Svyrydenko: Attracting foreign labor to Ukraine considered solely as one of additional tools to overcome labor shortage
In response to the petition, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stated that attracting foreign labor to the Ukrainian labor market is viewed solely as an additional tool for overcoming labor shortages.
"The Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine has caused a significant deterioration in the functioning of the labor market, large-scale population displacement, the destruction of business infrastructure, job losses, and the geographic displacement of economic activity," Svyrydenko said in her response to the petition.
She notes that, under these conditions, the state’s primary task is to attract people currently in Ukraine or who may return from abroad to the labor market, including through the implementation of systemic support for youth, women, veterans, people with disabilities, internally displaced persons, and older adults. These individuals should receive specific tools, from career guidance and retraining to adapted workplaces and inclusive hiring programs.
"Attracting foreign labor to the Ukrainian labor market is viewed solely as an additional tool for overcoming the labor shortage," the Prime Minister emphasized.
She also added that the government generally supports the proposal outlined in the petition to attract Ukrainian citizens who are abroad and are willing to return to help restore the state, although the reservation of such individuals must be carried out in accordance with Ukrainian law.
"At the same time, the government continues to take measures to ensure the development of a competitive, open, and investment-attractive economy and the implementation of a modern and flexible employment policy. Specifically, a draft long-term economic development strategy for Ukraine, ‘Economy of the Future,’ is currently under development. It is designed to create conditions for attracting investment, accelerate economic growth, bring Ukraine’s income level closer to that of Central and Eastern European countries, and facilitate the return of Ukrainians forced to leave Ukraine due to the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine," the response states.
As reported, on May 19, a petition on the Cabinet of Ministers’ website calling for the development and implementation of a State Strategy for the Protection of the National Labor Market, which would prioritize the employment of Ukrainian citizens and attract the diaspora instead of foreign migration, received the required number of votes for consideration.
In May, the need to attract migrant workers to the Ukrainian labor market was widely discussed in Ukraine.
NV, citing the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, reported that between May 1 and 10, the Center for Strategic Communication specialists observed a surge in this topic on Ukrainian social media. During this period, experts analyzed 21,600 publications posted on 13,800 unique resources, including Facebook, Telegram, X, TikTok, YouTube, as well as news and information websites. They found that anti-migrant discourse has evolved from a local news story to a nationwide debate with a high level of engagement from anonymous resources. The most intense of these were on Facebook and Telegram.