As of 10:00 on 9 October in Lviv, the State Treasury Service is not processing more than 2,300 municipal payment orders for a total of over 971 million UAH. As a result, the wages of public utility workers and funding for work to prepare the city for winter are under threat. The situation was reported by First Deputy Mayor of Lviv Andriy Moskalenko.
According to him, among the most critical are the blocked wage payments for street cleaners and tram and trolleybus drivers. Payments are also not being made for the restoration of residential buildings damaged during Russian shelling, nor for measures required to ensure Lviv is properly prepared for the heating season.
Wages are a protected item of expenditure. Moreover, the city has all the necessary funds to make these payments. However, the Treasury is still not processing them
The First Deputy Mayor stressed that Lviv expects the Government to unblock at least the most important payments as soon as possible — primarily those related to winter preparations and the payment of wages to utility workers. At the same time, the city authorities are working with the heads of municipal enterprises and institutions to do everything possible to ensure wages are paid on time and to prevent the suspension of critically important work.
Earlier, the Mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovyi publicly appealed to the Government, demanding that it unblock wage payments for municipal employees, emphasising that budget savings cannot be achieved at the expense of utility workers. The Mayor also stated that he is refusing to receive his own salary until wages are paid to workers in the municipal sector.