Kosovo has the legal framework to protect labour rights, but implementation is falling short and putting lives at risk.
In November, Kosovo’s labour inspectorate visited a carpet cleaning company in Ferizaj/Urosevac after a tip-off reported via a new BIRN platform.
The inspectors found that employees were working nine hours per day, an hour more than permitted by law [including breaks], that they had been working for more than three months without contracts, and that they were not being compensated for working weekends. The company was fined.
The same day, in the same area, the inspectorate halted work at a construction site after workers were spotted without helmets or other suitable safety equipment.
Over 100 people have reported labour rights violations to BIRN’s new platform since it went live at the start of this year.
Kosovo has a good legal framework for the protection of labour rights, but implementation is patchy. The country has a large grey economy, in which many work without contracts or safe and fair conditions, and the overburdened court system is struggling to keep up.
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