Nationally and globally, unions are warning that the crisis could have implications for safety. They have repeatedly warned that serious underfunding of the sector poses a threat to nuclear safety. ATU President Alexander Jurkin is now in negotiations with the Deputy Prime Minister in a last attempt to avert a full strike. The Ukrainian nuclear workers must be paid what they are owed, and the ICEM stands ready to back their campaign. In the case of nuclear workers, it also poses a threat to the wider national and global community.
Workers are a key factor in nuclear safety.
They have to remain fully alert throughout their shifts. Nuclear workers who have serious financial worries, and who may have to take second jobs out of hours in order to make ends meet, could experience difficulty in concentrating. Part of the international funding devoted to nuclear safety in Ukraine must be earmarked for the full, immediate payment of the nuclear industry's wage backlog. And the world's governments must insist that, from now on, wages be paid in full and on time to the workers on whom the world's safety depends.