By KYIV. May 12 (Interfax-Ukraine) – MP from the Servant of the People parliamentary faction Anastasia Liashenko has proposed that media heads provide body armor, helmets and first aid kits to journalists seconded to work in the combat zone, as well as to provide insurance for them at the expense of the employer.
Bill No. 7367 was registered in the Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday, May 11.
The author of the legislative initiative proposed that Article 15 of the Law On State Support for the Mass Media and Social Protection of Journalists is supplemented with a provision according to which the media outlets are obliged to provide journalists and other workers seconded to the areas of military (combat) operations or in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, with protective equipment against firearms, fragmentation, as well as first-aid kits.
According to the bill, such journalists and media workers are subject to compulsory insurance at the expense of the employer in case of harm to their life and health in connection with the performance of their professional duties.
At the same time, the document proposes to clarify the amount of one-time monetary assistance in case of injury (concussion, trauma or injury) inflicted on journalists during the performance of their professional duties. Thus, the current norms of the law provide that in this case, media representatives receive up to 50 living wages from the state budget. The initiator of the bill is convinced of the need to eliminate this uncertainty and provide a clear rule that the amount of such assistance should be 50 living wages.
In addition, Article 7 of the Law On Insurance is proposed to be amended, so that insurance of media workers is also included in the mandatory types for the period of their work in the areas of military (combat) operations or in a temporarily occupied territory.
