The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine has developed a detailed quarantine exit plan with concrete steps at each stage, President of American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine Andy Hunder told Interfax-Ukraine.
The main asset of any company is its people. Safety and security of employees are extremely important for every diligent employer. That is why the Chamber already has a detailed plan for exiting the lockdown that has been presented to its Board of Directors. Our employees are our strategic priority, thus we focused on soft and gradual return to work, Hunder said.
He said that the starting point for the Chamber will be the fourth phase of lockdown, which was announced by the government.
After that, we will introduce one week of mandatory work from home. We will recommend working from home in the second week. We will start to introduce flexible modes of work in the third week. So only in the fourth week we will be able to talk about returning to office, the Chamber’s president said.
The organization said that timely and transparent communication is critical in this process.
In the first and second weeks, the main steps are daily disinfection of office, procurement and provision of personal protective equipment for employees, reorganization of office to observe a social distance of 1.5-2 meters between workplaces. We will continue observing these requirements. We will also consider the possibility of conducting coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for all our employees, Hunder said.
According to the Chamber’s plan, temperature screening, the introduction of a clean desk policy, work in small groups or work in shifts (not all employees will be in the office at the same time) will be introduced during the third and fourth weeks. Participation in meetings will be possible only if absolutely necessary, in compliance with all safety rules, the Chamber’s president said.
The psychological aspect is also an important component of returning to office, thus the heads of the Chamber’s departments will meet with each member of their team. We hope that under these conditions, returning to office will be as safe and comfortable as possible for each employee, he said.
Hunder said that amid lockdown, the Chamber continues to actively provide information about businesses at the highest level, and also holds events for member companies in the online mode.
For some time after the Chamber’s team exits the lockdown, it is still planned to host events in the online mode, he said.
There is not a single business that, one way or another, would not feel the effect of coronavirus outbreak. Now the team of the Chamber and its member companies are actively preparing to exit lockdown, but the reality we will all return to will be different, he said.
Hunder also said that a month ago, the Chamber launched a video project on Facebook, titled Leadership in Times of Crisis, whose goal is to support businesses in difficult times and show how member companies respond to challenges and support their employees.
Hunder also said every day he holds several video interviews with the CEOs of the Chamber’s member companies. They are all sure of one thing – we have already started to live in a new reality. For each company, this reality is different, as someone adapts their business models, some companies completely work in the online mode, and some, on the contrary, strengthen their positions and provide even more services. Thus, after lockdown everything will change, namely, models, approaches, formats of work. Most importantly is the fact that the values and future strategies will be reassessed, he said.
Many companies are already successfully working remotely.
For example, Twitter whose 5,000 employees have been working from home since early March. Twitter management decided to keep their employees working remotely all the time. This is a new reality in action, the Chamber’s president said.
However, cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, the victory over the COVID-19 pandemic, the recovery of the Ukrainian economy and the preservation of jobs are the top priorities for business, he said.
The Chamber continues to cooperate with the government of Ukraine in these directions. It will also review its detailed strategic priorities and initiate proposals to support the Ukrainian economy, Hunder said.
Azerbaijani Socar has shown interest in storing oil in Ukraine, but the current legislation does not allow providing such a service, Ukrtransnafta director general and head of the oil division of Naftogaz Group Mykola Havrylenko said.
“Socar, when they contacted us, said that they want to store oil for a year with the possibility of deciding where to put it: either process it or transport it by pipeline to Belarus, or again onto water with loading on tankers and sell in the free market. Our legislation does not yet allow such an opportunity,” he said.
Havrylenko recalled that the company applied to the Ministry of Finance in order to obtain permission to create a licensed customs warehouse based on its facilities for provision of oil storage services.
According to him, initially oil can be stored in the linear part of the Kremenchuk-Lysychansk oil pipeline section, where it is technically possible to place about 400,000 tonnes of oil.
“We submitted relevant initiatives to the Ministry of Finance, where, among other things, we propose recognizing the inactive section of the pipeline with certain nuances. If this is accepted, we will be able to enter the market with such capacity as this linear part of the pipeline,” the head of Ukrtransnafta said.
He also said that the tank farm at Pivdenny maritime oil terminal can currently accept 200,000 cubic meters, or 170,000 tonnes, but this is not enough even for the placement of oil from two tankers of 90,000 tonnes.
Kyiv budget losses already reach about UAH 1.5 billion because of pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said.
“Well, today it is difficult for everyone. We live in completely different realities during two months. Some lost their jobs, some went on leave without pay, some began to earn much less. The city is also losing money. According to our estimates, the losses of the city budget reach about UAH 1.5 billion due to the pandemic,” Klitschko said at an online briefing on Wednesday, May 13.
“If the situation worsens, the capital will decide on additional budget adjustments. After all, we practically do not receive taxes and fees that came to the city from small and medium-sized businesses. However, we understand how difficult it is for business and what it needs to be supported. So, we do everything, what we can do in this situation,” the mayor said.
Klitschko said that the city provided a 50% discount for small and medium-sized businesses to pay for the rental of communal property. If it is impossible to use the facility, for a period of restrictions as well, tenants of communal property were exempted from payment under lease agreements. Moreover, from March 1 to April 30, individual entrepreneurs were exempted from paying a single social security tax.
“With understanding the fact, that the business has losses and it needs help, we prepared a decision of Kyiv City Council on the introduction of symbolic fixed payment of shares in the amount of UAH 1 for summer and seasonal areas of cafes and restaurants. Namely, before the end of October for summer areas, and before the end of December for seasonal ones,” the mayor said.
In addition, the summer and seasonal areas that received documents in 2019, the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of Kyiv City State Administration will issue new documents for placement without processing and unnecessary approvals, for a period of two working days. Such procedure will concern new areas that want to work in compliance with all requirements.
“I would like to remind that the city authorities resumed cooperation with the Entrepreneurship Development Fund, the former German-Ukrainian Fund. Entrepreneurs of the capital will be able to get financing from the fund for the implementation of investment projects. The city also provided funds in the budget for financial and credit support of the business. It is more than UAH 7 million. Due to these funds, Kyiv entrepreneurs will get the compensation of 50% of the interest rate on loan agreements with the fund. We understand that small and medium-sized businesses are the basis of the city’s economy, and it must be supported and encouraged. It will be difficult for everyone, but I am convinced that by joint efforts and constructive cooperation we will overcome this challenge,” Klitschko said.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 15/05/20
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of May 15
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
On Wednesday, May 13, Visa Token Service added 28 new international partners to enhance the security of digital payments, including Portmone payment system and state-owned PrivatBank.
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