(Photo: Олексій Кулеба)

In a major step forward for labour rights in Ukraine’s construction sector, the BWI-affiliated PROFBUD has signed a new sectoral agreement for 2025–2027 together with the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine. The signing took place in Borodianka, a town that has become a powerful symbol of Ukraine’s resilience and reconstruction.

The new agreement will shape employment conditions for all enterprises and organisations operating in construction and building materials manufacturing. It serves as a mandatory foundation for collective bargaining at the enterprise level, ensuring that minimum standards are respected across the industry.

One of the most important outcomes of the agreement is the increase in the base tariff rate for unskilled workers, now set at 12,142 UAH (approx. €250), which is double the previous rate of 6,995 UAH (approx. €140). This figure represents the base starting wage, without accounting for qualification levels, job complexity, difficult working conditions, bonuses or sector-specific allowances.

Under such a scheme, even a single basic skill, such as metal cutting or rigging, qualifies a worker for a higher tariff category. Qualified workers now have base salaries starting from 18,000 UAH (approx. €360), and with additional components, the average salary for qualified tradespeople reaches 35,000–40,000 UAH (approx. €710-810). In public construction projects, where state budgets set labor costs, these updated standards will ensure more realistic and fair wages for workers involved in reconstruction

The negotiation and drafting of the agreement took nine months and brought together a broad coalition: PROFBUD and its regional affiliates, The Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, employers’ associations, contractors, and producers of construction materials.

The new agreement addresses not only wages, but also:

• Formalization of employment relationships
• Occupational safety and health
• Skills development and certification
• Gender equality and protection from discrimination
• Legal protection and enforcement mechanisms

The construction industry is driving Ukraine’s recovery, and the agreement sets a precedent: rebuilding a country must go hand in hand with strengthening workers’ rights.

“This is a systemic document that introduces strengthened guarantees for construction workers and lays the foundation for decent working conditions. These standards will attract more qualified professionals to the industry, promote training — including through trade unions and vocational institutions affiliated with unions — and support the inclusion of women in professions traditionally seen as male-dominated. It will also contribute to a meaningful dialogue about the return of Ukrainian citizens who were forced to flee the country due to the war,” said Vasyl Andreev, PROFBUD President.

“The construction sector plays a strategically vital role in Ukraine’s recovery. That’s why paying attention to the working conditions of construction workers is absolutely critical. The signing of the Sectoral Agreement is a clear demonstration of our shared responsibility toward working people. It is symbolic that we are signing this Agreement here in Borodianka — a community that experienced massive destruction, but is now, slowly yet steadily, becoming a symbol of recovery. It is crucial to lay down systemic foundations for building a new Ukraine — and that includes decent working conditions and stable, fair wages. This document is exactly about that” – emphasised Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Ukraine’s Recovery and Minister for Communities and Territories Development.

PROFBUD remains committed to decent work, social justice, and a fair reconstruction; brick by brick, worker by worker.