“For the state, the army of officials is more important than the military who protect us”: Andriy Pavlovsky on the salaries of civil servants
Ukrainian society actively reacts to the lack of transparency and disproportions in state spending, especially against the background of the war, when the country’s resources should be directed to the defense and support of citizens. In November 2024, the average salary in central state bodies increased to 62 thousand hryvnias, which is 61% more than at the beginning of the year, when it was 38.6 thousand hryvnias, which caused quite a stir.
Such data made public The Ministry of Finance, noting that the salary of officials is 3.4 times higher than the average level in Ukraine, where in September the average salary was at the level of 18 thousand hryvnias. At the same time, the highest salaries were recorded in the Antimonopoly Committee, where employees receive an average of 118.7 thousand hryvnias, and managers – 215 thousand hryvnias. In the Ministry of Justice, the average salary is 100.5 thousand hryvnias, while in the Central Election Commission, which does not hold elections due to martial law, salaries reach 97.2 thousand hryvnias, and the management receives up to 310.3 thousand hryvnias every month.
Such disparities in payments cause the public to question whether a significant increase in expenditures for the maintenance of the state apparatus in wartime is justified. It also underlines the importance of transparent justification of expenditures and reform of public administration to maintain the trust of citizens.
Andriy Pavlovsky, an expert on social policy issues, People’s Deputy of Ukraine of the 6th and 7th convocations commented the situation with a significant increase in wages of Ukrainian officials over the last year. He noted that the salaries of employees of state bodies increased by 61%, and on average now amount to 62 thousand hryvnias per month. At the same time, these amounts are many times larger in individual bodies. For example, in the Central Election Commission, the average salary reaches more than 120 thousand hryvnias, and in the Chamber of Accounts the head receives more than 200 thousand hryvnias every month.
Pavlovsky emphasized that such sums raise questions, as the effectiveness of the work of these bodies is questionable. According to him, during the year, the Accounting Chamber did not disclose a single high-profile case regarding violations in the budget sphere, although investigative journalists constantly publish evidence of abuses, in particular in the energy sector. He recalled the scandals related to the expenses of the Recovery Agency, which spent tens of billions of hryvnias to protect energy facilities. For example, 9 billion hryvnias were allocated for the protection of the Trypil HPP, but the station was still destroyed as a result of Russian shelling.
The expert also drew attention to the lack of proper control over the use of budget funds by large state enterprises, such as “Ukrzaliznytsia” and “Ukrposhta”. At these enterprises, according to him, members of supervisory boards receive salaries in the amount of 200-300 thousand hryvnias, which is accompanied by corruption scandals. Pavlovsky noted that funds collected from citizens due to tax increases are actually used to increase the salaries of officials, while social spending in the country remains frozen or reduced. In particular, he emphasized that compared to 2024, social expenses were reduced by more than 50 billion hryvnias.
The expert was particularly outraged by the situation with the financing of the army. Pavlovsky noted that spending on the Armed Forces of Ukraine was not increased, despite the fact that military personnel risk their lives every day. While the officials, whom the expert called “back rats”, receive hundreds of thousands of hryvnias without a clear connection of their work to real results.
According to Pavlovsky, this shows that for the state the army of officials is more important than the army of soldiers. He also emphasized that poverty in the country is increasing due to such a policy: recently the number of poor people has increased by two million people and makes up more than a third of the population of Ukraine. At the same time, privileged groups of officials continue to enrich themselves, profiting even during wartime.
“Unfortunately, the expenditures on the Armed Forces were not increased. That is, it turns out that the army of officials is more important for the state. After all, this shows who is the priority during the war – not the military, who protect us, but the officials – the rear rats who sit in the ministries and receive hundreds of thousands of hryvnias for what it is not clear, and their work is not tied to the final result increased by almost 2 million and accounted for more than a third of the entire population of Ukraine. However, there are privileged official groups and castes that only increase their incomes and profit from the war.” – summed up the expert.
