Educational Ombudsman: "voluntary" duty in shelters violates the rights of educators
Kyiv • UNN
The Educational Ombudsman states that involving educators in shelter duty during holidays violates their labor rights. This decision, made without the participation of teachers, can be considered coercion.
The decision to involve educational institution employees in volunteering at shelters during summer holidays on a voluntary basis may indicate a violation of labor rights.
The educational ombudsman urges local authorities not to shift responsibility for safety onto educators. Nadiya Leshchyk wrote about this on her page, as reported by UNN.
The decision regarding "voluntary" duty in shelters during summer holidays and vacations violates the rights of employees of educational institutions
As stated, since the beginning of martial law, the Educational Ombudsman's Office has been receiving appeals and reports regarding the coercion of pedagogical workers to be on duty in shelters of educational institutions, including at night.
In particular, one such situation was highlighted by journalists at the end of June.
Having discovered this situation, I immediately contacted the Zdolbuniv City Council with a corresponding request as to whether civil protection formations had been created in the community and/or civil protection persons responsible for shelters in educational institutions had been appointed. In the response…it is reported that there is no such civil protection formation and no appointed civil protection persons in the community. It states that the Defense Council of the city territorial community decided that it was necessary to organize free access to shelters during an air raid alarm during non-educational hours. And it is reported that at a joint meeting with the heads of educational institutions, it was decided that for the period of summer holidays, employees of educational institutions would voluntarily, on a public basis, ensure access to shelters. And how the organization would take place is decided by the institution itself
Thus, it can be concluded, says Leshchyk, that the decision on "voluntariness" was made by the heads of educational institutions jointly with representatives of local authorities without the participation of educators, which "may indicate coercion to such duty."
It follows from the letter of the city council that teachers are not planned to be recalled from vacation to work during emergencies. At the same time, the employer will not be responsible for creating healthy and safe working conditions during such work, and will not guarantee compliance with other labor rights of employees - in particular, payment for work on weekends or for overtime hours.
Therefore, in this case, the employee cannot be responsible for safety in the shelter or for the preservation of property. That is why civil protection measures in the community must be properly organized, Leshchyk emphasizes, and cannot be imposed on educators in violation of their labor rights and guarantees.
I am preparing a letter to the relevant authorities