Ukraine launches Obriy service for unemployed citizens

Ukraine will launch Obriy service to register non-working citizens - those who refuse to work will not be charged a pension

Ukraine prepares to launch a new state service «Obriy», which will create profiles of unemployed citizens. This is reported by the Judicial and legal newspaper.

According to the developers, the system will allow the state to record the status of people who are not officially employed and offer them job options. If a citizen refuses to work without good reason, he or she will will not accrue a pension in the future.

Details of the new mechanism

The Obriy service is intended to become a kind of register of able-bodied citizens who have been out of work for a long time.
Its main functions:

• collecting information on non-working individuals;

• offering relevant vacancies through public services;

• recording of refusals to work;

• control over the labour activity of citizens.

The article notes that Obriy is to become a de facto «whip» for those who can work but don't want to.

How this will affect pensions

In the event of several unjustified refusals to accept a job offer, a citizen

• will not receive insurance experience,

• and therefore will not be entitled to a full pension.

The developers explain that the purpose of the service is not to punish, but to stimulate economic activity, reduce shadow employment and increase revenues to the Pension Fund.

Context.

The idea of tightening employment control has been discussed in Ukraine for a long time. Against the backdrop of wartime, the government is looking for mechanisms to increase the budget and reduce the social burden.
Experts warn that the implementation of such a service could trigger broad public debate on human rights, labour freedom and European social policy standards.