Decent work country program 2020–2024, Ukraine

Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs) are the main planning frameworks for the delivery of ILO support to member countries. DWCPs use the Results-based Management approach adopted by the ILO as the basis for the cooperation framework. They outline a medium-term plan that guides the work of the ILO in a country in accordance with priorities and objectives developed by and agreed upon with governments, trade unions, and employers.

The new DWCP for Ukraine is a result of a tripartite consultation on ILO support in Ukraine for the period 2020–24. At the planning workshop held in Kyiv in December 2019, a consensus emerged on a programme aimed at employment creation, extension of social protection, guaranteed rights at work, and promotion of social dialogue – all key components of economic and social policies. At the same time, the new DWCP supports the national development priorities as spelled out by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs), the United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPF),1 the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA),2 and the General Agreement on Main Foundations of Socio-economic Policy and Labour Relations in Ukraine for 2019–21.3 The new DWCP for Ukraine was drafted before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and finalized during the lockdown in the spring and early summer of 2020. The global health crisis has created multiple supply- and demand-side shocks that reverberate throughout the economy. The medium- and longer-term impact of the pandemic on employment and social protection systems is not yet quantifiable. Thus, the present document may have to be revised as new evidence becomes available.