War war, and money - by schedule. The Council increased the salaries of deputies by 50%
Now the state will spend 132. 6 thousand hryvnias a month, earlier the amount amounted to UAH 88. 4 thousand. According to the legislation, each deputy can hire up to four assistants under an employment contract. After conducting elementary calculations, we get that one assistant per month will spend 33 150 UAH.
On the one hand, the amount is small, but on the other - in the conditions of total lack of money in the budget due to the costs of defense and the constant desire of the authorities to raise taxes, the resolution may look unethical. As of July 17, 401 MPs remained in Parliament out of 450. On July 1, 2024, the total number of assistants of the ninth convocation was 4388. Under the fixed -term employment contract there are 1053, another 3335 persons - on a public basis.
The total cost of a full staff of assistants is about UAH 54 million per month. According to the Law of Ukraine "On the Status of the People's Deputy of Ukraine", the deputy has the right to have up to 31 assistants. The payroll fund applies only to those who work under the employment contract.
The refusal to increase the salary for assistants will lead to "loss of stability of the system of support of the legislative process and complicate the maintenance of professional staff", explained the initiative by the authors of the document. The focus interviewed by MPs assert that money for increasing wages was found to assistants thanks to salaries for salaries for 49 deputies who have made powers.
In fact, it is not necessary to talk about additional burden on the Ukrainian budget, says the first deputy chairman of the committee on regulations, deputy ethics and organization of work of the council Sergey Yevtushok. By law, assistants who work under the employment contract and receive a salary cannot engage in other activities. For four assistants, their type of earnings is the main one.
In addition, it is important to consider the increase in the minimum wage and the subsistence minimum in Ukraine. The coefficients for all salaries for civil servants have become larger, the politician assures. "Without additional burden on the budget, within the framework of the calculation of expenditures on the Verkhovna Rada, we decided to increase the assistant maintenance fund," he comments. According to Yevtushko, a qualified specialist is now difficult to find.
The working conditions of the assistants are also difficult: the schedule is not necessary, often it is necessary to work at night through the Aral mode of functioning of parliament during the war. Frequent blackouts impose additional difficulties.
"We have to deal with the materials at night before the meeting, everything must be worked out, to prepare expert opinions, to raise the necessary literature," - explains the politician initiator of the resolution, chairman of the Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights Galina Tretyakova. 6-8 times less than the salaries of parliamentary staff.
"Payment for civil servants of the Verkhovna Rada at one of the highest levels in the country and is almost twice as high as in the office of the President or any ministry. The resolution does not increase the budget, but only redistributes funds from" oligarchs "in the civil service in favor of those who work in patronage in patronage to the service, " - reports the People's Deputy Focus.
The conditions for dismissal in the patronage service do not provide warnings, there are no types of compensation, for example, for the intensity of work, a working schedule for more than 40 hours a week and almost complete lack of leave. The sources of focus in parliament confirm the conditions of work of the patronage service of people's deputies on "bird rights". Assistants are released by a simple statement, their labor rights are not protected, and they cannot renew at work through court.
"Some persons are ready to pay extra for obtaining a certificate of the assistant, as it is possible to enter the committees, ministries and resolve their issues without interruption. Periodically different persons are interested in how to get into freelance helpers," - emphasizes the interlocutor.
The head of the Eidos Center, political scientist Victor Taran, who worked as an assistant to the People's Deputy from 1998 to 2002 under the presidency of Leonid Kuchma, believes that nothing is expensive to the state as "cheap officials". The consequence of salary salaries - bad management decisions and the lack of real specialists in the state sector.
"Private companies offer much more favorable conditions for experienced lawyers, and the resolution raises rewards to the level of just over $ 600 with taxes. It should be understood that without quality assistants to projects, the analysis of laws and other deputy activity will be almost indulged," - says the specialist in the conversation with focus. According to Taran, the deputy will have to look for other sources of income for the maintenance of a qualified state of assistants.
A decent salary level for assistants, estimates of Taran, starts from $ 1,000. In such circumstances, there will be no temptation to make corruption risks in charge of the legislation. "The salaries of deputies in European countries start from 5 thousand euros, and their assistants - from 800 to 1200 euros. If there is at least 600 dollars in Ukraine, it is already a step forward.
It is important for society to demonstrate the accountability and transparency Where and as " - sums up the political scientist. We will remind, the Ministry of Economy forecasts the average salary in Ukraine at the level of 21 809 UAH. The minimum salary in Ukraine from April 1 in accordance with the budget indicators for 2024 amounted to 8 thousand hryvnias. The focus earlier wrote why payments to the military would be delayed.