Social dialogue and settlement of collective labor disputes: the experience of the Kharkiv region

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the activities of the National Service for Mediation and Reconciliation (NSMR) in the Kharkiv region to ensure effective social dialogue and the settlement of collective labor disputes (conflicts) under martial law. The relevance of the topic is due to the critical role of social dialogue in maintaining stability in the social and labor sphere in a region that has suffered significant military and economic losses. The NSPP, established in 1998, is a key state body for the prevention, forecasting, and mediation in the settlement of collective labor conflicts, promoting public peace and preventing the destabilization of labor collectives in Ulraine.

The aim of the study is to summarize the experience of the NSPP branch in the Kharkiv region in two main areas: the development of social dialogue through systematic cooperation with trade unions, employers, authorities, and higher education institutions; and the direct settlement of collective labor disputes.

The first section focuses on describing the partnership with V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (in particular, with the Faculty of Sociology, and from 2025 – with the Educational and Scientific Institute of Sociology and Media Communications). The second area provides a list of typical causes of collective labor disputes in the Kharkiv region and analyzes the main destabilizing factors that lead to them. It also presents case studies demonstrating real-life practices for resolving labor disputes (conflicts) in the Kharkiv region.

It concludes that the model of the NSPP branch in the Kharkiv region is effective thanks to the constructive interaction of all stakeholders, the improvement of legal culture, monitoring, and the promotion of mediation. Only with the involvement of interested parties is it possible to improve social and labor relations, even in wartime. The experience of the Kharkiv region has scientific and practical value for other regions of Ukraine.