NAUDI has called on Koretskyi not to reduce quota for reserving defence industry workers
The National Association of Defence Industry Enterprises of Ukraine (NAUDI) has called on the Cabinet of Ministers not to reduce the quota for reserving defence industry workers from 100 per cent to 85 per cent, as this risks creating a shortage of specialists and slowing down production.
This is stated in the Association’s appeal to Prime Minister Koretskyi, as reported by Censor.NET.
Details
"The Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine has prepared a draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which provides for a reduction in the quota for reserving employees subject to military service at critically important enterprises within the defence-industrial complex.
We are convinced that, if adopted, such a measure will have an extremely negative impact on the sector’s operations, pose a direct threat to Ukraine’s national security and undermine our state’s defence capability," the appeal emphasised.
NAUDI noted that this initiative comes against the backdrop of the Ministry of Economy’s long-standing failure to fulfil key tasks on which the development of the defence industry depends. The sector has repeatedly raised these issues with the relevant ministry.
This concerns, in particular, the export of products from the domestic defence industry.
"The draft law, which is intended to introduce reasonable conditions for the export of defence industry products, has not been approved by the Government or submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for several years.
The de facto blocking of this reform deprives domestic manufacturers of access to foreign markets, additional working capital and the investment needed to scale up production. At the same time, it discourages foreign partners from engaging in cooperation with the Ukrainian defence sector," the statement emphasised.
The statement also refers to foreign exchange restrictions affecting the defence industry.
"Administrative barriers still exist to the financing of long-term contracts for the import of both individual components and technological equipment.
Furthermore, despite high-profile announcements about the launch of the ‘Build with Ukraine’ programmes, Ukrainian enterprises are facing delays in the transfer of contributions towards the authorised capital of joint ventures established to implement such initiatives. This continues despite the fact that, according to information available to the Association, even the International Monetary Fund sees no problem with this and does not object to the relevant decisions," NAUDI explained.
As a result, Ukrainian manufacturers are unable to fully establish joint ventures with foreign partners under the ‘Build with Ukraine’ initiative.
This also applies to the insurance of military risks.
"Throughout the years of full-scale war, the Ministry of Economy has not taken any practical steps to introduce a mechanism for insuring military risks for defence industry enterprises, with the option of including the insurance premium in the cost price of manufactured products.
Enterprises that come under enemy attack on a daily basis continue to lack an accessible means of protecting their assets and personnel," the Association explained.
"Instead, the Ministry of Economy is systematically attempting to reduce the percentage of staff reserved in precisely the sector that, in wartime conditions, is most in need of qualified specialists – the defence-industrial complex.
Consequently, reducing the percentage of employees reserved for enterprises recognised as critically important for meeting the needs of the Ukrainian Defence Forces will result in the loss of already scarce specialists, a slowdown in innovation, and the postponement of the launch of new production facilities," NAUDI noted.
The association calls on the Cabinet of Ministers to prevent the adoption of decisions to reduce the quota (percentage) for reserving employees subject to military service at defence industry enterprises, and to instruct the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Defence to organise a meeting involving relevant industry associations in the defence sector to discuss the implementation of the aforementioned initiatives.
Background
- It was previously reported that the Ministry of Economy is proposing to reduce the quota for reserving defence industry workers from 100 per cent to 85 per cent.
- At the same time, the Council of Arms Manufacturers has opposed this decision and is calling for the option to reserve up to 100 per cent of conscript-eligible employees at enterprises in the sector to be retained.
- The National Association of Defence Industry Enterprises of Ukraine (NAUDI), for its part, has called on the Ministry of Economy to withdraw the draft resolution on reducing the reservation quota for the defence industry to 85 per cent.
