Ukraine/ 5.1 General legislation  

5.1.6 Labour laws

Article 28 of the Law on Culture (2011) defines that payment conditions for employees of state and communal culture institutions, and educational establishments in culture are determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, that is, by general labour laws. It means that wages of cultural employees, according to this law, should be equal to wages of employees in other economic areas.  

The Law on Professional Artists and Artistic Unions (1997) regulates relations between artists unions and the government, envisages government subsidies to support these organisations, and ensures their participation in the development of cultural programmes and decision making.

The Budget Code of Ukraine (Article 87) outlines government support to cultural unions or associations of national significance. There are 11 national creative unions registered in the Ukraine.

There is a unified system of salaries for cultural employees in the public sector, and the wages of this category of public employees remain the lowest compared to other economic branches. According to the Law of Ukraine on Establishing Minimum Subsistence and a Minimum Wage (2009), the minimum wage per month for a public employee is UAH 1073 (97 EUR) as of 1 January 2012 (compared to UAH 922 (87 EUR) on 1 December 2010. In January 2013, the minimum wage per month was UAH 1 147 while by December 2013 it will increase to UAH 1 218.

Nevertheless, cultural employees, especially in small towns and villages often earn half or one quarter of this minimum wage (see also chapter 4.2.9). At the same time the average wage per month of a cultural employee in 2012 was UAH 2 630 (about 250 EUR) (see also chapter 4.2.10).

See also comparative information provided in the Compendium "Themes!" section under "Status of Artists".

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