“Getting a deferral is impossible”: In Drohobych, bus drivers refused to work due to actions by military enlistment officers

Passenger route transportation in the city of Drohobych, Lviv region of Ukraine, has been suspended following incidents involving a driver and military enlistment officers.

This was announced by the director of the transport company “Sigma,” Mykhailo Pastushak, on his Facebook page.

According to the company head, drivers went on strike after enlistment officers from the Territorial Recruitment Center (TCC) detained one of their colleagues directly from a bus on April 4 and sent him to undergo a military medical examination.

Pastushak explained that “securing a deferral (or ‘reservation’) for workers is nearly impossible,” so drivers have refused to operate routes out of fear of being mobilized.

City officials stated that “measures are being taken to stabilize passenger transport services in the city.”

The Lviv Regional TCC confirmed the incident involving the driver, but claimed that “no rights were violated, nor was human dignity compromised during the mobilization process.”

The recruitment center also made it clear that they intend to continue mobilizing minibus drivers.

“No law provides for automatic exemption from mobilization solely based on employment,” the TCC added, advising the transport company to apply for deferrals — which the director says is “virtually impossible to obtain.”

As a reminder, the All-Ukrainian Passenger Transport Association has previously warned that a severe shortage of public transport drivers is expected across Ukraine starting in April.