5 July 2013
MEDIA RELEASE
UWC Committee Chair on Issues Affecting Ukrainian Citizens Abroad appears before Parliamentary hearing on labour migration in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada
On 3 July 2013 the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) Committee Chair on Issues Affecting Ukrainian Citizens Abroad Pavlo Sadokha, made a presentation in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in Kyiv during the Parliamentary hearings titled “Ukrainian labour migration: status, problems and solutions.”
In his statement, Pavlo Sadokha presented the following startling statistics that testify to the fact that the migrant labourers constitute the largest investor in the Ukrainian economy:
Enduring all of the negative consequences of migrating abroad, these individuals, by account of official bank wires only, transferred $7.5 billion to Ukraine in 2012, $7 billion in the previous year and similar amounts in earlier years. According to calculations by experts from the National Bank of Ukraine, factoring in other methods of transferring funds, foreign currency flowing into Ukraine from the labour migrants may be as high as $19-23 billion annually.
Despite their contribution to the Ukrainian economy and directly to the social programs that benefit their family members, the Ukrainian government does not adequately defend the rights of these individuals.
“Taking advantage of this opportunity, we appeal to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to substantially re‑evaluate the phenomenon of the mass labour migration and to develop, on this basis, a specific state policy and appropriate changes to legislation,” stated Pavlo Sadokha.
A detailed list of issues related to the Ukrainian labour migration with specific recommendations for addressing them was submitted by the UWC Committee on Issues Affecting Ukrainian Citizens Abroad to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and International Relations.
“We call upon Ukrainian governing authorities to develop a state policy that will more effectively address the economic, social, cultural and educational needs of Ukrainian citizens abroad,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
Also attending the hearings were UWC First Vice President and President of the European Congress of Ukrainians Jaroszlava Hartyani, and members of the UWC Committee on issues affecting Ukrainian citizens abroad Oles Horodetskyy and Halyna Masluk.
Watch the presentation http://bit.ly/1abDZFU
Media Contact: Irene Mycak
UKRAINIAN WORLD CONGRESS
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e-mail: [email protected]
website: www.ukrainianworldcongress.org
The UWC is the international coordinating body for Ukrainian communities in the diaspora representing the interests of over 20 million Ukrainians. The UWC has member organizations in 33 countries and ties with Ukrainians in 14 additional countries. Founded in 1967 as a non-profit corporation, the UWC was recognized in 2003 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with special consultative status.
