International and European Protection of the Right to Strike and Its Impact on the National Law: The Case of Ukraine

The right to strike is a fundamental labour right enshrined in international and European human rights instruments, yet its practical exercise remains constrained in many jurisdictions. This article examines Ukraine’s legal framework governing the right to strike, highlighting how international standards interact with national legislation and policy during the country’s democratic transformation and EU accession process. It emphasizes that Ukraine’s commitment to aligning its strike legislation with international and European standards reflects its broader European integration agenda despite the extraordinary wartime conditions. The analysis contributes to a comparative discussion of labour law issues by illustrating the potential of international standards to transform national legislation on the protection of the right to strike, drawing on Ukraine’s experience. The authors demonstrate the impact of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on eliminating extensive restrictions on the right to strike, as well as shaping the direction of current labour law reforms towards the democratization of industrial relations. However, it is argued that the sustainability and effectiveness of domestic legislative reform aimed at ensuring the right to strike depend on the extent to which this right is enshrined and protected at international and European levels.