members of employees who are at the frontline, employees who need complex and expensive treatment, and, in particular, for 2021, financial assistance was provided to 2,336 employees trade union members in the amount of UAH 5 million 294 thousand. The number of aid recipients increased by 25%, and the average amount of the aid increased by 10%. Also, under the guarantee of the trade union committee, loans were granted to employees in the total amount of UAH 280,000 in 2021. Cultural events resumed after the lockdown in the fall of 2021 made it possible to ensure visits to the National Circus, Taras Shevchenko National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Ukraine, Lesia Ukrainka National Academic Theater, Kyiv National Academic Operetta's Theatre, New Year's performances for 1,000 employees, their children and grandchildren for a total compensation of over UAH 260,000.
Summing up, I would like to note that the trade union committee, during the review of the Collective Employment Agreement fulfillment for the past period, stated that the university administration and the administration of the divisions complied with the provisions of the Agreement and therefore recommends accepting the reports of the administration and trade union committees on the implementation of the provisions of the University Collective Agreement for the period from April 2021 to September 2022. The trade union committee proposes to evaluate the work of the rector of the university as satisfactory.
The long-standing trade union’s slogan "Unity is our strength" became the motto of national resistance and unity, faith in justice and indomitability in war conditions!
Together we will win! Glory to Ukraine!