Justice, Integrity, Leadership: the Aspen Institute’s Kyiv Held a Seminar for the National Mediation and Reconciliation Service of Ukraine

On May 9-10, the Aspen Institute Kyiv held the seminar “Justice, Integrity, Leadership” for the heads of regional branches of Ukraine’s National Mediation and Reconciliation Service. The Council of Europe’s “Strengthening Social Protection in Ukraine” project supported the event.

Dmytro Kukhnyuk, Head of the National Mediation and Conciliation Service of Ukraine and an alumni of the “Justice, Law, and Society” seminar, initiated the seminar. After experiencing the Aspen seminar, Mr. Dmytro decided that such an open dialogue and exchange of ideas would be valuable for the Service’s employees.

According to Denis Poltavets, Director of Program Development at the Aspen Institute Kyiv, Ukrainian society is experiencing a phase in which it lacks practical experience in addressing the challenges posed by the full-scale war. Therefore, involving stakeholders from various fields in dialogue is necessary to find productive ways to act according to new conditions. One such challenge is meeting the growing demand for justice.

— The general societal demand for justice is increasing, sometimes in not very constructive forms. The National Mediation and Reconciliation Service has a mandate from society to resolve one of the most significant types of such disputes — labor disputes. Understanding by the Service’s employees what specific forms justice can take in our realities is fundamental. Balancing the interests of employers, employees, trade unions, and the state is one of the pillars on which Ukrainian society rests. The effectiveness of both our resistance and development depends on this rather dynamic balance.

Dmytro Kukhnyuk emphasized that justice, integrity, and leadership were the seminar’s main topics for a reason.

— Justice, integrity, and leadership are the values of our Service that we developed together during a strategic session in December last year. Moving forward, we would like to reach a common understanding of what justice is, how we understand integrity, and what our leadership entails. The National Mediation and Reconciliation Service is a crucial factor in social dialogue, which gains special significance in light of European integration processes, large-scale invasion, and digitalization. Therefore, adhering to these human virtues is extremely important for the Service’s employees, who ensure peace in labor relations, harmony, and sustainable societal development.

According to Erlend Falk, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, supporting such events strengthens the capacity of state bodies. It contributes to creating and implementing policies and practices in the social and labor rights field that meet European standards.

— The European Social Charter sets standards for collective labor relations for joint consultations, collective bargaining, dispute resolution, and collective action. Article 6 of the Charter, ‘The Right to Bargain Collectively,’ ratified by Ukraine, directly concerns the activities of the National Mediation and Reconciliation Service. Integrity, leadership, and justice are extremely important concepts for the Service’s representatives, as their role in resolving collective labor disputes, mediation, preventing collective labor disputes, and promoting social dialogue is crucial.

Among the issues discussed by the participants were:

• There is a need for a clearer understanding of labor market dynamics.
• The emergence of new groups in Ukrainian society, types of relations, and associated challenges, particularly regarding internally displaced persons.
• The development of relations between the state and business.
• There is a need to enhance the capacity of labor collectives and their associations and the service’s role in these processes.

Maksym Shcherbatyuk, Program Director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Union for Human Rights, presented the European Social Charter system to the seminar participants.

Denis Poltavets, Director of Program Development at the Aspen Institute Kyiv, and Rasim Babanly, First Deputy Head of the Supreme Court’s Secretariat, moderated the seminar.

Olena Fomina, Policy Program Director at the Aspen Institute Kyiv, coordinated the seminar.

It is worth noting that the Aspen Institute Kyiv, with the support of the Council of Europe, previously conducted the seminar “Social Dialogue as a Tool for Understanding” for the National Mediation and Reconciliation Service.

The seminar was held with the support of the Council of Europe’s project “Strengthening Social Protection in Ukraine,” which aims to ensure that vulnerable groups, particularly those affected by the war, enjoy enhanced social rights and protection.