Ukraine will be actively combating poverty in order to meet European standards in the social sphere. This was announced by Ukraine’s Minister of Labor and Social Policy Liudmyla Denysova in Vienna at the International Conference on Policies for Socially Unprotected Groups: European Challenges.
The press service of Ukraine’s labor ministry reports that Denysova discussed this topical issue with her colleagues from Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova. EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs & Equal Opportunities Vladimir Spidla also reported on EU initiatives concerning social integration.
Denysova also informed her counterparts about the priorities of the Ukrainian government’s activity, in particular the work that has been undertaken by the Ministry of Labor, which is aimed at ensuring a decent life for all Ukrainian citizens. Ukraine’s integration into the European Union envisages an active policy that will be implemented so as to meet European standards in the social sphere, the main goal of which is the eradication of poverty.
According to Denysova, in order to reach these standards minimum wages have already been raised, and pensions have been recalculated by implementing an equitable and differentiated accounting system based on the number of years of insured service. The minister reported that Ukraine has also begun devoting more attention to young parents: childbirth payments have been raised and the scope of benefits has been established, depending on the number of children in a family.
In order to guarantee the rights of people with special needs, a policy has been implemented to assure free access to infrastructures and to provide this population group with technical means for rehabilitation. “It is important not only to increase the quantitative indices in the sphere of social protection,” the minister underlined, “but also to improve the quality of services. With this goal in mind, the elements of the system for providing these kinds of services will be reformed, new mechanisms of social care will be implemented, and control over the activity of corresponding institutions will be strengthened.”
Denysova also attended a meeting with Austria’s Federal Minister of Social Care and Protection of Consumers’ Rights Erwin Buchinger, who shared his experience of combating poverty in his country. The two ministers discussed an ongoing bilateral project of the Professional Education and Rehabilitation Centre (Austria) and the non-governmental organization National Aid (2007-09), future bilateral projects (2009-10), and cooperation in the sphere of professional rehabilitation and the organization of training visits and seminars.
Ukraine, which is one of the 191 member countries of the United Nations, has undertaken obligations to eliminate the most acute forms of poverty and reach a significant increase in real income by 2015.
