How do Ukrainian civil society organisations on the frontline continue operating? Between the human impact of mobilisation, the ongoing military operations and the personal risks linked to working in a war zone, how do civil society leaders continue to run their organisations?
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine forced Igor’s organisation to first review their priorities to ensure their members could react quickly and adapt their activities. Social dialogue – while imperfect – did exist in Kharkiv prior to the war. But three years into the full-scale war, Igor notes that many trade unions are no longer operational. Civil society organisations are trying to step in and Igor’s organisation works with them and trains them to palliate the lack of union representatives. Will adding civil society organisations – whose objectives and processes are sometimes different from more traditional unions – change the format of social dialogue? Only time will tell.
Igor’s organisation still tries to manage operations and run activities but it has become much more difficult. Before the war, activities within the union took traditional forms: workshops, trainings, seminars etc. Everything has now been transferred online. This had a severe impact on quality with many participants facing communication issues. The war also affects both logistics and communication: larger trainings and workshops cannot take place for security reasons, and many stakeholders have left Kharkiv for other regions in Ukraine or moved abroad.
With Ukraine at war since 2014, Igor says he is starting to feel a general inertia from actors in the social dialogue field. The field was already complex, particularly in the current European framework. The EU’s focus on social dialogue is too narrow according to him. It focuses too much on the labour market when it should be focused on communities instead.
When we ask Igor how his organisation could be helped, the answer is simple: funding to sustain their work. His organisation is always on the lookout for grants and funds to function. Despite all the challenges, Igor believes in the importance and benefits of social dialogue. He also believes there should be more cooperation with local communities. Kharkiv will survive and thrive, and their work will resume.
