Head of National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service Natalia Aliushyna says more than half of civil servants surveyed report a decrease in wages, and more than 70% report a significant increase in workload during the year.

"Currently, the National Agency on Civil Service is conducting a survey on the working conditions of civil servants during martial law. Some 40,000 civil servants answered within a week, while 93% of respondents said they work in a regular mode at their workplaces. Last year, this figure was 68%. So, in 2022, some 32% of civil servants worked remotely, and today some 6.3%. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, people have been transferred to idle time, but if then this figure was 9%, then today it is 1%. These numbers will change somewhat before the completion of the survey, but the dynamics are clear," Aliushyna said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

The department's head said the reasons for the dismissal of people from the civil service were also analyzed, in particular, over 70% of respondents noted a significant increase in the workload during the year.

"One of the reasons is the mobilization of 3,946 civil servants in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Their functions are performed by the remaining ones. Moreover, some 35% of the respondents were involved in work on weekends, while 8% at night. However, some 19% said compensation for such work in their government agencies are absent," she said.

Aliushyna also said some 61% of civil servants answered that they have access to shelter at work, while 22% have it partially, and 17% do not have it at all.

As for the need for psychological support of civil servants, some 59% of respondents noted a deterioration in their health during the year, almost 10% added that their psychological state negatively affects their work performance, some 39% needed psychological help, but only 5% asked for it.

"More than half of the respondents noted a decrease in salaries. That is, we state that civil servants experience excessive workload, critically low wages and unfair payroll, psychological stress... Under such conditions, it is useless to expect that people will be able to work fully for a long time. Answer to these challenges – dismissal. I note that the country is the first to lose the most trained and competitive civil servants," Aliushyna said.

As reported, since the beginning of 2023, as of June 30, some 20,366 civil servants have been dismissed and 18,519 civil servants have been appointed. Currently, the actual number of civil servants in Ukraine is 163,600 people.