12 February 2008, 21:20
AN EVENING PLENARY MEETING OF THE SECOND SESSION OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAOINE OF THE SIXTH CONVOCATION WAS HELD ON TUESDAY 12 FEBRUARY
The Evening Meeting opened at 5 pm
The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Arseniy Yatseniuk, advised the People´s Deputies of the meeting of Faction Leaders, at which the Agenda was endorsed. Included in the Agenda is a Draft Planned Schedule for the Second Session of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, a Draft Agenda of the Second Session; Consideration, using a simplified Procedure, of a Bill introduced by The President of Ukraine on Amendments to Clause 5 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Living Wage´ (appertaining to publicizing the calculations); the Bill on Amendments to Clause 77 of ‘Essentials of Public Health Legislation of Ukraine (appertaining to establishing additional leave for Family Medicine employees), at the Second Reading; the Bill on Amendments to the Procedural Business Code of Ukraine at the Second Reading; the Bill on Amendments to the Law of Ukraine ‘ On Public Procurements of Goods, Works and Services´; and a Bill on the manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2008.
The People´s Deputies adopted this Agenda by 336 votes and proceeded to the consideration of matters on the Agenda.
Olexander Yefremov, Chairman of The Committee on The Standing Orders, Deputy´s Ethics and Support of Activities within The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, reported on the Draft Planned Schedule for the Second Session of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The Draft envisages that Plenary Meetings of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine commence on 5 February 2008 and that the Session is closed on 18 July. During this period, eleven weeks are allocated for Plenary proceedings, seven weeks for working in Committees and Factions, six weeks for People´s Deputies´ activities with electors, and eleven hours for taking part in ‘Government Question Hour´ in The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. O. Yefremov also reported on several amendments to this Draft offered by the Committee.
The Planned Schedule for the Second Session was carried by 427 votes.
The Chairman then reminded the Deputies of the need to discuss the Agenda of the Second Session, and addressed the Faction Leaders and Committee Chairmen with a request to remit the finally agreed list of all Bills subject for consideration throughout the current session, so that they could vote for this List in its entirety.
The Deputies upheld a motion by the Chairman to consider the rest of the issues using a simplified procedure.
Tetiana Bakhteieva, Public Health Committee Chairman, reported on the Bill on amendments to Clause 77 of ‘Essentials of Public Health Legislation of Ukraine (appertaining to establishing additional leave for Family Medicine employees). This Bill envisages an additional three-day leave for Family Medicine General Practice nurses, Heads of Family Medicine Departments and members of Mobile Teams whose experience exceeds three years.
Nine thousand Family Medicine nurses were employed in Ukraine as of the beginning of the year, according to the Speaker, but eleven thousand more are required.
In their speeches, the People´s Deputies, from both the Coalition and Opposition Factions, upheld the passing of this Bill
In the outcome of deliberations, the Law on Amendments to Clause 77 of Essentials of Public Health Legislation of Ukraine (appertaining to establishing additional leave for Family Medicine employees) was adopted by 439 votes.
The Bill on Amendments to Clause 5 of the Law of Ukraine, ‘On Living Wage´ (appertaining to publicising the calculations) was then considered using a simplified procedure. Olexander Shlapak, First Deputy Head of the Secretariat of The President of Ukraine, presented this Bill remarking that the Cabinet of Ministers and respective Ministers and Departments used to ignore multiple applications by The President of Ukraine requesting data on the actual living wage, taking into account the current inflation. The Bill proposes that such calculations are publicised on a monthly basis, and forwarded to The Verkhovna Rada, The President, Cabinet of Ministers and social dialogue partners.
Co-rapporteur, Sub-committee Chairman of the Social Policy and Labour Committee, Olexander Stoian, reminded the auditorium that the living wage is a social standard used in the calculation of minimum wages, minimum retirement benefits, financial aid to families with children, etc. According to the Trade Union Federation, the minimum wage level was under-estimated by 1520%, resulting from its ‘manual management´.
The People´s Deputies, taking the floor, upheld the passing of this Bill. However, at the same time they called for making a shift to a social consumption standard, embracing the cost of food, utilities, education and public health.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine on amendments to Clause 5 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Living Wage´ (appertaining to publicising the calculations) at the first and second readings, and in its entirety, with 442 votes.
The Bill on amendments to the Procedural Business Code of Ukraine was then considered at the Second Reading. The Justice Committee member, Dmytro Prytyka reported on this Bill.
The rapporteur notified the proposals and amendments moved by the legislative initiators during the preparation of this Bill for the Second Reading. The Deputies discussed these amendments, after which the Bill was remitted for a further Second Reading.
Andriy Kozhemiakin, People´s Deputy, presented the Bill, ‘On Public Procurements of Goods, Works and Services´. He said that this Bill is the result of a joint effort, reflecting a consensus of political elites, and taking into account proposals from Local Governments. It increases the lower price limits for procured items, at which buyers are obliged to fulfill Public Procurement procedures, envisages free publication of announcements of planned procurements or pre-qualification procedures, imposes a ban on the inclusion of Deputies of Rural/Community/City/City District/Regional District/ Regional/Kyiv/ Sevastopol Councils in Tender Committees, and introduces the procedures of public procurements on the basis of inter-departmental co-ordination from local budget funds.
Only a few People´s Deputies upheld this document. Kateryna Vashchuk of The Lytvyn Bloc Faction insisted that the proposals of this Faction are taken into account during additional elaboration on this Bill, and namely that on the liquidation of the Tender Chamber.
Members of ‘Our Ukraine/People´s Self-Defence´ Factions suggested that the Bill is remitted for a repeated First Reading.
After the members of the BYuT (with several comments) and Party of Regions Factions (supporting the proposal by the Lytvyn Bloc Faction) had taken the floor, the Bill was adopted at the First Reading as a basis for further deliberation, with 282 votes.
At the conclusion of the Meeting, the People´s Deputies discussed the Bill on the manpower of the Armed Forces in 2008. Serhiy Kyrychenko, Head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff, reported on this Bill He explained that the Bill recommends that, by the end of 2008, the total strength of Ukraine's Armed Forces totals 191,000, including 149,000 servicemen. A reduction of 9,000 will be made in 2008, among them 1,000 servicemen and 8,000 Armed Forces personnel.
He informed the audience that the figures stated differ from those given in the State Programme for the Development of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2006/11.
S. Kyrychenko explained that the need to lower the reduction rates in the strength of the Armed Forces is connected with the low level of funding of the measures, as set out in the State Programme, for the first two years to the amount of five billion Hryvnias. As a result 101,000 tonnes of missiles and ammunition were not disposed of, 14 armouries and stores were nor dismantled, the automated control system was not implemented within the set deadline, the Armed Forces were not relieved of the inappropriate function of protection and security/guard duties, due to the planned transferral of these functions to civil structures. These reasons impede the achievement of the planned manpower numbers, and require maintaining a large additional number of personnel in the Armed Forces.
S. Kyrychenko informed the People´s Deputies that the reduction will not affect combat personnel. Instead, the strength of several units will be increased, and a Jet Artillery Fast Response Regiment will be set up in summer.
The reform of the Armed Force in 2008 requires 718 million Hryvnias. However, the adopted State Budget does not cover these requirements in full. These may only be implemented once the State Budget has been revised. These comments concluded S. Kyrychenko´s speech.
Anatoliy Hrytsenko, Chairman of the National Security and Defence Committee, in his speech complimented the work over this Bill as being ‘a good example of cooperation between The President, as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
He expressed his disappointment that the social guarantees for dismissed military personnel have been cancelled in the adopted Law ‘On the State Budget of Ukraine in 2008´.
People´s Deputies, taking the floor, also insisted on the return of the said social guarantees.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2008´, at the First Reading and in its entirety, by 243 votes.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Chair put to the vote the inclusion of several Bills in the Agenda: On the Cabinet of Ministers, On Amendments to The Constitution of Ukraine appertaining to Immunity, and On Amendments to the Procedural Business Code. However, this move was not carried.
The People´s Deputes upheld the inclusion in the Agenda of those Bills which they deem urgent, and in particular those introduced by The President of Ukraine.
The Chair put to the vote a motion that The Law of Ukraine, ‘On Amendments to the Procedural Business Code´, is first of all considered at the next Plenary Meeting. However, the People´s Deputies´ rejected this move.
The Plenary Meeting was then closed.