You're reading: Zelensky simplifies firing government officials, sparks debate

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sept. 23 signed legal amendments passed by the parliament that simplify the procedure for firing government officials.

Previously, on Sept. 19, Ukraine’s 450-member parliament passed the amendments to the country’s law on the civil service, with 228 lawmakers voting in favor. The changes make it easier to hire and fire state officials, expand the possible grounds for their removal from office, and introduce short- and long-term contracts for individuals working for the government.

Backed by Zelensky, the draft law received the support of 224 lawmakers from the pro-presidential Servant of the People party, which has 253 seats in parliament, and of four independent parliamentarians.

None of the opposition lawmakers supported the amendments.

The amendments give ministers and heads of state agencies the power to cut staff and close departments. They also remove a provision requiring a special commission to assess the legitimacy of an official’s firing from Ukrainian legislation.

The new regulations also simplify the process of hiring personnel as well. Multiple openings for a similar position can now be combined into one tender to save time.

In an opinion piece for Novoe Vremya magazine, Max Nefyodov, head of Ukraine’s Customs Service, said that, previously, each vacancy required an individual tender, even if it attracted little interest or no qualified candidates.

“It sometimes happened that three decent candidates applied for one post, but not a single one showed up for a similar position in the same department,” wrote Nefyodov. It was impossible to consider applicants to one job opening for a similar position.

The new law also introduces fixed-term contracts, ranging from a year to five years with specific tasks included in the agreement. Currently, state service employees work on endless contracts without specific duties assigned in the agreement.

Yet, according to the new regulations, no more than seven percent of staff in an agency or ministry can be signed to fixed contracts. Nefyodov hopes that percentage will be increased.

However, the new legislation has sparked controversy among current and former government officials.

Nefyodov praised the law, saying that it will be easier to fire corrupt and low-skilled government officials. That could restore trust in state service.

But Ulana Suprun, former acting health minister, disagreed.

In a Facebook argument with Nefydov, Suprun said that, now, employees aren’t protected from being pressured and fired. While Nefyodov hopes that the new amendments will allow a good boss to fire bad employees, the same can be done to good employees by a bad boss, Suprun wrote.

After the April 21 presidential election, which Zelensky won, Suprun has had strained relations with the new government. The new law simplifies the procedure by which those who worked under Suprun and implemented the medical reforms can be fired.

Read More: VoxUkraine: How Ulana Suprun implements medical reform, despite criticism

“How do you plan on recruiting professional employees into the civil service without protecting their rights?” Suprun wrote.

In a September 2018 interview with the Kyiv Post, Suprun said that her ministry was reforming its structure to include more civil servants chosen through an official selection process and fewer appointees. That would ensure that, under her successor, more of the ministry’s staff would stay on the job.