BIRN Kosovo on May 20 organised a training on labour rights violations in the framework of the EU-funded project “Protecting and promoting labour rights of vulnerable groups in the labour market”, which is implemented by ATRC and BIRN Kosovo.
The aim was to increase the capacities of duty bearers on dealing with cases of injuries at work and labour rights abuses, while also applying best practices to handling labour violations, especially criminal ones related to workplace injuries.
Three speakers with knowledge and expertise in the field delivered the training, which was divided into three parts.
In the first part, Agim Millaku, chief inspector of the Labour Inspectorate, spoke of the importance of securing key evidence in the event of workplace injuries.
He also highlighted the obligations that both employers and employees have to ensure a safe working environment, and listed types of work activities that can and cannot be done by certain categories of employees, including pregnant women and children under 18.
In the second part of the training, prosecutor Bekim Kodraliu spoke on the topic of criminal offences in the workplace. He provided an overview of the legal framework on criminal offences relating to employment relationships, noting that while Kosovo’s legal framework is the most advanced in the Balkans, it faces challenges in terms of effective implementation.
In the last part of the training, judge Nexhat Qallapeku discussed safety at work in the aspect of civil law, as well as the criminal procedures that can be followed in case of injuries in the workplace.
Among other topics discussed, Qallapeku touched on employers’ obligations to cover the medical costs of injured employees and the legal procedures that employees can follow if their employers fail to compensate them for their injuries.
The training was attended by 24 participants, including ten police investigators, three prosecutors and two labour inspectors, who came from different regions in Kosovo, including Peja, Prizren, Mitrovica, Gjilan and Podujeva.