Bringing order to the field of inspections should make doing business easier and ensure mechanisms for workers' rights

Within the framework of the platform “The Kosovo We Want”, in the area of “decent work and life”, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) foundation and the KLGI Institute held a conference on “Institutional mechanisms for the protection of workers”, which discussed the instruments available to institutions to ensure the implementation of the collective agreement, safety at work, and the regular payment of contributions and pensions.

The conference brought together institutional stakeholders, civil society and trade unions to discuss and draw up recommendations and conclusions on how stakeholders should interact to implement legislation and improve working conditions for workers.

The Executive Director of the KLGI Institute, Mr Besnik Muçaj, stressed that momentum has been created for institutional mechanisms to be strengthened and for order to be brought to the field of inspections as part of the reform process.

There are more than 30 types of inspectorates, and the lack of a standard for inspectorates also hinders businesses, given that frequent inspections become obstacles to doing business. A shared structure and agreement would serve a more dynamic process and permanent oversight. On the other hand, the state has not explored all of its own mechanisms to increase the protection of workers when contracts are paid from public funds, while also reducing informality; here we are also talking about a large number of services.

It is important not to add to the ambiguities over competences and to have a single system of inspectorates in Kosovo, while also increasing coordination between the two levels (central and local) to strengthen the implementation of laws through inspections.

For the KLGI Institute, a particular focus was to bring stakeholders together to discuss and draw up recommendations so that, in the process of reforming inspectorates, mechanisms are found that increase communication and coordination between the central and local levels.