Recica: Workers' Rights to Become Real

Labour and Social Management Minister Skender Recica has said a series of awareness campaigns dealing with health and safety at work have been undertaken.

According to him, the Labour Inspectorate has conducted about 10,000 inspections during 2018. He has expressed conviction that the rights of workers who are guaranteed by the law will become reality.

“We are addressing, we are creating better conditions both in the legal and technical way that our workers are treated with dignity. Their rights that the law guarantees are real to them. Last year we have undertaken considerable numbers of measures in creating health infrastructure. A number of awareness campaigns have been undertaken involving health and safety at work. Apart from legislative measures, we have worked on implementing legislation in force with the capacities we have available”, Recica said.

During reporting on the Commission for Human Rights and Gender Equality on security, health and working conditions in the private sector in Kosovo; as well as on the concept of document and the comprehensive draft law on pension schemes, Recica said there has been a commitment of the Inspectorate to inspecting the workplaces in the construction sector. According to him, this sector remains with the highest risk rate.

“During the January-20th period, the actual operating inspectorate has carried out about 10,000 inspections where there are jobs. Over 40,000 repeated inspections. There's been increased commitment to the Inspectorate. Last year we started with campaigns and field commitments trying to make awareness of the conditions and safety of the workers talk with the sole purpose of raising consciousness. All these campaigns did not give us the outcome we expected. Identifying the construction sector as a sector with a high degree of risk and having high workforce in the last fall we launched a more comprehensive” campaign, Recica said.

He has made it known that field work has had its effect, according to him, only in the first week of inspections of over 70 companies have managed to meet the minimum criteria.

We were on the ground more intensively. It was effective but not what we wanted, to come in November when I asked all inspectors to land in Pristina and have suspended almost all of the jobs that worked outside the rules. Within the first week over 70 of them have managed to meet the minimum criteria. Most of them have met the criteria and continued working. Fines were given only when the inspector's decision was not respected and tried to keep up. It was a very small number”, he said.

As for the Law for Inspectorate, Recica said it is in the Assembly, from which the role of the Inspectorate is expected to be empowered and their number is expected to be increased.

The important “Rol is empowering the role of the labour inspectorate. We have the Law on Inspectorate in the House. Better conditions create a greater role. The number of inspectors will be added to 20 new ones. Along with that law, we have the Labour Law. It is a law that has been built on the directives of the world's labour organization. It is a law that has adapted to socioeconomic circumstances”, he said.