On a proposal by the Council of Churches, Verkhovna Rada excludes "gender" from the Labor Code

The Parliamentary Committee on Social Policy, Employment and Pension Provision supported a proposal by the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious organizations to exclude concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity from the draft Labor Code of Ukraine, reports the Institute of Religious Freedom.

The Committee approved the final version for the second reading of the Draft Labor Code of Ukraine (register No. 1658). "We proposed a moderate position – to prohibit discrimination of any form and on any ground in the labor relations," MP Pavel Ungurian explained the essence of the compromise achieved by the Verkhovna Rada.

Representative of the head of the state Sviatoslav Tsegolko said that President Petro Poroshenko was dissatisfied with such a decision because of the requirements for obtaining a visa-free regime.

The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations does not agree with the pressure of European structures in Ukraine on this issue and supports the compromise decision of the VR Committee.

"The Verkhovna Rada and the Government must defend the national interests of Ukraine, take care of the welfare of the Ukrainian people, develop the identity, cultural characteristics and moral foundations of Ukrainian society and, consequently, resist pressure and a persistent desire to promote more legal grounds for legalization of the so-called same-sex "marriages" or partnerships," the Council of Churches stated in an address to parliamentarians.

Religious figures drew the attention of people's deputies to the fact that according to recent sociological survey 84% of Ukrainians are against the legalization of same-sex partnerships and are in favor of banning them or significantly restricting the propaganda of same-sex relationships.

In November 2015, the Verkhovna Rada adopted as a basis the draft of the new Labor Code. Deputies refused to introduce the concept of "sexual orientation" in the document.