The Board of the All-Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities appealed to the Government in response to its fragmented approach to reviewing the remuneration of public sector employees. The Cabinet of Ministers has already increased pay for certain categories of workers; however, such decisions have an impact on the expenditure of communities. The Association therefore calls for the adoption of such measures as part of a unified approach to the entire pay system, taking into account the financial capacity of local budgets.

As reported by the Association, the Government has already decided to increase salaries for workers in the cultural sector (Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 951). Changes for the employees of children’s and youth sports schools are also under consideration, as is a proposal to increase salaries for staff at pre-school and extracurricular educational institutions.

The Board of the Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities emphasises that these employment categories form part of a single public sector system. Hence, revising pay for only certain groups without common rules and without a defined financial allocation may place an additional burden on local budgets.

‘The Board of the All-Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities recognises the need to review the terms of remuneration for public sector employees. For communities, this presents an opportunity to retain qualified specialists, ensure the stable operation of public sector institutions, and ensure the proper provision of services to residents. However, the review of pay conditions should be conducted in a comprehensive and consistent manner, in line with the principle of equal treatment for all categories of employees and taking into account the financial capacity of local budgets, as the introduction of new social guarantees without adequate financial resources creates an additional burden.’

The Association also highlights the issue of remuneration for local government officials. In order to review this, in the Board’s view, amendments should be made to Resolution No. 268 of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 9 March 2006. Local government officials ensure the implementation of state policy at the local level, organise the budgetary process, provide administrative and social services, coordinate the implementation of state programmes, and work with community residents.

The Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities calls on the Government to adopt the relevant decisions by 1 September 2026. Executive bodies of local councils are required to draw up forecasts of local budgets for the medium term by this date, in compliance with Article 75¹ of the Budget Code of Ukraine. This will enable communities to take the necessary expenditure into account in advance and avoid having to revise the forecast figures once they have been drawn up.