Kosovo
The ITUC affiliate in Kosovo is the Bashkimi I Sindikatave të Pavarura të Kosovës (BSPK).
Legal
Freedom of association / Right to organise
Freedom of association
The right to freedom of association is enshrined in the Constitution.
The right to freedom of association is regulated by law.
Anti-Union discrimination
The law does not specifically protect workers from anti-union discrimination.
Right to collective bargaining
Right to collective bargaining
The right to collective bargaining is recognised by law.
Right to strike
Right to strike
The right to strike is recognised in the Labour Law.
In practice
Hasan Abazi, President of the SPMK Industrial Union
industrial union
A union whose membership is composed of workers in a particular industry, regardless of their profession or skill level.
See company union
, was arrested on 28 March 2012 in Southern Serbia while travelling to Zagreb to attend a meeting of three European trade union federations. He was held illegally in police custody for more than two days, without a warrant for his arrest and without access to a lawyer. Mr Abazi spent more than 50 hours in illegal detention before being brought before the Trial Chamber of the High Court in Vranje, which subsequently ruled that he be held in custody for a further 30 days. After 28 days in imprisonment, he was released on 20 April 2012 on bail of € 20,000.
Workers and employers are still not very familiar with the newly adopted Labour Law and its implications, while both the Labour Inspectorate and courts lack the capacity to enforce the labour legislation and oversee its implementation. The Labour Inspectorate has only around 50 inspectors to cover more than 100,000 registered companies. The number of complaints submitted remains disproportionately low, as workers fear reprisals from employers, or are simply unaware of the legal remedies available.
The inefficiency of the courts, which have received more than 130,000 labour related cases since 2008, but have solved only around 14,000, results in workers often not trying to enforce their rights through the legal system. Even the binding decisions of the Independent Oversight Board, which receives complaints from civil servants, often remain unimplemented. A large number of violations of workers’ rights, including physical assaults, continue to occur in all sectors including in international organisations, although the situation is most severe in the private sector. Overall, supervision and implementation of the labour legislation, including the right to organise, remains a serious challenge for national institutions and trade unions.
In spite of the Labour Law, which came into force on 1 January 2011, and the Law on Union Organisation adopted in July 2011, the private sector remains almost completely non-unionised. Weak law enforcement and the lack of effective protection by the courts mean that workers continue to be threatened with dismissals or other forms of anti-union discrimination
anti-union discrimination
Any practice that disadvantages a worker or a group of workers on grounds of their past, current or prospective trade union membership, their legitimate trade union activities, or their use of trade union services. Can constitute dismissal, transfer, demotion, harassment and the like.
See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
if they join a union. Violations of workers’ rights have increased in recent years, after the privatisation of state-owned companies began. Around 30% of all employees are employed in the informal economy, without any guarantee of even the most fundamental workers’ rights.
Due to the non-existence of a Labour Law before November 2010, employers have had vast freedoms to threaten workers with dismissals or other forms of anti-union measures if they join a union, resulting in an almost complete lack of unionisation in the private sector. Only a small number of companies respect rules prohibiting anti-union discrimination
anti-union discrimination
Any practice that disadvantages a worker or a group of workers on grounds of their past, current or prospective trade union membership, their legitimate trade union activities, or their use of trade union services. Can constitute dismissal, transfer, demotion, harassment and the like.
See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
. A large number of violations of workers rights, including physical assaults, continues to occur in all sectors including in international organisations, although the situation is most severe in the private sector.