Employee health and mental well-being, as well as attracting and retaining top talent, have risen from third to second and from sixth to fourth place in the list of key challenges facing companies over the past six months, according to a survey of its members by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Ukraine.
According to the survey, 70% of respondents mentioned health and psychological issues, up from 65% six months ago, and 56% of top employees, up from 43%.
Employee safety and security remains a key challenge, but its “rating” has dropped from 91% to 85%, while Russia’s missile attacks on critical infrastructure and business assets have dropped from 66% to 61%, moving it to third place.
The challenge of economic and consumer recession has also dropped to fifth from fourth, but 54% of respondents mentioned it, compared to 45% six months ago.
While in early fall, the top five expected problems were access to electricity, water and heat supply, and mobile communications with a 44% share, now it is not even among the top 11.
At the same time, logistics and transportation problems have become a concern for 43% of respondents, up from 30% six months ago, regulatory challenges – 39% instead of 23%, and pressure on business from government agencies – 28% instead of 23%.
Among the top three priority steps that businesses would like to see the government take, the top three are real and effective judicial reform (22%), ensuring a clear and transparent booking procedure (22%), and strengthening national security and defense and de-mining of Ukraine (21%).
Less frequently, company representatives chose to ensure predictability and stability of tax legislation (14%), protect supply chains by addressing the situation with border logistics and maritime transportation (7%), ease currency restrictions on repatriation of dividends and/or payment of interest on foreign loans (6%), and expand insurance coverage of political risks (3%).
According to the survey, 86% of companies are fully operational, 12% of the surveyed companies continue to operate partially, and 2% do not operate at all, while 84% were fully operational six months ago.
58% of all respondents had no damage to their property during the two years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 7% had their assets occupied, and 30% had their companies’ plants/factories/ facilities/warehouses/offices damaged: 75% of them have minor damage, 25% have irreparable damage.
According to the survey, 84% of AmCham member companies in Ukraine have employees in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 31% of companies, employees were wounded, 29% were killed in action, and 2% were missing.
“Despite the difficulties, the business community, inspired by brave defenders, continues to work and believe in Ukraine, supporting the economy, paying taxes and creating jobs for Ukrainians. 86% of member companies are fully operational after two years of full-scale war in Russia. Security and judicial reform are the highest priorities for business,” commented AmCham President Andy Hunder.
The survey, conducted from February 12-22, 2024, involved 125 CEOs and top managers of AmCham member companies.
In 2024, Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) may raise salaries by 10% if the Cabinet of Ministers supports the decision, UZ CEO Yevhen Lyashchenko said at the International Economic Forum in Kyiv on Thursday.
According to him, the total payments to employees of shortage professions, such as fitters and electricians, have already been increased by 30-40%, thanks to a performance bonus program.
“We understand that there are 90,000 people without whom UZ will not operate. These people are the focus of our raises, and they are very significant. We have launched a program to increase the level of bonuses for the work done, for the real result. In about three months, we have increased total payments for acutely shortage professions by 30%, and even by 40% for electricians,” said Lyashchenko.
Personnel costs account for about 50% of UZ’s total expenses, the CEO said, which is a big financial burden on the company.
The average salary in the company is currently UAH 14.5 thousand. The company has 220,000 employees, but, according to Lyashchenko, 190,000 people work for UZ and 5,500 for affiliated companies.
According to Spiegel, the German Foreign Ministry declared 40 employees of the Russian embassy persona non grata, the head of the ministry, Annalena Burbock, confirmed the decision to expel, but did not name the exact number of employees.
“The federal government today decided to declare undesirable a significant number of employees of the Russian embassy who here in Germany worked daily against our freedom and the unity of our society. Their work is a threat to those who seek our protection. We will not tolerate this” , Burbock said, quoted by the press service of the ministry.
Burbock said the Russian ambassador was informed of the decision on Monday.
In Ukrainian kindergartens, almost 85% of employees received vaccinations against COVID-19 coronavirus infection, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Serhiy Shkarlet said.
“According to operational information from the regions, at least one dose of vaccination against COVID-19 has already been received: about 85% of kindergarten workers; almost 92% of employees of specialized educational institutions. […] almost 76% of workers in specialized institutions and almost 62% of kindergarten teachers have already been vaccinated with two doses,” Shkarlet wrote on the telegram channel on Saturday.
The highest rates of vaccination of kindergarten employees were noted in Ternopil region – 97.7%, Kharkiv region – 95.2%, and in Donetsk region – 92.9% of vaccinated.
The most vaccinated employees of specialized institutions are in Kherson region – 99.2%, Zaporizhia – 97.8%, and Cherkasy region – 97.3% of the vaccinated.
The 80% vaccination threshold for kindergarten staff has not yet been reached in eight regions. Employees of specialized institutions are vaccinated for more than 80% in all regions of the country.
Representative offices of international companies in Ukraine are gradually returning employees to their offices in accordance with the global policy of parent companies, Managing Director of Colliers International (Ukraine) Oleksandr Nosachenko told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Despite COVID-19, companies are not going to give up office work. In more mature markets, companies are gradually returning employees to rented premises, given the pace of vaccination,” Nosachenko said.
According to him, such international companies as Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook are examples, which note the need for a physical presence in offices for effective teamwork, especially in the development of new projects. Ukrainian representative offices of international companies are also gradually returning employees to their offices.
In general, the office real estate market in Kyiv has become more active. According to Colliers International (Ukraine), the gross take-up of office space in the first half of 2021 amounted to about 60,000 square meters, which is 66% higher than in the first half of 2020 (some 40,000 square meters).
According to Nosachenko, the most active in terms of renting office space were companies from the IT sector, which share in the demand structure is 64% (about 40,000 square meters). FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) companies occupied about 10% (about 5,000 square meters) in the total demand structure.
During the first half of 2021, five business centers with a total area of more than 71,000 square meters were put into operation. The long-term construction at the metro station Lukianivska –LUWR business center (gross leasable area of 27,000 square meters), a business center at the metro station Taras Shevchenko (gross leasable area of 21,200 square meters), two business centers on Zoolohichna Street (gross leasable areas of 11,820 square meters; 6,000 square meters) and a business center as part of the River Mall – River Mall business center (gross leasable area of 5,000 square meters).
Thus, at the end of the first half of 2021, the cumulative supply of professional office space in Kyiv reached more than 2.218 million square meters.
“The total area of commissioned facilities is about 34.8% of the total volume of premises announced by developers for 2021,” Nosachenko said.
At the same time, during the first half of 2021, due to increased demand, there is a decrease in the average vacancy rate in business centers of A and B classes to 11.1% (at the end of 2020 it was 11.5%).
The vacancy rate in A class business centers decreased from 10.8% at the beginning of the year to 10.6%. The vacancy rate in B class buildings decreased from 11.6% to 11.3%, respectively.
Analysts from Colliers International (Ukraine) note a moderate increase in rental rates for office premises following the first half of 2021.
The prime headline rent remains at $26 per a square meter per month, as in 2020. In the first half of 2021, in the A class buildings, there was an increase in the lower limit indicator: from $18 per a square meter per month to $19 per a square meter per month. The range of rental rates in the B class buildings has changed from $11-19 per a square meter per month in 2020 to $12-20 per a square meter per month in the first half of 2021.
According to developers, in the second half of 2021, eight business centers are planned for commissioning, with a total area of about 130,000 square meters. Among them, the only one is class A – Magnett business center (the first stage of gross leasable area is 44,000 square meters).
Colliers International is a leading diversified professional services provider in commercial real estate. The company’s offices are represented in 67 countries of the world.
EMPLOYEES, INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES, RENTED PREMISES, RETURNING
More than 100 employees of regional departments of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, including 17 heads of customs offices and customs posts were suspended from their duties after a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, the press service of the State Customs Service has reported.
“Now, in addition to personal sanctions against a circle of persons whose activities are associated with smuggling, measures are being taken against customs officials who may be involved in corrupt practices. As of today, the employees have been suspended from their duties in the following territorial bodies: 22 employees in the Odesa customs office; 23 in the Zakarpattia office; 8 in Kyivska office; 23 in the Volyn office; 46 in the Halytska office; and 3 in the Bukovyna office,” the State Customs Service said in a report on Friday evening, April 2.
As reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after a meeting of the NSDC that dozens of officers of regional departments of the State Customs Service of Ukraine have been suspended from work.
“Dozens of customs officials have been suspended from work. And we are also preparing legislative changes, which will result in the criminalization of inaccurate customs declaration,” the president said.
He said the reason for the decision is the losses incurred by the Ukrainian budget due to the ineffective work of customs.
“According to experts, losses due to smuggling reach UAH 300 billion, which the state budget lost. More than UAH 100 billion of them [were lost] due to the ineffective work of customs,” the head of state said.
He said that Ukraine will continue fighting very hard against smuggling, as it is “economic terrorism.”
