The Lviv Trade Union Association has defended its ownership rights to a historic building in Lviv in court after years of litigation. At the same time, the situation with the return of the Trade Union House in Kyiv to the management of a third-party company raises serious questions about adherence to the principles of social dialogue and property rights. Roman Datsko, head of the Lviv Trade Union Association, stated this in an exclusive comment to UNN.
According to him, the history of the trade union movement in Lviv is complex and dates back to 1817.
The history, which began in 1817, led to the fact that by the end of 1898, there was already a trade union commission in Lviv. At that time, there were almost 2,500 trade union members, and we had our own premises. And when the first Soviet government came to us in 1939, these premises were taken for the needs of the police department. In 1949, when the Soviet government returned for the second time, by decision of the regional executive committee, new premises were provided. That is, since 1949, we have had our own premises.
He emphasized that in 2022, the prosecutor's office, with the support of the Lviv Regional Council, challenged the trade unions' right to the building, appealing to the wording "transferred to the balance sheet," which, in their opinion, did not mean the transfer of the building to the ownership of the trade unions.
The Commercial Court of Kyiv rejected all claims of the prosecutor's office, but the appellate court in 2023 did not support the decision of the first instance, and in April 2025, the regional council received a certificate of private ownership, and the certificate of the Lviv Trade Union Association was liquidated.
However, the situation was turned around thanks to newly discovered circumstances. The trade unions found archival documents confirming that the transfer of the building was approved at the level of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR.
That is, we had property, one "Soviet" took it away, another "Soviet" gave it, and our own government, it turns out, is taking away the building from us after 75 years.
He noted that the judicial panel, based on the review of newly discovered circumstances, sided with the Lviv Trade Union Association and restored their ownership rights to the historic building. According to him, this is a matter of principle, as trade unions unite more than 217,000 trade union members, 2,500 primary organizations from 34 industries, and are not a commercial or political structure.
Separately, he sharply criticized the situation with the Trade Union House in Kyiv, which, despite the existence of ownership documents for the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine, was seized and transferred to the management of a private company. He reminded that the Trade Union House on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv was built at the expense of the trade union movement.
The nonsense is that having a legal right, it's like I have a warrant for an apartment, instead of me living in my apartment, other people live there who allegedly promise to pay the state and the city hall large sums for rent. On what grounds, firstly, to pay rent to someone who does not own this property? In fact, this does not fit into any logic.
In his conviction, such a situation undermines the very idea of social partnership, especially given that trade unions are a full-fledged party in the National Tripartite Social and Economic Council along with the Government and employers.
What kind of social dialogue is this when one of the social partners had their premises taken away, despite having all the documents for the right of ownership to these premises?
He added that on the eve of the congress of the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine, scheduled for May 21, the authorities must demonstrate respect for the trade union movement and review the relevant decisions.
Recall
As UNN previously wrote, FPU head Serhiy Byzov stated in an interview that the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine continues to fight in court for the return of the Trade Union House, located in the center of the capital. He expressed confidence that the trade union movement would return home in the near future.
Add
The Trade Union House was transferred to ARMA management by court decision. This asset was under arrest in 2022 and 2023 as part of a case concerning the misappropriation of state property. In 2025, the arrest was lifted, but on June 3, 2025, the Pechersk District Court re-arrested this object.
The Agency concluded a management agreement with the winner of the open competition – the consortium "Managing Company "KAMparitet".
According to a journalistic investigation, the consortium includes a company that may be connected to one of the previous beneficiaries of the asset. The publication also mentioned the name of Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration — Minister of Justice of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna in the context of past family ties. She categorically denied any involvement in the possible scheme. After the scandal erupted, MPs demanded the resignation of the then head of ARMA, Olena Duma.
The inspection conducted by ARMA from August 20 to September 5, 2025, recorded violations of certain terms of the asset management agreement.
The Trade Union House is an administrative building that previously housed the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine. During the Revolution of Dignity, it served as the headquarters of the national resistance. The building almost completely burned down in February 2014. It was restored by a private investor between 2016 and 2018.