Pensioners Underpaid?

“The new Ukrainian government has failed to pay some 100 hryvnias to each of more than 10 million Ukrainian pensioners,” ex- Minister of Labor and Social Policy and deputy head of the SDPU (U) Mykhailo Papiyev told a press conference, referring to numerous complaints received through his party’s public reception offices.

The Law of Ukraine “On Compulsory State Pension Insurance” was amended on December 23, 2004, whereby minimum pensions payable to men and women with a service record of 25 and 20 years, respectively, had to be equal to the living wage legally established for individuals certified as physically handicapped and disabled. It should be kept in mind that the living wage for disabled individuals was also recently changed to UAH 332 per month. For every year over the insured period the pension is increased by 1% of the minimum old-age allowance. These amendments became legally effective on January 12, 2005, meaning that pensioners should have received their new pensions in February.

Mykhailo Papiyev explains: “For example, Anastasia Semenko, with a service record of 43 years, should be receiving 332 hryvnias plus 76.36 hryvnias (i.e., 1% for every year of service after working for 20 years), a total of 408 hryvnias. But she was paid 295 hryvnias, meaning she was underpaid by 113 hryvnias. Other pensioners received approximately the same amount.”

Why did this happen? “We have to adopt the living wage first and the central budget afterward,” says Zinayida Leshchenko, editor-in-chief of the journal Pensiya, “but what we did was exactly the opposite; a minimum living wage of 300 hryvnias was included in the 2005 budget program and then another bill on the minimum was passed. The end result goes against logic, with pensioners being paid extra money from God knows what sources, considering that the budget provides for the original pension rates. And so the new government must now rack its brains on how to implement this minimum pension law.”

The Day got in touch with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, but they refused to comment on the situation. Their press service admitted that Minister Viacheslav Kyrylenko might be too busy to handle such complaints.

If Mykhailo Papiyev’s information is solid, Ukrainian pensioners may well organize a peaceful protest on the Labor Ministry. Events in the last couple of months have shown that civil rights can actually be protected in Ukraine. The days when our citizens were ignorant of the law are almost over.