Draft bill #11194 of April 22, 2024

Cosponsors: a group of 15 MPs from the Batkivshchyna faction with Yuliia Tymoshenko as the first signatory

Status: sent for review to the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada on Social Policy and Veterans’ Rights Protection

Who is affected: citizens of Ukraine who suffered from the Chornobyl disaster and people who work or live in areas of radioactive contamination

Summary:

  • liquidators and people affected by the Chornobyl disaster will be entitled to receive a subsidized resort voucher, a leisure voucher, or 70% compensation of the average cost of a voucher in Ukraine
  • the regulation that Chornobyl-related assistance is provided based on income will be removed. Currently, it is provided if the size of the average monthly total income of the family calculated per person for the previous six months does not exceed the established limit that qualifies a person for a tax social benefit
  • citizens living in areas of radioactive contamination will be paid monthly monetary food assistance:
    • in the zone of enhanced radioecological monitoring — 30% of the minimum wage (2,400 UAH)
    • in the Zone of Guaranteed Voluntary Resettlement — 40% of the minimum wage (3,200 UAH)
    • in the Zone of Absolute (Mandatory) Resettlement — 50% of the minimum wage (4,000 UAH)
    • payments for citizens working in areas of radioactive contamination will be increased:
    • in the Zone of Absolute (Mandatory) Resettlement — three minimum wages (24,000 UAH)
    • in the Zone of Guaranteed Voluntary Resettlement — two minimum wages (16,000 UAH)
    • in the zone of enhanced radioecological monitoring — one minimum wage (8,000 UAH)
    • for pensioners working in zones of radioactive contamination, the remuneration will be additionally increased by 25% of the minimum wage (2,000 UAH)
  • the amount of one-time compensation for health damage to persons who acquired disabilities as a result of the Chornobyl disaster will be increased:
    • for persons with disabilities of group I — 60 minimum wages (480,000 UAH)
    • for persons with disabilities of group II — 45 minimum wages (360,000 UAH)
    • for persons with disabilities of group III — 30 minimum wages (240,000 UAH)
    • for children with disabilities — 10 minimum wages (80,000 UAH)
    • if a person is diagnosed with a disability of a higher group, the difference in amounts of compensation will be paid additionally
  • annual health assistance payments will be provided in the following amounts:
    • for persons with disabilities of groups I and II — five minimum wages (40,000 UAH)
    • for persons with disabilities of group III and children with disabilities — four minimum wages (32,000 UAH)
    • for Chornobyl liquidators of category II — five minimum wages (40,000 UAH)
    • for Chornobyl liquidators of category III — three minimum wages (24,000 UAH)
    • for each child who lost a parent due to the Chornobyl disaster — three minimum wages (24,000 UAH)
    • for individuals evacuated from the exclusion zone in 1986, including children — three minimum wages (24,000 UAH)
  • the amount of monthly compensation in case of the loss of the breadwinner will be increased:
    • each disabled family member who was dependent on the deceased will receive an additional payment of 20% of the subsistence minimum of a disabled individual (1,600 UAH) regardless of other pension payments
    • for families that have lost a breadwinner at once — 60 minimum wages (480,000 UAH), to the parents of the deceased — 30 minimum wages (240,000 UAH)
  • the amount of the minimum pension for persons with disabilities will be increased:
    • for persons with disabilities of group I — five subsistence minimums of a disabled individual (15,115 UAH)
    • for persons with disabilities of group II — four subsistence minimums of a disabled individual (12,092 UAH)
    • for persons with disabilities of group III — three subsistence minimums of a disabled individual (9,069 UAH)
    • for children with disabilities — three subsistence minimums of a disabled individual (9,069 UAH).

What is right: the bill proposes a revision of financial assistance to people who suffered from the Chornobyl disaster to compensate for the inflation rate.

What is wrong: as stated in the explanatory note, the implementation of the draft bill in 2024 will cost about 617,903 thousand UAH of additional funding monthly. The proposed sources of funding for the bill are additional revenues from the legalization of the shadow sector of the economy and informal employment, as well as the prevention of tax evasion in offshore havens. However, such sources of funding are ephemeral, and it is not obvious that there will be enough funding to pay the promised additional payments without incurring additional debt. As of August 2023, the state owed to people who suffered from the Chornobyl disaster around 14.2 billion UAH.

Alternative solution: to conduct verification of social payments and recalculate the numbers to ensure that the required amount for the increase in payments matches the financial capabilities of the state.

How to help the legislator:

proposals concerning the draft bill can be sent to the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada on Social Policy and Veterans’ Rights Protection.