Protest Warning for May 1

For a working day, May 1st, mass protest has been warned this year by the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Kosovo (BSPK).

The BSPK calls for all Kosovo workers, including those in the private sector, to participate in this protest.

BSPK Chairman Avni Aydin invites all workers in Kosovo to come out in this protest to submit their demands.

We all have reason to go to mass protest to bring our demands under law and collective agreement and international conventions”, Aydin told news.net.

Among the main reasons Aydini mentions are health insurance, job safety, recognition of the work experience for the BAR90-99 and approval of the minimum wage.
The chairman of the Independent Union of the Kosovo Private Sector, Yusuf Azemi, who says that through this protest workers will express their outrage over the failure to implement the law on collective work agreement, the law on labour security and many other contractual agreements with the Government of Kosovo starting with the increase in minimum wages and the reduction of work standards from 15 to 10 years.

“The workers, seeing the failure of government and other institutions, have expressed the will for these discontent to express on May 1st, the day when perhaps in a shape we should celebrate, but our condition does not allow us to celebrate. Rather, as if in all parts of the world we will protest conditions that the competent body will not offer to”, Azemi said.

He also pointed out that the reason for the protest is the result of the noncompliance of even more basic demands without union pressure or worker pressure.

I am aware that all those requests we will present before the government and before the Kosovo opinion will not be approved. But it is sufficient that at least we can see whether the most basic things are being taken seriously, such as signing the minimum wage for which all the key actors have agreed to be 250 euros”, Azemi said further.
According to him in a form of the Government of Kosovo, this situation is convening, because in this form the owners of companies have greater profits and from these owners of government or individual companies are receiving a lot of money, so they ignore that demand.

“If anyone on this continent has reason to protest then are Kosovo workers, as they are at the lowest level of wages and at the lowest level of security and working health”, Azem concluded.
Even KMDLNJ supports this protest if it is peaceful and does not break into violence.
Behgjet Shala, chairman of the Council for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (KMDLNJ), says workers in Kosovo have no reason to celebrate but must protest by demanding rights denied. He emphasises that there must be a manifesto that forces institutions to stick to conventions for workers' rights and where implementation of the labour law will be required.

Among other things, it says that private sector workers are especially vulnerable, degraded in their work, and are not safe.
The Kosovo workers must be on 1 May, to raise their voices strongly, paralysing as a sign of disagreement with policies that are made against them. Be a strong voice in their search for rights and denied”, Shala concluded.