Business owners and employees of Ukraine’s restaurant industry protested on June 2 in front of the Cabinet of Ministers in downtown Kyiv, demanding that the government accelerate the gradual lifting of the coronavirus quarantine lockdown across the country.
According to the protesters, Ukrainian bars and restaurants are at the brink of bankruptcy due to restrictions deemed unfair and unreasonable by them. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal’s government is expected on June 3 to adopt a decision to allow restaurants to reopen on June 10.
But it appears restaurant owners want immediate reopening — or at least don’t want to leave anything to chance.
At the current stage of the effort to counter the pandemic in Ukraine, the government only allows restaurants and cafes to sell meals and drinks to-go, or serve clients on outdoor patios. So far, they are not yet allowed to open their indoor premises for guests.
The protesters asserted that restaurants are safe and ready for full-fledged work, similarly to sports clubs or public transportation, which are free to continue working at a full pace now.
“The rally’s goal is to draw attention to a problem that is accumulating in the industry: a huge number of unemployed persons who can return to full-fledged work only following a complete re-launch of food and drink venues,” the organizers said. “Each day of the restricted right to work is just another day during which 1 million Ukrainians earn nothing.”
