by Alfred Topi
National correspondent Albania
With the collapse of the communist regime and the establishment of the foundations for developing a free market economy, Albania also started on the path of setting up the institutions of Social Dialogue. None of these institutions existed at the beginning of the 1990s. Historically, it was 1967 when the Labour (i.e. Communist) Party, then the only party in the country, proclaimed the completion of the process of collectivization of all private property. Everything became collective, belonging to everybody – and at the same time, to nobody. There were no more private employers, and only one (pseudo) trade union, totally affiliated with and working for the government.
The re-establishment of institutions for Social Dialogue in Albania has been a long process. Workers, while fighting to overthrow communism, created new organizations. February 1991 marks the foundation of the first independent trade union in the country – the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Albania. Very quickly, workers’ associations were established in all sectors of economy. In March 1992, the first trade union at the national level was created – the Association of Independent Trade Unions of Albania (BSPSH). This was followed by the creation of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania (KSSH) in June of the same year. These two confederations remain the country’s largest today.
The first employers’ association, the Union of Democratic Businessmen, was created in 1993. Now the two largest employers’ associations in the country are the Council of Employers’ Organizations (KOP, founded in 2000), and the Union of Organizations of Albanian Businesses (BOBSH, 1998).
The government, evaluating the problems and development of the labour market, introduced a new structure to deal with these. In 1991, the Committee of Labour and Social Protection was established, which was transformed into the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs the following year.
With the creation of adequate government structures, and the necessary institutional organizations for workers and employers, the first indispensable requirements for Social Dialogue were met. The social partners sat together for the first time in 1996, with the establishment of National Labour Council. This was a notable event on the road toward true partnership and Social Dialogue, and was achieved at the insistence of trade unions with indispensable assistance from the ILO. The National Labour Council – an institution working for social understanding, for harmonizing the interests of various actors in economic production, for diminishing conflicts and for keeping social peace – was in place. In the same year, parliament passed the Labour Code, thus placing the cornerstone of labour legislation.
After eight years of operations, an assessment of the performance of the National Labour Council is now possible. Pessimistic conclusions may be expected, considering that the government has had 11 labour ministers in as many years. This reflects the very fragile political situation in the country, which has sometimes ended in very serious, even terrible events. The collapse of pyramid financial schemes and the turmoil in 1997 are very clear evidence of this.
The operation of National Labour Council has shown some positive results. For example, it has enabled the social partners to gain legitimacy and to exert a degree of influence on economic and social policies – particularly in the area of income and wage policies.
Nevertheless, it has also shown some administrative weaknesses, and perhaps the irregularity of its meetings could be mentioned first. Although the Council’s constitution requires at least four meetings per year, often it has been convened much less frequently – the longest period without a meeting was 16 months. The anemic functioning of tripartite commissions is another administrative weak point. A lack of partnership and Social Dialogue at the sectoral and local levels is another negative sign, as is the fact that the Council has never had financial independence, which would be the real foundation for true independence of the institution.
Workers and employers believe that the National Labour Council has not been heard properly when discussing serious and important problems of economic life. For example, the Council’s opinion was not sought when a major socio-economic development and poverty reduction strategy was on the government’s agenda. The opinion of workers is not considered during the course of privatization in general, or strategic privatization in particular. At times, discussion of the state budget has not involved the social partners.
Workers and employers are therefore not satisfied with the functioning of the National Labour Council, and they have asked for the ILO’s assistance in reviewing the basis of its operation. This began with the revision of the Labour Code, where the ILO offered very specialized input, making comments on the draft legistlation. The ILO’s contribution was taken into consideration and incorporated in the final draft submitted to parliament. The new Labour Code was passed by parliament in July 2003.
The ILO is also involved in the re-establishment of a normal and efficient National Labour Council. The Council’s new foundation in the summer of 2003 is to be followed up by a National Labour Conference in Tirana in February 2004. The conference, jointly organized by the ILO and Albanian Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, aims to bring together the tripartite actors who have contributed to the operation of the system of Social Dialogue since 1996, with a view to reviewing the achievements of the system and the challenges it faces. The conference aims to identify means through which the effectiveness of tripartite Social Dialogue could be enhanced.
At the end of the conference, the constituents are expected to agree on concrete measures to be taken to address the weaknesses of the system of Social Dialogue and a working programme for their implementation within the framework of a Stability Pact project on promoting Social Dialogue.
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| ILO Film |
| Fully fit at work |
Film about the advantages of employing persons with disabilities. As this ILO film (Fully Fit at Work) shows, not only may people with disabilities be more productive, they may actually be more skilled in some jobs than non-disabled people. Produced for the ILO by the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing.
Watch the film online in Polish with English subtitles. Duration: 21 min 11 sec
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Press release in English and
Polish |
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A package for social and economic progress
The Albanian pilot of the One UN Programme will make use of the experiences of the International Labour Organization (ILO) gained in the field. As the only tripartite organisation within the United Nations system, the ILO plays a key role in involving social partners in the recently launched UN reform process.
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