Mykolaivvodokanal struggles With staff shortage, Director says

A water utility team is working to repair a fault in the water mains along 11th Line Street in Mykolaiv, August 2024, photo by NikVesti

Hennadii Iziumov, director of the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivvodokanal», stated that the company is facing a staff shortage, particularly a lack of workers in technical trades.

He made these comments during the «Dialogue» programme on the MART TV channel, according to NikVesti.

According to Hennadii Iziumov, the problem of staff shortages is currently relevant for many companies. «Mykolaivvodokanal» is most in need of workers who carry out emergency repair work and network maintenance.

«Just like many other companies, we have a problem with staff shortages. Above all, we lack emergency repair fitters, tractor drivers, excavator operators and electric and gas welders. We are specifically short of skilled tradespeople,» he said.

At the same time, the company director noted that «Mykolaivvodokanal» is working to resolve the staffing issue. In particular, the company is collaborating with the employment centre and conducting in-house training for staff.

«We help new employees settle in, send our specialists on further training courses and cover the costs of training at the company’s expense. We understand that this is an investment in our people and in the company’s development. But, unfortunately, the shortage of specialists remains a major problem,» added Hennadii Iziumov.

Earlier, Hennadii Iziumov announced that from 1 July 2026, the company plans to increase salaries and pay rates for its employees by 30%.

As a reminder, the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivvodokanal» has officially approached the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption with a request to conduct an unscheduled audit.

Scandal at Vodokanal

As a reminder, employees of the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivvodokanal» had previously spoken out against the company’s new management and the Supervisory Board. They accused them of unprofessionalism and claimed that the company was allegedly being prepared for privatisation.

In response, the Supervisory Board, together with Director Hennadii Iziumov, stated that the water utility was in a critical financial state due to a prolonged governance crisis, ineffective management and systemic operational problems.

During a meeting between staff and the new CEO on 15 April, the dismissal of Technical Director Vasyl Telpis was also discussed. An audio recording of the conversation is in the possession of the editorial team at NikVesti. Employees noted that the dismissal came as a surprise to them, as Telpis had worked at the company since the 1980s and had been acting as head following the death of Borys Dudenko.

At this meeting, Hennadii Iziumov stated that he had not made the decision to dismiss Telpis and claimed that it had been taken by the Supervisory Board. However, the Supervisory Board denied having made such a decision.

In a comment to NikVesti, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych described the claims about alleged preparations for privatisation as manipulation and an attempt to discredit the company’s new head.

Furthermore, on 11 May, during a staff meeting, the mayor criticised the work of the water utility’s employees, citing poor-quality repairs, repeated digging up of streets and a failure to maintain the area after work was completed.

Hennadii Iziumov also stated that, following the conflict, there have been no mass redundancies at the company; instead, the restructuring of the organisation and the reduction of posts with overlapping functions are ongoing. According to him, employees affected by the redundancies are being offered other vacancies.