Instead of migrants — the return of Ukrainians: the Cabinet announced the priority in overcoming the staffing crisis

Recently, Ukraine has been actively discussing the problem of staff shortages and the possibility of attracting foreign workers to the domestic labor market. Against the backdrop of these discussions, petition No. 41/009825-26ep calling for the development of a state strategy to protect the national labor market, which provides for the priority employment and reservation of Ukrainian citizens, as well as the involvement of representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora instead of labor migrants from other countries, has gained the necessary number of votes for consideration.

In response to the petition, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko noted that the consequences of the full-scale war have significantly affected the labor market situation. According to her, due to Russian aggression, the country faced large-scale population displacement, job losses, destruction of business infrastructure, and changes in economic activity between regions.

The head of government emphasized that the primary task of the state is to return to economic activity citizens who are in Ukraine or can return from abroad. To do this, it is necessary to expand employment opportunities for youth, women, veterans, people with disabilities, internally displaced persons, and older citizens, providing them access to retraining programs, professional orientation, and adapted workplaces.

At the same time, as Svyrydenko stressed, the government considers attracting foreign labor only as an additional mechanism to overcome the staffing shortage, not as the main direction of state policy.

The Prime Minister also reported that the Cabinet of Ministers supports the idea of returning Ukrainians from abroad to participate in the country's reconstruction. At the same time, the issue of reserving such citizens should be resolved in accordance with the requirements of current legislation.

In addition, the government is working on a long-term strategy "Economy of the Future," designed for 15 years. The document aims to create conditions for attracting investments, accelerating economic development, increasing the population's income level, and stimulating the return of Ukrainians who were forced to leave abroad due to the war.

Earlier, the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper" wrote that the Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy stated that the return of Ukrainians from abroad is a key condition for overcoming the staffing shortage and post-war economic recovery, while attracting labor migrants cannot fully replace the return of citizens to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Rada announced problems with controlling illegal migration and issuing work permits. 

As the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper" wrote, in Ukraine, against the backdrop of a shortage of workers and an increase in the number of foreigners employed in the country, a petition appeared proposing to strengthen the priority of Ukrainian citizens in the labor market and review approaches to labor migration.

It is also proposed to introduce mandatory integration standards, stricter selection rules, and control over migration policy.

Recall that Ukraine has changed the approach to payment for immigration services for foreigners and stateless persons.

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