Trade Union of workers of education and science of Ukraine believes that the proposed increase in teaching load threatens to dismiss more than 70 thousand teachers.
“The Committee on education, science and innovation of the Verkhovna Rada decided to amend the law on the state budget of Ukraine to the laws ”On education“, ”On full general secondary education“, ”On vocational pre-university education“, ”On vocational education”. The norm of a teacher’s teaching load has been increased from 18 to 22 hours per week, which threatens to reduce by 22.2% the rates of teachers and, as a consequence, – dismissal of more than 70 thousand teachers”, – the trade union said in a statement.
It is noted that the changes are also proposed, which will lead to a reduction in seniority bonuses for those teaching staff with a teaching experience of 10 to 20 years, as well as deprive the right to seniority bonuses for teaching staff with a record of 5 to 6 years.
In addition, it is proposed to cancel the increase in wage rates for the pedagogical titles of “teacher-methodist”, “senior teacher”, “senior tutor”, “tutor-methodist” and other pedagogical titles assigned to pedagogical workers who ensure the educational process at a high professional level.
Among other things, the trade union draws attention to the fact that the Committee considers it necessary to introduce a 36-hour working time for teachers, circle leaders, as well as for all other teaching staff of the institution of general secondary education.
“The above decision of the Committee on Education and Science of the Verkhovna Rada does not comply with Article 22 of the Constitution of Ukraine, according to which the adoption of new laws or amendments to existing laws is not allowed to narrow the content and scope of existing rights and freedoms”, – says the statement.
In connection with the above, the Trade Union of Workers of Education and Science of Ukraine calls on the head of the Education Committee, people’s deputies to withdraw from the Committee on Budget the above proposals, which concern the narrowing of labor rights of teaching staff.
“We express a categorical protest to the proposals proposed in the conclusion of the Committee on amendments to the draft law ”On the state budget of Ukraine for 2026“ for the second reading and call on the people’s deputies of Ukraine, the head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, heads and members of the Committees on budget, finance, tax and customs policy in the adoption of the law in the second reading to prevent the adoption of these illegal changes that will lead to the violation of labor rights of teaching staff of educational institutions,” – said in a statement.
As reported, the educational ombudsman Nadezhda Leshchik considers it necessary to start a dialog between teachers and the authorities in Ukraine on whether to increase the pedagogical load of teachers on the condition of an increase in salary.
Imports of electric batteries and separators to Ukraine in January-October 2025 increased by 53.4% year-on-year to $1.060 billion, according to the State Customs Service.
The largest suppliers were China with $740.6 million (70.2%), Vietnam with $96.2 million (9%), and Taiwan with $53.8 million (5%). In 2024, China (82%), Bulgaria (3.1%), and the Czech Republic (3%) were the leaders.
In October 2025, battery imports amounted to $144.9 million, which is 13.2% higher than in October 2024. Exports for ten months amounted to $43.9 million, with the main destinations being Poland (33%), Germany (12.9%), and France (11.9%). In 2024, exports amounted to $34.1 million, of which almost 30% went to Poland, 14.7% to France, and 11% to Germany.
Context. Since the end of July 2024, battery imports have been exempt from customs duties and VAT. By the end of 2024, imports of these products had more than doubled to $950.6 million.
Source: https://expertsclub.eu/ukrayina-zbilshyla-import-akumulyatoriv-na-53-za-desyat-misyacziv/
Imports of electric generators and rotary electric converters to Ukraine in January–October 2025 increased 3.6 times year-on-year and reached $1.397 billion, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
The leading suppliers are Romania ($272.1 million or 19.5% of the total volume), the Czech Republic ($254.6 million or 18.2%), and Poland ($175.3 million or 12.6%). A year earlier, the main sources were China ($88.3 million), Turkey ($80.6 million), and the Czech Republic ($54.6 million).
In October 2025, imports of generator equipment amounted to $187.8 million, which is 89.3% higher than in October 2024 and 2% lower than in September 2024. Exports for ten months amounted to $3.6 million, with the main destinations being the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Bulgaria.
Context. Since the end of July 2024, there has been an exemption from import duties and VAT on electrical generator equipment and batteries. According to the State Customs Service, in 2024, imports of generators and converters increased by 3.7% compared to 2023, reaching $732.5 million.
Imports of trucks to Ukraine in January-October 2025 increased by 8% in monetary terms compared to the same period in 2024, reaching $819.5 million, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the published data, the growth rate of imports of this type of vehicle has slowed down again, reaching 11.6% in the first 10 months compared to the same period in 2024.
In October, truck imports fell by 17% compared to October 2024, to $79.2 million, which is also a quarter less than in September 2025.
The largest number of trucks in 10 months was imported from Poland – $149.6 million (1.3% less than last year), France – $133.2 million (43.3% more) and the United States – $104.2 million (30.4% more).
Imports from all other countries in January-October decreased slightly, amounting to $432.6 million.
At the same time, according to statistics, Ukraine exported only $5.6 million worth of trucks in 10 months, mainly to Turkey (62.4% of exports), Romania (32.4%), and Moldova, while a year earlier, exports were even more insignificant ($2.8 million), mainly to Moldova, Poland, and Kazakhstan.
As reported, in 2024, imports of trucks to Ukraine in monetary terms increased by 30% compared to 2023, to $947.84 million, with most of them imported from Poland (almost 20%).
Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend next week’s Group of 20 summit, dealing a blow to South Africa, which is already facing a boycott by US President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reports.
China’s Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that Premier Li Keqiang will represent the country at the leaders’ summit, which begins in Johannesburg on November 22. The statement did not explain why Xi, who attended the event last year, will be absent this time.
Xi’s decision means that the summit, created to address geopolitical and economic issues and usually attended by heads of state, will not be attended by the leaders of the world’s two largest economies and another member country, Russia. Last week, Trump said that no American officials would attend the summit after he attacked South Africa with false claims of genocide against white Afrikaners. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip remains limited due to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court,” the statement said.
Other G-20 leaders, including Javier Milei of Argentina and Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, will also not travel to South Africa. However, several European leaders, as well as Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, plan to be there.
Lin Jian, spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said at a regular briefing on Thursday that the meeting in Johannesburg “has important historical significance” as it is the first G20 summit on the African continent, and expressed support for South Africa as the host country.
Li, China’s second-highest-ranking official, has represented Xi at other major international events in recent years. He stood in for the president at the G20 summit in India in 2023 and at the BRICS leaders’ meeting in Brazil in July.
South African officials say in private comments that the absence of the US may make it easier to reach agreement on the declaration, which they believe will be an indicator of the success of the country’s G20 presidency before handing over to Washington in December.
The first hundred lobbyists have registered in Ukraine’s Transparency Register, an open public platform that collects, processes, and publishes data on lobbying entities and their reports, according to a statement posted on the website of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) on Thursday.
“As of November 13, 2025, 101 lobbying entities are registered in the Register, of which 51 are legal entities (on behalf of which 141 representatives can lobby) and 50 are individuals. Two people have terminated their status as lobbyists. So, in total, 191 lobbyists can influence decision-making in the country,” the statement said.
Among the legal entities registered in the Register, there are 27 companies (limited liability and joint-stock), 16 public associations (associations, unions), five law firms (associations, offices), and three others.
“The most popular areas of lobbying are: financial, banking, tax, and customs policy—76 lobbying entities; economic development, regulatory policy, and property—74 entities; legal policy—70 entities; law enforcement—68 entities; innovation and digital transformation – 66 entities; transport, communications, and infrastructure – 65 entities; environmental policy and natural resource use – 64 entities; agricultural and land policy – 63 entities; regional development and urban planning – 62 entities. The smallest number of entities chose the area of “Youth and Sports” – 36 lobbying entities,” the statement said.
The NACP reminds that lobbying entities must submit their first reports on their activities from the date of registration in the Register until December 31, 2025, to the Register between January 1 and January 30, 2026.
As reported, the Lobbyist Transparency Register, provided for by the law on lobbying, officially began operating in Ukraine on September 1. At the same time, the NACP put into commercial operation a key tool for its implementation – the Transparency Register.
Immediately after that, the National Association of Lobbyists (NALU) was created in Ukraine to promote investment and protect business interests. Today, it has offices in London and Zurich.
Source: https://nazk.gov.ua/uk/u-reestri-prozorosti-nazk-zareestruvalysya-pershi-100-lobistiv/
