Day of the Railway Worker of Ukraine (04/11)

Every year on November 4, Ukrainian railway transport workers celebrate their professional holiday. Railwayman's Day (Ukrainian. Hallman's Day) was established by Decree of the President of Ukraine № 1140/2002 of December 11, 2002.

This date became Railway Worker's Day on the initiative of Lviv Railway workers. It was on November 4, 1861, back during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, that the first train, called —Yaroslav—, arrived on the territory of modern Ukraine « in Lviv ». In the modern sense, «Yaroslav» was an international train. It connected Vienna, Krakow, Przemysl and Lviv.

Now Ukrainian Railways unites all regions of Ukraine — is more than 375 thousand workers servicing about 30 thousand kilometers of railway tracks.

After Ukraine declared independence in 1991, the property of the railways, which at that time was within the border of the state, became its property. On December 14, 1991, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted Resolution «On the creation of the State Administration of Railway Transport of Ukraine», which made it possible to coordinate the work of all structural divisions involved in the transportation process and organize clear, uninterrupted operation of railway transport.

1996 is significant for the railways of Ukraine in that on July 4 the Law of Ukraine «On Railway Transport» was adopted. It defined the basic economic and financial principles of railway transport, laid down the regulatory framework for organizing traffic safety, working in emergency circumstances, protecting cargo and industry facilities, and labor relations for workers.

In February 2004, the 1st Conference of the Trade Union of Railway Workers and Transport Builders of Ukraine was held in Kyiv, in which delegates from all railways and railway enterprises of Ukraine took part. The conference decided to hold the Day of the Trade Union of Railway Workers and Transport Builders of Ukraine on the first Sunday of August. Because back in the era of the USSR there was a tradition of honoring railway workers on the first Sunday of August. Since then, railway workers, 98% of whom are union members, have officially celebrated two professional holidays: summer — Union Day and autumn — Railway Worker's Day.

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