Lviv street sweepers quitting over unpaid salaries as Treasury blocks city payments
Street sweepers in Lviv have begun quitting after going unpaid because the State Treasury Service has stopped processing the city's payments, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said. He reported that more than 1 billion 86 million hryvnias is blocked across several critical spending areas, including public transport salaries and social transportation for people with disabilities, and urged the government to unblock the funds.
Key points
- Mayor Andriy Sadovyi says street sweepers in Lviv are quitting because salaries are not being paid
- The State Treasury Service has stopped processing payments even though Lviv has the money in its accounts, according to Sadovyi
- More than 1 billion 86 million hryvnias is blocked across several critical areas, Sadovyi said
- 158 million hryvnias is allocated to public transport, including driver salaries and fuel
- 17.9 million hryvnias is owed in unpaid wages to street sweepers
- 1.218 million hryvnias is owed for social transport serving people with disabilities
- Sadovyi says he raised the issue with Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi, who described the block as a forced measure and said critical payments would be processed manually
Why it matters
The Treasury's block on Lviv's payments has moved from a financial issue to a visible disruption of municipal services: workers are quitting, and public transport and social transport for people with disabilities are at risk. The scale — over 1 billion hryvnias across several critical lines — and the open appeal from Lviv's mayor to the central government point to a wider stand-off over local-government financing.
What happened
Mayor Andriy Sadovyi reported that street sweepers in Lviv have begun leaving their jobs after going unpaid, and that the cause is the State Treasury Service stopping processing of the city's payments. According to Sadovyi, more than 1 billion 86 million hryvnias has been blocked across several critical spending areas, including 158 million hryvnias for public transport — driver salaries and fuel — 17.9 million hryvnias owed to street sweepers, and 1.218 million hryvnias for social transport serving people with disabilities. He said the funds are sitting in the city's accounts but the Treasury is not releasing them, urged the government to unblock the payments, and noted that he had previously raised the matter with Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi, who described the block as a forced measure and said critical payments would be processed manually, with the situation possibly improving within a month. A later report attributed to Sadovyi said the Treasury had begun processing Lviv's previously blocked payments.
Where reporting differs
The main narrative from Ukrainian outlets is that the Treasury continues to block payments and that street sweepers are quitting as a result. A subsequent report attributed to Sadovyi, carried across most of the same Ukrainian sources, indicates the Treasury has begun processing Lviv's previously blocked payments, suggesting an evolving situation rather than a stable picture.
Background
Mayor Andriy Sadovyi had earlier publicly refused his own salary in solidarity with municipal workers. According to Sadovyi, he discussed the situation with Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi, who characterised the suspension of payments as a forced decision and said critical payments would gradually be processed manually, with the situation possibly improving within a month. Sadovyi has also said the funds are in the city's accounts but the Treasury is not allowing them to be used.