This was stated by the Minister of Rehabilitation, Infrastructure and Transport of Ukraine Mykola Kalashnyk during a meeting with railway workers. The increase will primarily concern shortage professions and will cover more than 150 thousand employees of Ukrzaliznytsia.
The additional resource is directed primarily to specialists who ensure the stable operation of the railway every day: repair locomotives and wagons, restore infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks, maintain tracks and ensure uninterrupted train movement.
“The railway works thanks to people. Every day, railway workers ensure the movement of the country, work in difficult conditions, restore damaged infrastructure and risk their lives due to Russian attacks. Therefore, one of the key tasks for the ministry and for me personally as the minister is to provide decent working conditions for railway workers. We want people who work every day to ensure the operation of the railway to feel the value of their work and understand that their contribution is properly appreciated. For its part, the Ministry will do everything necessary to support railway workers and create conditions under which specialists will remain in the industry,” said Mykola Kalashnyk.
The decision to increase wages was discussed with railway workers, the management of Ukrzaliznytsia, the company’s supervisory board and people’s deputies.
As the minister noted, one of the first decisions of the ministry’s team was to support the indexation of Ukrzaliznytsia’s freight tariffs. Such a step allows the railway to provide the necessary resources for transportation, repair of rolling stock and restoration of infrastructure damaged as a result of Russian attacks, as well as to increase the remuneration of railway workers.
The next stage of freight tariff indexation is planned for January 1, 2027. This will allow for the gradual revision of Ukrzaliznytsia employee salaries to continue next year.
Ukrzaliznytsia will soon inform the staff about the details of the mechanism and the amount of the increase for certain categories of employees.
The railway infrastructure can be restored, and the equipment can be repaired. However, the basis of the stable operation of the railway remains the people who ensure its operation every day during the war. (Infrastructure Ministry)