They neither hire nor pay for disabled ones

With the law in Kosovo, the public and private sector are obliged to employ a disabled person in every 50 workers.

According to this, public institutions would have to employ over 1,600 people with special needs.

Metije Kastrati, from the town of Fushe Kosovo, was born with flaws in his left hand, but says it does not prevent him from doing certain jobs.

Speaking to Radio Free Europe, it shows that there is an end to the general school and that, for years, it has applied for various administrative positions in public institutions, but so far, without success.

I've been able to work for a long time, sometimes I'm tired, I've surrendered, I said, I'm done applying... But I'm back [I applied], I have to get a job, because I need”, says 45-year-old mother of three.

In 2017, it shows, it applied to a Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs contest, in the position of “asthe administrativeist” at the Centre for Auto-registering in Drenas, respectively.

Metija has been denied and says the complaint she has made has been rejected.

Free Europe Radio has contacted the Interior Ministry in its case, but has not received answers.

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With a decision by the Government of Kosovo, the year 2022 has been declared “Vi of persons with limited disabilities”.

On the basis of this decision, institutions are obliged to meet the employment quota under the Law on Training, Resiliency and Employment of Persons With Limited Skills during 2022. The Labour Inspectorate, on the other hand, is tasked with inspecting the implementation of this law.

The Kosovo prime minister's office has not responded to the REL question whether or not it meets the employment quota of disabled people.

The answer has not even been returned by the Office of the President of Kosovo.

From the Kosovo Assembly, meanwhile, say that among the 182 civil servants, six are persons with disabilities. This shows that this institution has exceeded the employment quota of this category.

REL has sent questions about the number of disabled employees to the ministry's address, but only a few have responded.

In the Ministry of Industry, entrepreneurship and trade is not employed by any disabled person. The institution has 225 employees on the salary list.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora says there are two people employed with limited skills. The total number of employees in the ministry, including those serving in Kosovo's diplomatic and consular missions, is 330.

Under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development is currently employed by a disabled person, while the total number of employed is 154.

The Ministry of Justice is employed, as well, by 107 civil servants.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, meanwhile, has employed five disabled persons among the 546 employees.

Other ministries have returned no response.

Institutions Repay Obligations

Problems, however, do not seem to be only with employment. Public institutions do not even pay their material obligations to disabled people.

On the basis of the Law on Training, Professional Resiliency and Employment of Persons with Limited Skills, if the employer fails to meet the obligations for employing this category, he should share in a particular monthly account with the value of minimum pay APU for any disabled person who should have been employed.

This money would then be used for various projects in order to prepare those with limited job skills.

The minimum wage value in Kosovo is currently 130-170 euros.

From the Labour Inspectorate say to Radio Free Europe that, so far, no public institution has made payments for “technical checks”, but do not specify more.

If these obligations are not concluded, the law requires that the employer be fined between 500 and 2,000 euros.

On this subject, The REL has contacted the Kosovo Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers, which covers the payments of disabled people but has not received any answers.

Maliqi: If there is no punishment, consciousness does not increase

Africa Maliqi, head of the organisation “Handikos-Kosovo”, which deals with the rights of disabled persons, calls for more responsibility.

Until punishment occurs, consciousness will never rise. The moment a law is not implemented and state institutions are obliged to implement it, then it is a violation of human rights, not just discrimination, it is something much greater”, Maliqi says.

According to him, state institutions should be an example for employing disabled persons, as this category, says, offers enough professional frameworks.

Unemployed subx0> from this category has university degrees, with primary and high school diplomas. There are many lawyers, economists with university degrees. But it doesn't mean everyone has to have a university degree... Others could complete other jobs in administration”, Maliqi tells Free Europe Radio.

Metija, who receives the pension belonging to disabled persons of 100 euros a month, says there is still hope that she can find work.

There are many disabled people in my category who can work, but are not given a chance... No opportunity is given in job applications; when they see you, they refuse you immediately, they stop calling you. This is our biggest obstacle. We too want to live life, we want to be independent”, Metija says.

Based on the World Health Organization's data, disabled persons make up about 15 percent of the world's total population.

In Kosovo, according to WHO, more than 150 thousand disabled persons live.

The private sector in Kosovo is the biggest employer with more than 220 thousand employees, but even there, the employment quota of disabled people is far from met.