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Kosova

May 1/ Workers in Kosovo protest for their rights, demand wage increases

Politiko 2025-05-01 14:33:55

May 1/ Workers in Kosovo protest for their rights, demand wage increases

Under the motto "Government - Company, it's too late, come to your senses or goodbye", the Trade Union Federation of Technical Workers of the Private Sector of Kosovo protested in Pristina on May 1, International Workers' Day. The head of the Union, Jusuf Azemi, said that Kosovo's private sector workers have been "treated like slaves" by institutions, adding that "such treatment is almost unheard of anywhere in Europe". Union members have demanded an increase in the private sector salary to 600 euros, collective agreements, health insurance and the establishment of a labor court.

"We cannot survive with the salaries we have. In Kosovo, private sector workers still receive a salary of 230 euros. This salary is not letting us die, but we are not able to live either," said Hafije Statovci from the Union.

The average gross salary in Kosovo, according to the latest data from the Kosovo Tax Administration, is 702 euros. The private sector is considered the largest employer, with over 300 thousand employees. Earlier on Thursday, the Kosovo Law Institute (KLI) said that Workers' Day finds Kosovo "with old problems - deaths in the workplace, outdated laws, dysfunctional institutions."

The Government and the Assembly of Kosovo, according to the KLI, have failed to take appropriate action in the social field, including in approving and implementing laws in this field. Through a statement, the KLI said that the Government of Kosovo has failed not only to approve most of the laws in the social field, but also to implement existing laws.

"Basic laws such as the Labor Law, the Law on Occupational Safety and Health, and the Law on Labor Inspectorate have been removed from the agenda or have remained unaddressed, reflecting a lack of progress and commitment to urgent social issues," the statement said.

"On the other hand, the Kosovo Assembly has failed to elect a union representative to the Board of the Pension Savings Fund and has not effectively exercised its supervisory function over the Government. In the last twelve years alone, according to official statistics and data from unions, 263 workers have lost their lives in their workplaces, 12 in 2024 alone, while in the first five months of this year we have 10 cases of death in the workplace," said the IKL.

In the main squares of Pristina today, the New Trade Union of the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK), the Independent Trade Union of Trepça Miners, the Collective for Feminist Thought and Action, and the protest group against the increase in the price of electricity "Not a cent more" also protested.

International Workers' Day – May 1 – is used in many countries around the world as a day to demand workers' rights, to broadcast general economic grievances or political demands. The latest data from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics show that out of 1,074,704 people who are of working age - from 15 to 65 years old - 461 thousand or 43 percent are economically active in the labor market. Over 613 thousand, or 57 percent of working-age citizens, are not economically active. The overall unemployment rate in Kosovo is estimated to be 10.7 percent./ REL

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