The Cabinet of Ministers plans to resolve the issue of low wages for Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant employees by June
The Ukrainian government is working to address the issue of low wages for staff at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which currently lag significantly behind the incomes of workers at other nuclear power plants in the country.
This is evidenced by official statements made by officials during a meeting, which was published on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Telegram channel.
The issue of wages at the Chernobyl NPP gained public attention following a collective appeal stating that plant employees had previously been promised that their average wages would be maintained at the level of those at Ukraine’s other operating nuclear power plants. However, in practice, current pay in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone turned out to be significantly lower—in some cases, the difference compared to other nuclear power plant workers is more than double. In this regard, the issue of urgently allocating additional funding was raised before the Cabinet of Ministers.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal reported that following meetings held directly in the exclusion zone after the events marking the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident, all necessary financial calculations have already been prepared and submitted to the Ministry of Finance. An agreement in principle has now been reached to raise the pay rates for Chernobyl NPP employees to match those of Energoatom, whose management fully supports this move. The issue of additional funding was also preliminarily discussed with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko confirmed receipt of the calculations from the Ministry of Energy. He noted that funding for this decision will depend on the state budget review process—the relevant adjustments are planned to be incorporated into the text of the document before its second reading. The head of the Ministry of Finance expressed hope that the government will be able to finally resolve this issue and adopt the necessary decisions in the near future, tentatively by June.
Read also: Half-forgottenheroes: 40 years later, Chernobyl liquidators are still waiting for support.
Chernobyl was reconnected to the power grid after the blackout.
Russia is attempting to damage Ukrainian nuclear power plants, as evidenced by intelligence reports regarding Moscow’s preparations for future attacks.
