Responsible “For Everything”

“This minister will be responsible to the people for absolutely everything,” Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko said, introducing Vyacheslav Kyrylenko as the new Minister for Labor and Social Policies. Indeed, he will have to shoulder a heavy burden. The government program has a socially- oriented title: “Meeting the People’s Demands.” The government’s declared primary goal is to achieve “democratic European standards in human development.” Whether these tasks are fulfilled will depend to a great extent on budget revenues. Vyacheslav Kyrylenko (Ph.D.), former MP and deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Social Policies and Labor, emphasizes that none of Ukraine’s ministries are totally separated from one another and the government will be making a concerted effort to meet its commitments.

“You have promised that Ukraine will very soon achieve ‘democratic European standards of human development.’ What exactly do you mean by this?”

“In a broad sense, this means achieving the social standards proclaimed in the European Social Charter, which Ukraine will ratify in the nearest future. It is about the unhindered enjoyment of the right to work, the right to establish organizations, the right of a family to economic protection, etc.”

“It is often said that the creation of a so-called middle class is supposed to essentially improve the country’s well-being. When can a full-fledged middle class emerge in Ukraine and how can one identify it?”

“The main indicators are economic. If an individual can purchase housing and any household appliances on credit and easily pay off the interest, if s/he can afford to buy a decent holiday at least once a year, s/he can be considered part of the middle class. I think our government will manage to achieve concrete results in this matter very soon.

“You have not yet announced the new minimum wage. What do you think it should be?”

“It should be at least 300 hryvnias a month.”

“In his election platform Viktor Yushchenko noted that creating 5 million new jobs would be one of his first steps. Is this a realistic number?”

“There are no countries with a 100-percent employment rate. Or maybe, there are some, but in this case full employment does not always lead to economic growth. I think there will always be a certain percentage of unemployed. On the other hand, up to 7 million of our compatriots work abroad, mainly illegally. We have about a million registered unemployed people plus hidden unemployment. With this in view, I think we must create 5 million jobs. Of course, any clear-thinking person understands that it is impossible to do this in just one month. This is a goal that our economy will try to achieve. We are going to create jobs by means of employment centers and the Unemployment Social Insurance Fund. We must drop the policy of combating unemployment and instead adopt a policy of active employment. We must create decent work conditions for active and high-skilled people who have a desire to work, primarily in high-tech sectors.”

“And where will you get the funds to create these new jobs?”

“I think, to start with, the president and his cabinet will redouble their efforts to stop the already available budgetary funds from being embezzled. We will then have quite a good picture. But we know that this country will soon be receiving big investments. We are also certain that the government’s efforts aimed at legalizing and decriminalizing the economy will also bear fruit. This will be the creation of new jobs.”

“The law on employment for the disabled is in fact being flouted. In some cases, entrepreneurs employ handicapped people on paper only and pay minimum wages just to keep them at home. Do you plan to combat this?”

“I think it is high time we established elementary order in the application of disability laws and in the utilization of budgetary funds intended for supporting the disabled and their organizations. Some budget-funded projects contain a number of articles concerning corruption, for example, expenditures for creating additional jobs for the disabled. This money is used to subsidize specific enterprises, but the list of them is drawn up quite arbitrarily. In addition, large budgetary funds intended for disability programs are not always distributed publicly and with the participation of all the organizations for the disabled. This also causes discontent. Nowadays I meet with representatives of various organizations for the disabled every day, and I think very soon the ministry will arrange a conference of all interested parties that will adopt the following principle once and for all: all public funds that the state earmarks to support the disabled are to be distributed publicly and with the participation of all organizations for the disabled. Only then will we be able to say that there is equitable distribution of funds. From now on, we will do our best to curb any kind of opaque and illegal schemes in the distribution of funds for the disabled.”

“Are you finally going to replace benefits with targeted cash payments?”

“I think it would be sensible to finish setting up a national computerized registry of eligible beneficiaries. Then we will inform the general public, including beneficiaries, the overall number of people who are entitled to various benefits, their total cost, the share of benefits funded from the central and local budgets, and the state’s actual capacity to pay out these benefits. Only then can we begin to discuss the form of awarding these benefits — in cash or through exemptions. In any case, it is the beneficiary who must choose the form. Incidentally, Kyiv and Cherkasy oblasts have already conducted experiments. The results indicate unequivocally that most beneficiaries are still opting for the old cashless pattern.”