Deficient specialists are being mobilized from defense enterprises to front
Gaps in the system of reservations for persons liable for military service have caused defence companies to lose important specialists.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Ekonomichna Pravda.
The company Oko Camera, which produces thermal imagers for drones, lost its design engineer in May. The manufacturer works under a government contract, but did not book an employee because it had to go to update data at the military commissariat, where he would have been mobilised.
"We spent two years investing, building a team and unique competence. A specialist who performed three functions at once was taken from the street. The state received one soldier, and we lost an engineer who influences the supply of hundreds of thermal imagers for the Armed Forces of Ukraine's drones," said the company's director.
The surveyed manufacturers note that specialists from defence plants are called up for mobilisation faster than they can get reservations under the current legislation.
Some are picked up while updating data in the TRC, which is often necessary to apply for a reservation. Others are taken away during the government's approval of reservation lists, which can take more than a month. And some companies fail to get a reservation because they do not meet the criteria.
"Often people have not updated their military records for decades, and it is now forbidden to hire a candidate without valid documents. They have to first go to the TRC, undergo a military qualification examination and update their data. But there, this specialist who has not yet been booked is handed a mobilisation notice. Of the people who are already working, 30% of men have problematic documents," said a source at a large state-owned enterprise on condition of anonymity.
"One of our mortar rounds manufacturers has recently signed its first government contract as a co-executor. In order to obtain the status of a critical enterprise, it is necessary to provide documents confirming the supply of products under this contract or the receipt of an advance payment.
The contract was signed on a post-payment basis, so there was no way to confirm the advance payment, and it took 2-3 months before the first batch was shipped. During this time, the plant lost several skilled employees who worked on CNC machines. While the search and training of new people is underway, the equipment is idle, and the state is not receiving enough ammunition," Natalia Martynenko, head of the Zakarpattia branch of the NAUDI association, which unites the largest private arms manufacturers, told EP.
"Our engineer and chief welder were mobilised. On the way to work, they were taken away and their phones were confiscated. We were able to contact them only after they passed a military medical examination. We cannot book all our employees because we produce less than 50% of defence products," the head of a metalworking company told EP.
This year, the company received a request to quadruple its production for defence purposes. However, the management signed a contract for much smaller volumes, as they were not sure that the company would have workers.
The Technological Forces of Ukraine (ATFU) Association, which includes 32 defence companies, including the largest UAV manufacturers, conducted an internal survey. According to its results, four companies lost 20-30 employees each due to mobilisation. Another four lost between 5 and 20 employees.
The biggest problem in the ATSU is the lack of a deferral from mobilisation for employees of defence companies when updating their military records.
The association believes that the mobilisation of workers with specific expertise can suspend production for 3-5 months, which is how long it can take to recruit a scarce specialist. In some cases, it is simply impossible to replace people.
As a reminder, on 7 June, the Cabinet of Ministers allowed defence and energy companies to reserve up to 100% of their employees from mobilisation. The National Police and the State Emergency Service will also be able to reserve 100% of their employees with the approval of the Ministry of Defence.
