Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada proposed cutting maternity leave ninefold

Ukraine wants to cut maternity leave by a factor of nine.

A draft amendment to the Labor Code, No. 14386, has been submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada.

The Rada’s Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans’ Rights reviewed the proposed new Labor Code and recommended adopting it as a basis, according to the committee’s conclusions dated March 4.

Separately, the committee discussed provisions of Article 150 of the draft Labor Code concerning leave to care for a child. The draft proposes reducing parental leave from the current three years to four months.

Trade union representatives say this would significantly worsen employees’ situation compared to current legislation, and that the Constitution prohibits narrowing guarantees and rights that have already been granted.

It was also noted that Ukraine lacks sufficient early-childhood education infrastructure—particularly nurseries and kindergartens—which could make it difficult for parents to return to work just four months after a child is born.

Nevertheless, members of parliament still recommended adopting the new code.

It was also recalled that in the currently discussed new version of the Civil Code, some rules related to marriage are changing. For example, if one partner changes gender, the marriage is automatically dissolved, and unwillingness to have children would become grounds for dissolution.