Former Kyivpastrans drivers compared work in Ukraine and Germany

Socportal asked them to talk about their working conditions, plans, and attitude towards the Ukrainian government's initiatives to attract women in Ukraine to "male" professions.

I dreamed of being a driver since childhood. A driver or a policeman. But policeman is not my thing, because I am not a very sporty person. And I really wanted to be a driver - a trileybus, a bus or a lorry, says Nataliia Prystynska.

For many years she managed public transport, first in Mariupol, then in her native Bakhmut, and then for more than 13 years in Kyiv.

In 2017, her Kurenivske depot was caught up in a scandal in 2017 - the employees were dissatisfied with labour conditions.

Instead, the management started to pressure, made the former director the head of the trade union, and publicly called the employees "slaves". Nataliia still emotionally recalls this episode:

One day there was a trolleybus driver's briefing, and at the end the old director came out to the people and said: "I have been the director here for many years, you are slaves and I know how to manage you.

This angered the workers. They formed an independent trade union and went on hunger strike.

We were on hunger strike for seven days. And the director came to us and tried to communicate with us only once. He thought it was all toys, it would all go away. By the way, he said it was illegal, but at the end we won the court. Our hunger strike was legal. A lot of people supported us, says Nataliia.

At that time, regular actions to support the workers of Kurenivske depot were organised by the Social Movement. They were also supported by the All-Ukrainian Trade Union of Railway Workers.

However, according to Natalia, the pressure was constant.

Our trade union did not grow further, because everyone was afraid of the director. He would dismiss us, he would take us out of the better trolleybus, he would take us out of the dormitory (provided to employees), or something else. He had an influence on everyone, Nataliia said.

After the start of the full-scale invasion, most of their activists found themselves at the front; some women went abroad. Natalia also decided to leave.

In 2022, I went to visit a friend in Germany for seven days, then came back to Ukraine. I worked for a fortnight, and my nervous system could not stand it. It was very hard for me because my parents were in Bakhmut, they were suffering from aggression. I was in Kiev, we hardly worked. We were running out of money. Morally I couldn't stand it anymore, and I wrote a statement that I should put my labour activity on pause during the war and left for Germany, Nataliia says.

There she learned German and started working as a leisure organiser in a nursing home. Nataliia decided to give up her career as a driver because she has health problems.

I miss Ukraine. And the job of a driver? If I had to, I would go and do it, and if there is a choice, I choose the other side. If my parents had a place to live, I would also go back to Ukraine, Nataliia says.

Due to bureaucratic obstacles, her family cannot receive compensation for the housing destroyed by the invaders, and thanks to her work in Germany, she can support them.

At the same time, Natalia follows with interest the government's initiative to attract women to "men's professions". According to her, before the big war, there were also quite a few women working as trolleybus and especially tram drivers. However, the acute problem was the lack of basic living conditions.

I wrote comments on Facebook that this is a very important topic for women who want to go there to work. But for the period of time that I worked in Kiev, only for the first two years we had toilets at the final stops and warm water from the tap. And then they closed everything down. A driver is really a very dirty job, because we always change the coals on the bars, we always have to wash our hands. And "Kyivprastrans" made us "go to the bucket" or to the bio-toilet. They do not care about women at all. People who are now taking this initiative, unfortunately, do not understand what the real conditions are like there, Nataliia says.

According to her, some of the former female employees of Kyivpastrans continued to work as drivers in the EU and now have the opportunity to compare conditions and pay. And also how local employees of transport companies fight for their rights. According to her, companies that regularly go on strike pay significantly higher salaries. The difference can be as much as €1,500.

Whoever has seen the results of trade union labour and the results of their strikes understands that this is a huge difference, Nataliia says.

The last mass strike of public transport workers took place in Germany in February 2026. It involved about 100,000 workers and about 150 transport companies, which effectively stopped transport in many cities across the country. Strikes in the transport industry in Germany take place regularly during collective bargaining. This time, the participants demanded a pay rise of about 8 per cent, better working conditions, and extra pay for night shifts and weekends. A driver's salary in Germany is about €3,200 gross per month. In Kyiv, it is three times less.

Olena Shakhurina, a former colleague of Natilia's at Kyivpastrans, who now works as a driver in Germany, witnessed the strike. The woman was struck by the transport workers' organisation.

If a strike starts, everyone goes on strike. The driver is not afraid that one is out and the other is not. Here everyone is together," she said.

In her opinion, a similar system could work in Ukraine, but with better protection of workers.

If the driver was so protected, if there were strong trade unions, then of course people could come out like that, she adds.

Elena is originally from Pokrovsk. For about 20 years she worked as a trolleybus driver in Mariupol. After the occupation, she managed to leave with her family for Kyiv, where she worked for several years at Kyivpastranse. However, due to fear for her family and housing problems, she decided to go to Germany.

If it wasn't for the war, I wouldn't have left. But because there are children... It is true that one daughter, the youngest, left with me. She said: "Mum, I'll go with you." I realised that it would be hard, I told her that she would have to become independent, because I would not be able to support her all the time. She agreed, Olena says.

According to the woman, the first months were difficult, but over time a sense of confidence in the work emerged. The biggest difference between working as a driver in Ukraine and abroad, apart from the salary level, Olena sees in the safety and insurance system. This is especially noticeable in cases of road accidents.

If there is an accident, you are not afraid. You call the police, inform the management, and that's it. Insurance covers everything here, explains the driver.

In her opinion, in Ukraine, drivers are often left alone with the responsibility. A separate topic is working conditions, which Natalia mentioned.

There are sanitary facilities at the final stops here. This is important. I would very much like Ukraine to have normal conditions too, she says.

Also, working hours are strictly controlled, so overtime work is almost not allowed.

Overwork is almost never given here. The driver must not be tired. We work our norm - about 170 to 175 hours a month, she says.

At the same time, Elena notes that the German system has many things that seem absurd to Ukrainians.

It happens that you leave the garage and drive 30-40 kilometres to the beginning of the route. For us it was surprising - we did not understand why so much fuel is wasted," says the driver.

She also said that despite the stability and high salaries, the driving profession is still difficult and stressful.

There are a lot of cameras, you have to be very attentive. You have to get up early and lie down late. It's stressful for the organism, Olena explains.

Also, according to her, the driver is responsible for the safety of passengers in the cabin. Since people are different, conflict situations are possible. So even in Germany, there is a constant shortage of staff on public transport. Migrants often take this job, among whom Ukrainians and Ukrainian women now occupy a significant part.

According to Olena, she dreams of returning home and notes that many things in Ukraine were also well organised.

I would keep what we had - garages, repairs, the ability to quickly contact mechanics. But I would very much like to see better working conditions," she says.

Both Olena and Natalia are closely following the changes in the labour sphere in Ukraine and hope that after the war, conditions for drivers - and especially for women - will become better. In addition to decent wages, they say, respect for workers, safe working conditions, and the ability to assert their rights are important.

For more videos of former Kyivpastrans drivers talking about their experiences, see the link.

As Socialportal wrote, Kyiv has launched free two-week construction courses for migrants, veterans, women, and former office workers. For those who have made it a hobby or an opportunity to make repairs with their own hands in the shortage of masters and opportunities. And some graduates are already receiving job invitations from construction companies.

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