Labor Inspectorate shall be staffed with 20 more inspectors

Prizren, 15 May 2019 – Failure to respect the rights of workers and failure to provide safe working conditions has become a concerning phenomenon in Kosovo. According to the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, Besnik Berisha, the ministry has recently engaged in facilitating a social dialogue between employers and employees in order to be informed and understand the importance of taking the necessary measures for safety and health at work. Mr. Berisha made these statements on Wednesday, in a panel discussion with the topic “The importance of safety at work”, which was held at Lumbardh Cinema in Prizren, and organized by the EU Office in Kosovo and the Ministry of European Integration.

Mr. Berisha said that through the Labor Inspectorate it is aimed to increase the number of inspections and strengthening of this institution. “Our commitment is to increase the number of inspectors within this year and I believe that by the end of the year we will have 20 new inspectors”, stated Mr. Berisha.

On the other hand, Libor Chlad, Deputy Head of Co-operation at the European Union Office in Kosovo, stated that the situation with safety at work in Kosovo is still unknown. “Unknown, because there is no structured record of occupational accidents and there is an urgent need to develop a system based on legal acts to record all accidents at work, with 3 or more lost business days, as this is how it is done in all EU countries, according to the European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW)”, said Mr. Chlad.

In the first four months of this year, 4 workers have lost their lives and more than 25 have suffered injuries at their workplaces. According to the Deputy Chief Inspector of the Labor Inspectorate in Kosovo, Agim Millaku, it is for the good of employers taking of adequate measures to protect their employees. “In case of an accident, the damages are much greater for the employer than the savings he has intended to make without buying necessary equipment to protect the workers”, said Millaku in Ferizaj, at the roundtable on “The importance of safety at work”.

The expert for Safety and Health at Work, Mr. Bekim Doli, who is also certified by the Labor Inspectorate, has demonstrated in detail to the constructors of Prizren measures to be taken at the construction site. “Construction is an activity where injuries are frequent and daily, and their number is getting higher and higher. Construction is the leading industry with the largest number of injuries and deaths due to non-safety at workplace, which mainly is a consequence of the lack of employee training and failure to respect basic safety rules at work”, said Doli.

This panel discussion was organized as part of the project “Support for Communication in the European Integration Process”, funded by the EU Office in Kosovo, in cooperation with the Ministry of European Integration.

Last modified: August 5, 2022