Albania

In Albania during �90 years after the collapse of centralized socialist economy brought about the closing of thousands of jobs so the country was deeply immersed in labor-market crises as the main indicator of its period of transition.

According to the statistics of Scientific Labor Institute in 1990 there were 1,433,000 employees in all country has fallen to 933,000 in 2006, a decrease of 35%.

This enormous number of unemployed during these years of transition, inasmuch hopeless finding job here emigrated to other countries, so according to a survey both Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and IOM in 2004 - �National Strategy of Migration� � 1.1 million people left the country 1991-2004 working in labor-market of Greece and Italy (80%) and the other part in USA, Germany, UK, Canada etc.

In such conditions labor-market has changed even its structure, regarding proportions of state and private sectors. The percentage of workers in private sector was 0% in 1990 and 63% in state sector whereas now 24% private and 18% state sector.

Legal Situation
Labour Right is protected by Law in Albania, for all citizens regardless of race, color, sex, age, religious, political, nationality or social origin.

The essential Albanian document is the Labour Law, based on the Albanian Constitution and drawn in accordance with all international convents adopted by Albania. The Law regulates relations between employer and employee by means of individual and collective labour contracts. It strictly forbids forced labor in all its forms.

All people have the right to a collective bargain agreement which is the statutory document for all rights and obligations between employers and employees. Compared to other countries, Albanian labour legislation is, generally, in accordance with standards of EU countries.

Current situation
At present, the official statistics state that there are 224,000 employees or self-employed in private sector.

High Labour Inspectorate is the highest body, working within the structure of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, monitoring the labour market in country. There are Labour Offices of the Inspectorate in all municipalities in Albania working on employment affairs, but only the unemployed with high education are registered there. In the meantime, the majority of other people move abroad, led by despair to seek a solution there.

The current labour market offer work in four primary sectors: trade, services, transportation and construction. Most employers are small or medium-sized businesses and their activities include: car repair shops, transportation, gas-stations, construction, public services, retail and wholesale stores. Some employers don�t have license for their activities and have many problems with their obligations towards the state, establishing a rather informal economical sector. Only a few big and serious companies are in consonance with law.

Child labour
One of the most negative phenomena in Albania during the transition phase is child labour and use of children to work and beg on the streets. Institute of Statistics INSTAT, in its survey �People and work in Albania 2004�, reports that 9.8% of children between the ages of six and 14, are involved in some type of work. The most part coming from rural areas and work in agriculture with their families.

Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania � CRCA watching this difficult situation with exploitation of children for economical purposes has prepared a survey �Child Labour and Children Street in Albania�, which says �...one of the problems faced in Albania is the lack of proper legislation for prevention of child labour. The current legislation doesn�t consider job employment of a child from his family that in international standards is a real job. The lack of sanctions toward families that use the work of children, whether in Labour Code and Penal Code, make that children being unprotect from the law and other institutions of law�.

In 2005 the �National Strategy for Children in Albania� was adopted, that shows a serious effort on the behalf of the Government, providing a series of measures that will be undertaken to eliminate the causes of labour child�.

Women labour
In Albania transition and the employment related problems has stricken especially heavy blow on women. Women are excluded from many work sectors; it is due to the perception that they should take care of the family, their age, prejudices about their abilities to do difficult jobs and the lack of expectation for best results if they are in high level positions. Women in Albania have no economic power. Their position has had negative impact on their participation in the business sector. For example, it is more difficult for women to secure financial support so long as they have small collateral at assets and resources.

In its last publication, �Women & Men 2005�, INSTAT analyses the level of employment by sex during 1994-2004 that signifies low percentage for women (25% in private sector and 43,4% in state sector). Better parts of women are continuous working in traditionally sectors (in education 67.5% and health service 74,7%). However even in these sectors women work mostly at specialist level, while men maintain their dominance in leadership positions. The percentage is decreasing in such sectors like industry, hotels and restaurants, trade but in transport, building, telecommunication the number of women is negligible.

The analysis points out that 47.7% of unemployed are women and having in mind that women are uninterested for registering this percentage should be considerable. Also women are discriminated referring payment or incoming with 27% lower than men excepting the state sector, evidences the INSTAT analyze.

For as much as in Albania don�t exist big enterprises, factories etc� finding a job for a woman is more difficult than a man, who has the possibility for emigration looking for seasonal job in other countries.

According to the association �Refleksion�, regardless of the adopted legislation, in reality more discriminated are Roma women and middle-aged women. As a matter of fact, even when these women are well-qualified and have the best abilities rarely they can find job for the reason of superstition of the employers. This situation it has remained unchanged and has not improved in the face of measures taken by Albanian government foreseen in �Strategies of Employment and Professional Training� for women since 2003.

Trade Unions
During the totalitarian regime, i.e. for nearly 50 years, the so-called trade union was considered a tool of the socialist party and its government. In its statute it was accepted that the education of obedience was more important than anything else and other forms of trade union activity were denied to it, eliminating whatever experience it had previously gained.

It is true that trade unions played a positive role in overthrowing communism and establishing pluralism in Albania but they went on to accept �shock therapy� policies and the dismissal of employees instead of doing the opposite.

During these last few years, a paradoxical phenomenon has been apparent. On the one hand, the number of employees has decreased while, on the other, the number of trade union federations has increased. Around 60 trade union federations have been registered at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and are currently operating in the country.

The foundation of new federations and confederations is based on legislation and is a democratic process, but it is sheer nonsense when they function in name only and do not have members; not only does this not serve the trade union movement, it actively harms it. However, it is positive that the majority of trade union federations are affiliated to the two large confederations: the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania (BSPSH) and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania (KSSH).

Trade unions have their role and merits in establishing both pluralism and tripartism. Resulting from the persistence of the trade unions, the National Labour Council was established as an important tripartite body in 1996. In this year, a national agreement between BSPSH and the government was also signed for the first time. The agreement contained, among others, the determination of an official subsistence minimum, indexed twice per year against the inflation index.

As a result of the requirements of the trade unions, several provisions are to be made in the law on social insurance (especially regarding pensions), because real pensions are only 50 per cent of their 1990 level and now cover only about half the subsistence minimum.

Albania has not many trade unions due to the number of employees in private sector is not considerable. It is happen because the labour market is function not properly. The most of employees are working in small enterprises and the work is one mainly from owners and their relatives, meanwhile in joint invention enterprises with outlanders it is very difficult to create trade unions.

In the face of low salaries, the fear of employees that they can loose the job, make them subordinated asking their rights, so trade union here are far from their mission.

Apparently the Albanian government has finished its obligations regarding to trade unions. Establishing of trade union it is a constitutional right, there is a Ministry of Labour, there are in every localities Labour Offices, exist National Labour Council, but this council it is not yet a body for taking decisions and still is not establish the Labour Court.

Employees that have like employer the state and that have the major part of the trade unions members are more organized but less motivated. This is accepted from the government from such sectors like education and health service.