Almost 81% of teachers in Ukraine have already received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Minister of Education and Science Serhiy Shkarlet said.
“Today, 81% of school workers have already been vaccinated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Over the past five days, the number of teachers vaccinated with the first dose in Lviv region has increased by 18%, by almost 14% in Dnipropetrovsk region,” Shkarlet wrote in his Telegram channel.
According to him, 67.9% of teachers passed the full vaccination cycle in Luhansk region, in Cherkasy region – 64%, in Poltava region – 62.8%, in the city of Kyiv – 62.6%, in Sumy region – 59.7%. At the same time, the minister says that Kherson, Rivne and Odesa regions have not yet demonstrated tangible progress in vaccination rates.
British-based Ferrexpo plc, which controls in Ukraine, in particular, Poltava and Yeristovo mining and processing plants, in January-September 2021 increased total production of pellets by 0.3% compared to the same period in 2020, to 8.158 million tonnes.
According to a press release from the company on Wednesday, total production, including pellets and salable concentrate, rose 3% to 8.393 million tonnes over the period.
At the same time, total production of pellets with 65% iron content amounted to 7.829 million tonnes (a decrease of 0.3%). Pellets with 62% iron content were not produced. Production of direct reduction (DR) pellets with 67% iron content amounted to 330,000 tonnes (up by 76%).
Over the nine months of 2021, the company also produced 234,000 tonnes of salable concentrate with 67% iron content, while in 2020 it did not produce salable concentrate.
In the third quarter of 2021, total pellet production fell 9% quarter on quarter (qoq), but increased 2% versus Q3 2020, to 2.596 million tonnes. In particular, 2.401 million tonnes of pellets with 65% iron content were produced (a decrease by 13% versus the second quarter of 2021 and by 5% versus the third quarter of last year), no pellets with 62% grade were produced, production of DR pellets with 67% iron content amounted to 195,000 tonnes (an increase of 130% compared to the previous quarter).
The company also produced 85,000 tonnes of salable concentrate with 67% iron content in the third quarter of 2021 (an increase of 0.2% compared to the second quarter).
Total production, including production of pellets and commercial concentrate, in the third quarter of this year decreased by 9% compared to the second quarter of 2021, but increased by 6% compared to the third quarter of 2020, to 2.680 million tonnes.
The press release explains that the 2% increase in iron ore pellet output in Q3 2021 versus Q3 2020 reflects strong production performance following pelletiser upgrade work completed in previous quarters. Production volumes are 9% lower on a quarter on quarter basis as a result of pelletiser upgrade work completed during the quarter, and planned pelletiser maintenance in September 2021.
In addition, upgrade work on the group’s fourth pelletiser line completed during September 2021.
Production of iron ore concentrate with a high iron content (65% and above) in the third quarter was in line with the previous quarter.
In addition, it clarifies that the proportion of direct reduction pellets with higher iron content (67% Fe) increased to 8% of total pellet production during the third quarter from 3% in the previous quarter, reflecting the group’s continuing expansion into this market.
In turn, continued production of commercial high grade concentrate (67% Fe) at 85,000 tonnes in the third quarter reflects the group’s recent investment in in its concentrate stockyard project.
Interim Group Chief Executive Officer Jim North pointed to the group’s continued progress towards improving product quality and output following the completion of the pelletizer upgrade.
“Through continued investment in the group’s concentrator and pelletiser facilities, we are creating a platform for future growth in product volumes, whilst simultaneously increasing the overall grade of our production,” North is cited in the press release.
Biosphere Corporation (Dnipro), the largest Ukrainian manufacturer of household and hygienic products, plans in 2022 to launch production of starch-based biopolymers, which will be completely decomposed, founder and CEO of Biosphere Andriy Zdesenko said at the 2021 International Mayors Summit in Kyiv.
“It will be in Dnipro, where we have a plant and a large production cluster. Our task is to make vertical integration,” he told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the summit, specifying that production of biodegradable bags started by the corporation in early 2020 is carried out from purchased raw materials.
Zdesenko at the summit noted the readiness of Biosphere to supply such biopackages from biopolymers to municipalities for pets. “Only 1% of the total number of owners constantly use packages and clean up after their pets,” the head of the corporation said.
Rostyslav Vovk, CEO and co-owner of Kormotech, a large Ukrainian producer of cat and dog food, added that the company is ready, together with Biosphere and municipalities, to implement projects to collect this waste in parks.
Zdesenko also noted that the corporation is aimed at direct cooperation with cities to build a circular economy “you give us garbage – and we give a finished product.”
“The idea is that we can receive sorted waste not through a network of intermediaries […] but directly from the city. So that we receive the sheeting, make large-size garbage bags out of it for municipal needs and deliver it to the city directly from the factory, also bypassing all the chains of intermediaries, at the most competitive price with the correct dimensions and technologies,” he explained.
According to him, he is conducting such negotiations with mayor of Lviv, “the most advanced city in terms of waste management,” Andriy Sadovy and mayor of Dnipro Borys Filatov.
Zdesenko pointed out: despite the development of the market, today high-quality waste in Ukraine is expensive and in short supply. According to him, a tonne of polyethylene waste of various grades in Poland, the Czech Republic or Lithuania costs about EUR 200, while in Ukraine, which is now practically deprived of the opportunity to import it from Europe due to EU restrictions, it is “EUR 350, or even EUR 400”.
“Buying this raw material, processing it, I, in fact, am not capable of producing a competitive product for export,” he said.
In this regard, Biosphere begins to involve a large number of international companies in the overall waste collection project, in particular, it started the first project with McDonald’s, and the project with PepsiCo is at the start.
Biosphere Corporation has been operating in Ukraine for over 20 years. Its products are presented in the markets of 30 countries in Europe and Asia. The product portfolio includes more than 2,000 items under 13 trademarks.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 06/10/21
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of October 06
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
Employers cannot fire an employee who is not vaccinated against COVID-19 until the Ministry of Health approves a list of professions for which such vaccination is mandatory, lawyers interviewed by Interfax-Ukraine have said.
Iryna Shaposhnikova, a lawyer at the Asters law firm, said that the law on protection of the Population from infectious diseases establishes a list of six mandatory preventive vaccinations, while vaccination against COVID-19 is not on this list, so it is exclusively voluntary.
At the same time, the lawyer said that this law provides that employees of certain professions, industries and organizations are subject to mandatory preventive vaccinations if their activities can lead to infection of other employees or the spread of such diseases. Thus, in addition to the list of mandatory vaccinations for all, there may be others if the work carries the risk of spreading infectious diseases.
For her part, Natalia Shvets, a counselor at the law firm Ario Law Firm, said that “the ideal option for both parties to an employment relationship is to find a comfortable compromise in advance. For example, agree on remote work or a weekly report on the PCR test.”
“In Ukraine, labor relations are regulated by the Labor Code, which clearly indicates the procedure and grounds for dismissing an employee from work. There is no norm on the possibility of dismissing for refusing to get a vaccine,” she said.
At the same time, Shvets drew attention to the fact that according to the law, “citizens have the right to safe working conditions, including the absence of the risk of infection.”
“The Cabinet can establish quarantine-restrictive measures to prevent the spread of infection. And an employee can be fired for violation of labor discipline. This includes non-performance or improper performance of labor duties,” she said.
For their part, the experts of the Omerta Law Firm said that currently there is no requirement that may oblige employers to provide their employees with the opportunity to vaccinate. However, on the initiative of the owner or an authorized body, the employment contract can be terminated if an employee is found to be inconsistent with the job position or work performed due to health conditions.
“Such a dismissal can only be carried out on the basis of evidence that due to the state of health, the employee cannot properly perform the assigned work duties. The dismissal of an employee on this basis is not a disciplinary measure, because vaccination against coronavirus is voluntary for all groups of the population,” the lawyers said.
Omerta experts said that the employer has no legal basis to force employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and to bring them to disciplinary responsibility for refusing such vaccination.
In turn, Kyrylo Kozak, a partner of the KPD Consulting law firm and a member of the council of the labor law committee of the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA), reminded that the list of professions for which a periodic medical examination is required, includes the categories of workers who, due to their job responsibilities, come into contact with a large number of people or whose activities are associated with the risk of spreading diseases (services, catering, etc.).
The lawyer advises an employee, if such a decision is granted, to make a decision on vaccination if there are no valid reasons for refusing to be vaccinated. If the specified decision is not provided, then the employer will have to provide a written request asking to clarify the grounds for vaccination and the relationship of vaccination with the position held.
At the same time, lawyers interviewed by Interfax-Ukraine do not consider the employers’ requirements for so-called “health books,” which would indicate such vaccination, as an effective mechanism to stimulate vaccination against COVID-19. In particular, Shaposhnikova said that not all workers need a health book (the official name is “personal medical book”), and the Cabinet of Ministers established a list of industries whose workers are required to have such a document – the medical, food, educational spheres, etc.
At the same time, the lawyer considers it illegal to attempt to oblige employees to have health certificates, which will indicate vaccination against COVID-19, since the legislation defines an exhaustive list of diseases for vaccination, and COVID-19 is not included in this list.
“To date, there are no direct legislative mechanisms using which an employer can oblige an employee to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Therefore, the only method is clarification, persuasion and finding understanding, consensus. Any coercion (fine, suspension, dismissal, etc.) will be illegal,” the lawyer said.
LIST PROFESSIONS, MANDATORY VACCINATION, UNVACCINATED EMPLOYEE
