Draft bill #9378 of June 10, 2023
Status: adopted, awaits to be signed by the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada and the President
Who is affected: service members, their families, and the military command
Summary of the bill:
- during the special period (while martial law is in effect), an annual vacation for all military personnel will be increased from 10 to 40 days. 30 days will be granted to service members who served a full year, 10 extra days will be granted under special circumstances like family emergencies and with full pay
- travel time (if under two consecutive days) will not be included as a part of a vacation.
Why this is important:
- after martial law was declared, service members were deprived of vacations. On December 1, 2022, MPs adopted the law granting 10 days of annual vacation while martial law is in effect
- at the end of May 2023, MPs adopted in the first reading the draft bill “reinstating bonuses for the military.” Besides the bonuses, the bill also provisioned more vacation days while martial law is in effect.
What is right: better social security for the military. The full-scale invasion started almost a year and a half ago, Ukrainian defenders need time for vacations and rotation to be able to continue their service.
What is wrong:
- the draft bill was submitted, included on the agenda, and adopted in the first reading in just one day. This is a clear violation of the rules of procedure of the Verkhovna Rada, MPs had no time to read the draft bill, submit alternative draft bills, or prepare conclusions in the parliamentary committees
- it is unclear why this particular draft bill was adopted. The same regulations were proposed in bill #9342 that, in particular, reinstates ₴30-thousand bonuses for the military. According to MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, consideration of this bill could be postponed until July.