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Prolonged working hours, denial of annual leave, work without a contract, low salary and delays – are the complaints that, over the years, have been expressed by private sector workers in Kosovo.
Many of them have been reported frequently to the Labor Inspectorate, but the Private Sector Workers’ Union says they have been ignored.
Mayor Jusuf Azemi says that, as a result, Kosovo has reached a difficult economic situation: with businesses complaining that they cannot find workers and with unemployed people who do not want to work.
“Many workers and young people in Kosovo are fleeing abroad… They do not want to live anymore in the hope that it will be done well. “They do not want to work in poor working conditions and with low wages”, says Azemi.
During 2021, the Labor Inspectorate has received over 5,000 complaints from parties, who have considered that their rights at work have been violated.
His data for last year also show that nine citizens lost their lives in the workplace, 40 received serious injuries and 139 minor injuries.
Officials of this institution have said that the working conditions should be improved – otherwise, the workers will leave.
On June 12, Radio Free Europe brought the story of Imer Duraku, a farmer from the village of Krusha e Madhe, who cultivates various agricultural crops but has trouble finding seasonal workers.
The payment he offers is 20 euros per day, or up to 420 euros per month.
Many social media users, who have commented on his story, say they would not work for that much money.
Radio Free Europe has contacted several and one of them, who asked to remain anonymous, says that, until 4-5 years ago, he worked as an electrician in a private company in Kosovo, with a monthly salary of 500 euros.
But, as he points out, the employer did not pay him properly, asked him to work overtime and often without days off – which forced him to leave the job.
From 2018, he says he emigrated to Germany on a work visa, while a year later he took his wife and three children.
“Here [në Gjermani] it is certain that you receive your salary on time, that you have health insurance. Life is not easy here either, but there are rules that are respected. “Even here you have to work hard to live and have a good standard”, says the 47-year-old.
If workers’ rights were respected and wages were higher, he says he would return to Kosovo.
The German Embassy in Pristina has informed Radio Free Europe that, within a year, it issues about 5,500 work visas for applications made by the citizens of Kosovo.
Private Sector Vs. public sector
The Labor Law in Kosovo provides for 40 working hours per week, employment contract, paid annual leave and others.
The largest employer in Kosovo is the private sector, with more than 220,000 employees. The average gross salary in this sector is around 380 euros.
The public sector employs over 80 thousand people, while the average gross salary there is around 620 euros.
The public sector does not report problems with non-compliance with the Labor Law, nor with staff shortages.
Agriculture, gastronomy, construction and trade report the most difficulties in finding workers.
Over 750 thousand citizens – economically inactive
According to the Statistics Agency (KAS), unemployment in Kosovo is over 25 percent.
The latest KAS data on the labor market show that out of over one million citizens of working age in Kosovo, over 350 thousand are employed, while over 120 thousand are unemployed.
According to KAS, about 750 thousand citizens are economically inactive, which means that they are not employed, nor registered as unemployed, nor looking for work.
Lack of workers will become one of the main obstacles to economic growth in Kosovo, says the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Pristina, Arian Zeka.
“The positive growth trend we have seen over the years – excluding 2020 [pandemia COVID-19] “It will not be achieved due to the lack of manpower”, says Zeka.
To alleviate the problem, he says efforts should be made by everyone – from institutions to employers, who should consider, first and foremost, the level of wages.
Zeka says that the failure of the Government of Kosovo to address this issue is worrying.
Radio Free Europe has contacted the office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo several times regarding this issue, but, until the publication of this text, has not received a response.
Shpëtim Kalludra, head of the Division for the Development of Active Labor Market Measures and Analysis at the Employment Agency, says there are workers – over 60,000 jobseekers are registered, he says.
“When the number of jobseekers in the Employment Agency drops to 10 thousand, then we can say that employers are right,” says Kalludra.
According to him, low wages and poor working conditions have made employers face shortages of workers.
Salary 180 euros
Radio Free Europe spoke to an employee in Kosovo – a member of a family of six – who says he is paid 180 euros a month.
JD – whose full name is known to the newsroom – says he works for a private cleaning company.
“Here where I work, working hours are respected, even days off, and we have contracts, but the salary is low. I have been working in this company for 10 years. “In the beginning, I had a salary of 130 euros, now I have 180 euros”, he says.
More similar in Kosovo, according to a study conducted by the GAP Institute for Advanced Research, about 105 thousand employees are paid.
They mainly work in the wholesale and retail trade sector, in the processing industry, in gastronomy, in financial and insurance activities, in construction, etc.
The Assembly of Kosovo, on June 14, voted in principle a draft law, which paves the way for the increase of the minimum wage: from 130-170 euros as it is currently, to 264 euros gross, or 250 euros net.
Workers’ unions have also complained about the expected increase, saying it does not meet the needs of citizens. Kosovo, like many countries in the world, is facing rising inflation, which started with the COVID-19 pandemic and took off after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
According to the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, the inflation rate in May increased by 12.5 percent, compared to the same period last year./REL
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