1. The Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers (UAFM) held a meeting with the owner of the transport company RIO Trans, Ruslan Shmakov, regarding the border blockade with Poland. The association appealed to the authorities of Ukraine and Poland with letters requesting swift measures to address transportation problems and save the industry. UAFM also calls businesses to join the #UNBLOCK_THE_BORDER flash mob on social media.
2. Vladimir Patis, the president of UAFM, participated in a meeting with representatives of the forestry and wood processing industry held at the Office of the President of Ukraine. Mr Vladimir drew attention to the issue of border blockades with Poland, stating, “Today, the most important thing is to unblock the borders because without it, everything else becomes impossible. No matter how many questions there are about the forest, the industry is doomed if finished products cannot be exported under normal conditions!”
3. Mykola Viknyansky, a member of the UAFM Board, took part in the first strategic session on forming a construction cluster. The event, organized by the Builders’ Union of Southern Ukraine, brought together key players from financial institutions to community representatives and educational institutions. The discussion confirmed significant interest in creating an effective and innovative cluster aimed at supporting regional development.
4. On December 1, the transitional period ended, during which taxpayers could fill in the “Payment Purpose” requisites in an unstructured format when paying taxes, fees, and other payments, as well as a single contribution. Now, in the case of a payment transaction, information about the payment purpose must be indicated exclusively in a structured form.
5. Fines for employers violating labour legislation in Ukraine will increase from January 1. The fine for each illegal worker will be 71 thousand hryvnias, and for preventing controllers from conducting inspections at the enterprise, a fine of over 113 thousand hryvnias will be imposed.
6. The results of a survey conducted by “Gradus Research” indicate that a quarter (24%) of surveyed Ukrainian companies already feel a shortage of personnel, and this problem will continue to grow. Companies plan to address it by hiring new employees from Ukraine (41%), creating conditions for remote work (34%), and offering attractive financial working conditions (32%).
7. Azzare company assisting the “Mystetskyi Arsenal” in preparing the festival project “NEO Educational Arsenal. Different Together,” gained experience working with unconventional materials. Spaces for children’s masterclasses were decorated using individually designed chiffon prints.
8. Warehouse logistics is rapidly becoming automated worldwide. On a global scale, more professional service robots have been created for transporting and searching for goods than for any other function. The advantages of robots for transportation and logistics are confirmed by recent statistical data: sales of such robotics increased by 44% last year, and this year the figure will be even higher.
9. Designer Vincent Van Duysen will showcase the furniture collection I.R.O (“Italian Rational Objects”) at the Roman gallery Justine/Stagetti. The collection includes seating, and tables, each distinguished by lightness and elegant proportions. The design is based on simplicity, with the main modules made of bent aluminium with a pearl-grey finish.
10. The updated London “Opera Gallery” showcases unique furniture by designer Ron Arad. The uniqueness lies in the fact that he proposed not fundamentally new models but “furniture remixes” of his old works, made in different materials, including resin, handcrafted by Senegalese artisans.