According to the provided data, 4,194[1] assistants of MPs are working in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Funds for remuneration of 1,269 MPs’ assistants are appropriated from the state budget, and 2,925 individuals are voluntary assistants. Every MP of Ukraine monthly receives 20 thousands UAH (240 thousands UAH a year) for remuneration of assistants. The total expenditure on assistants is 8 million 880 thousands UAH a month, and around 107 million a year[2]. MPs are choosing assistants and determine their status (official servants or voluntary) by themselves.
In general, one MP of Ukraine has 3 paid and 7 volunteer assistants. Taking into consideration their number, the average monthly wages may reach 6,660 UAH. The CPU faction member Mykola Dzardanov has the highest number of assistants – 31. Viktor Butkivskyi from the Party of Regions faction has the highest number of voluntary assistants – 28. MPs Serhii Mishchenko (non-faction), Vasyl Kravchuk and Oleksandr Abdullin (All-Ukrainian Union Fatherland) divided the total wage fund among the highest number of assistants – 10.
Despite the mass media, civic organizations, and the voters are constantly demonstrating their interest to MPs' assistants, the Apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine refuses to provide information about them. Refusals for providing information about names, surnames, patronymic, and job placement of assistants of members of parliament are based on the Law of Ukraine "On the protection of personal data". OPORA is convinced that keeping information about MPs' assistants non-public, threatens to the principles of transparency of the parliament and creates preconditions for misuse of their status. In case transparent methods for the selection of MPs' assistants are absent, the effective use of state resources are endangered.
The international practice shows multiple examples of parliamentary institutions securing openness of information about assistants and employees of MPs. For example, the site of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland contains information about previous jobs, sources of salaries for the last three years, engagement in entrepreneurial activities of all paid or voluntary assistants of MPs. The Slovenian Parliament publishes on its site information about assistants' salaries. After a scandal in Bulgaria, when criminal authorities were noticed to have cards of non-staff assistants to MPs, there was created a special public register of assistants.
OPORA urges MPs of Ukraine to publish the list of their assistants and indicate the principles of their employment. If assistants to MPs give their voluntary consent for publication of personal information, the controversy concerning confidentiality of these data will come to an end. Taking into consideration the international experience, the increase of transparency of organizational, personnel, and financial support to Ukrainian MPs, is an urgent legislative issue.
DETAILED INFORMATION:
According to the effective legislation, the MP of Ukraine may have not more than 31 assistants. They are allowed to hold two or more offices, which may be employed on the base of a terminal contract or on voluntary basis. The assistant to MP of Ukraine must be a citizen of Ukraine, which have received secondary, special or higher education, with a complete fluency in the national language.
The status of four assistants to MPs of Ukraine is governed by the Law on State Service in Ukraine. They may be assigned up to the seventh rank of the fourth category of posts. These individuals are attached to the Apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine or to executive bodies of local councils.
Every MP of Ukraine yearly receives 240 thousands UAH (20 thousands UAH a month) for remuneration of assistants[1]. MPs determine the number of assistants which hold two or more office, employed on the basis of terminal contract, or on voluntary basis. The effective legislation of Ukraine doesn't provide any competitive selection based on their qualification level, and depends only on the will of the MP.
According to the provided data, 4,194[2] assistants of MPs are working in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the seventh convocation. 1,269 assistants receive remuneration, and 2,925 work on voluntary basis. 9 million UAH is monthly spent on salaries of assistants of MPs of the seventh convocation. Besides that, nearly 178 thousand UAH is spent on their business trips (one MP receives 400 UAH a month for this purpose). The average monthly salary of staff assistants, including their average number, is 6,660 UAH.
Table 1 Assistants of MPs in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the seventh convocation
| Paid assistants | The average number of assistants to one MP | Average salary of assistants | The amount of monthly appropriated funds on assistants | Number of voluntary assistants | Average number of voluntary assistants to one MP |
| 1,269 | 3 | 6 thousand 660 UAH | 8 million 880 thousand UAH | 2,925 | 7 |
MPs-RECORD-BREAKERS AND THE INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
According to the answer to OPORA's information request provided by the Apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (#20-5/274 of January 28, 2013), the CPU faction member Mykola Dzardanov has the highest number of assistants – 31. Andrii Shypko, (the Party of Regions) has 30 assistants. Viktor Butkivskyi, Serhii Hrynevetskyi, Oleksandr Presman, Ivan Stupak (the Party of Regions) have 29 assistants each. Volodymyr Bondarenko (All-Ukrainian Union Fatherland), Eduard Leonov (All-Ukrainian Union Svoboda), Leonid Lytvynov (the Party of Regions) – 28 assistants. Hryhorii Zabolotnyi (non-faction), Ivan Kyrylenko, Vitalii Nimilostivyi, Volodymyr Shulha (All-Ukrainian Union Fatherland) – 27.
The highest number of payed assistants have MPs Serhii Mishchenko (non-faction), Vasyl Kravchuk, Oleksandr Abdullin (All-Ukrainian Union Fatherland) – 10 assistants each. It means that these MPs have distributed the total salary fund (20 thousand UAH a month) among such a large amount of people.
Viktor Butkivskyi (the Party of Regions) has the highest number of voluntary assistants as of January 28 (28 individuals). Mykola Dzardanov, Oleksandr Presman (the Party of Regions) – 27 assistants). Serhii Hrynevetskyi, Ivan Stupak (the Party of Regions) – 26 assistants.
Answer of the VRU Apparatus to the request for information about assistants of MPs sent by the OPORA: http://oporaua.org/library/3655-vidpovid-aparatu-vru-na-zapyt-opory-shchodo-kilkosti-pomichnykiv-konsultantiv-narodnyh-deputativ
Taking into consideration the considerable expenses on remuneration of assistants covered by budget funds, their official status, functions, and personal information is the information of public interest. Still, the Apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has refused to provide information about them. In the answer given to the OPORA, the Parliamentary Apparatus refers to regulations of the Law of Ukraine "On the protection of personal data", which doesn't allow disclosure of names, surnames, the patronymic, and job placement of assistants of members of parliament.
Non-publicity of information about assistants of parliamentary members cannot be considered acceptable practice. The protection of personal data shouldn't disregard public interest in functioning of state institutions and endanger transparency of their activities. If assistants to MPs give their voluntary consent for publication of personal information, the problem of confidentiality of these data will be solved.
In countries which have steady parliamentarian traditions, or which parliaments are actively strengthening their democratic principles, such information is open to a broad range of citizens. It is determined by three major principles. Firstly, voters have the right to access information about any state expenses on activities of parliamentary members. Secondly, making information about assistants/employees of MPs public rules out all possible abuses in this sphere (selection of personnel on unprofessional and nontransparent base, using the status of assistant for commercial or even criminal purposes, etc.). Thirdly, when the public possess information about the team of MP, it proves his systematically secures connection with the voters.
International practices demonstrate different approaches to securing transparent and efficient activities of MPs, which may be used by Ukrainian political elites. For example, the official site of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland contains personal information about every assistant of MP. Polish legislation provides that every MP shall send Marshal of the Sejm data on his/her employees, which are to secure execution of his duties, including information about previous jobs, sources of salaries (for the last three years), and engagement in entrepreneurial activities. The information provided by the employee is open and should be published on the site of the Sejm. Besides that, MPs should provide not only the information about their staff employees, but also voluntary assistants.
In Republic of Slovenia, besides their personal information, assistants of MPs are providing information about monthly salary on the official site of the parliament. Members of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic are also publishing information about their assistants. Any citizen may contact an assistant of MP or senator by phone number or email, which are published on official sites of the two-chamber parliament.
The official site of the Civil Service Department under the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Lithuania contains a list of persons, which hold positions in the Seimas Chancellery (including assistants to MPs). In Lithuania, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for enhancing the transparency and efficiency of the Public Service.
In Bulgaria, there is the Register of non-staff employees of MPs, parliamentary factions, and committees. The decision to create the Register was taken after a leader of a criminal group was detained in 2010. It turned out, that the criminal offender had a card of non-staff employee of the parliamentary commission on education. This example proves that public information may be useful. In Ukraine, it's easy to imagine that the card of assistant of deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine may be misused.
Information about staffers which assist members of the U.S. Congress is open and widely disseminated. Administrations of the Senate and the House of Representatives are publishing and updating directories, which provide information about any paid assistant to a senator or a congressman. This information is also available on personal sites of parliamentary members in the US. A considerable part of assistants are public persons and conduct activities with the voters on behalf of senators and congressmen. Besides that, the information about staffers of committees of the United States House of Representatives is available on their official sites.
In Germany, Bundestag members receive from the state budget a lump sum (the total fixed amount) to cover all costs, to which among other things is included remuneration of assistants and technical staff in Berlin and office in the election district. Bundestag members publish detailed information about their team of assistants and technical staff on their official sites.
Members of the European Parliament hire assistants to work in the parliament and in election districts. The site of the European Parliament contains a database of accredited and local assistants of parliamentary members, which is available to all interested.
[1] As of January 28, 2012
[2] For 444 empowered MPs
[3] http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/4541-17
[4] As of January 28, 2013