Albania resources

  1. © European Women's Lobby 2021
    Three Essential Questions: Interview with Réka Sáfrány, President of European Women's Lobby

    15 September 2021

    This is the second issue of short interviews with important researchers and practitioners from Central and Eastern Europe on burning questions concerning labour and social policies. The interviewee this time is Réka Sáfrány, newly elected President of the European Women's Lobby. We asked her about women's labour participation in the region, why the pandemic hit women disproportionally and the most vulnerable within this group of workers.

  2. MEET THE DIRECTOR: What has been the impact of the pandemic in the region?

    15 September 2021

    Markus Pilgrim, Director of the ILO Office for Central and Eastern Europe talks about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on labour markets in the region, what the ILO has done to mitigate the impact and what the emerging trends are in employment. The pandemic led to a severe economic recession in the region, with about 8% of working hours lost in 2020, an equivalent of 10 million jobs. These losses translated into an increase in inactivity, many people dropping out of the labour market. The ILO CEE Office started to collect solid evidence on the impact of the pandemic in spring 2020, and produced assessment reports in four Western Balkan countries, which led to several policy changes in these countries. In addition, the office designed job and income protection measures, such as a cash transfer project for dismissed Albanian textile workers. The next big thing is the ongoing technological transformation, fair transition towards a digital and green economy, which means a major shift from traditional to new sectors and re-skilling.

  3. MEET THE SPECIALISTS: Alessandra Molz, Skills

    16 August 2021

    Alessandra Molz, ILO Skills Specialist explains how she assists governments, worker and employer organizations in developing quality vocational education and training for young people, and lifelong learning opportunities for adult workers in Central and Eastern Europe. Her work includes skills needs anticipation, identifying skills mismatches, development of new methodologies, such as e-Learning and blended learning, and building bridges between employers and workers, or employers and education. The world of work is changing, young people and adults equally need new skills that prepare them for the future of work.

  4. © AFP/Europress 2021
    ITUC Global Rights Index for 2021 shows that COVID-19 impacted workers’ rights in Central and Eastern Europe

    10 August 2021

    The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has released its yearly Global Rights Index for 2021. The report shows that the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in violations of workers’ rights across the globe. In Europe, the most frequently violated rights have been the rights to strike, to go for collective bargaining, and to establish and join a trade union. For Central and Eastern Europe, the index shows a mixed picture. While some countries increased workers’ access to rights, other countries moved in the opposite direction.

  5. Albanian judges use International Labour Standards in court decisions

    03 August 2021

    The ILO and the International Training Center of the ILO, together with the Albanian School of Magistrates, trained 50 Albanian judges and candidate magistrates on International Labour Standards (ILS) and how to use them in domestic case law. ILS are a source of labour law and a guide for judges on how to interpret labour law, strengthen court decisions or settle labour disputes. The ILO training was organized by the "Access to Justice in Labour Law Disputes through Mediation and Conciliation" project, funded by the Government of Sweden.

  6. © ILO 2021
    Meet the Specialists: Kenichi Hirose, Social protection

    03 August 2021

    Ken Hirose, Senior Technical Specialist for Social protection, Occupational Safety and Health, and Labour inspection shares how he assists ILO partners and constituents in improving the quality of work and safety of workers in Central and Eastern Europe. The challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic at workplaces made ILO services in these areas sought after. In the post-pandemic period, extending social protection coverage to workers in non-standard forms of employment (part-time, undeclared, platform etc) will be a priority.

  7. © ILO/Milos Vujovic 2021
    The European Commission and the ILO join forces to support young people

    18 July 2021

    A new EC/ILO Technical Assistance Facility set up to pursue youth employment in the Western Balkans.

  8. Meet the Specialists: Iulia Drumea, Employers' organizations

    16 July 2021

    Iulia Drumea, Employers' Organizations Specialist explains how she supports ILO work with Employers organizations in Central and Eastern Europe. Employers organizations work to create a business-friendly environment for their members. The ILO service offer focuses on recommendations Employers can use to influence national policies and regulations on entreprises; assistance to develop better services to members; and advising Employers on how to improve performance and grow their membership.

  9. Three essential questions to Mihail Arandarenko, Professor at University of Belgrade, Faculty of Economics

    02 July 2021

    Welcome to our first issue of short interviews with important researchers and practitioners from Central and Eastern Europe on burning questions concerning labour and social policies. The interviewee is Mihail Arandarenko, a leading researcher on labour markets and employment and social policies.

  10. © iStock/Ivan Pantic 2021
    Non-standard forms of employment: assets or liabilities?

    21 June 2021

    Temporary employment, part-time work, temporary agency work, fixed term contracts, disguised employment: non-standard forms of employment can help enterprises adjust quickly to market dynamics and tackle labour shortages. However, when misused to reduce labour costs at the expense of fundamental labour rights, they deprive workers of fair pay, decent working conditions and limit their access to social security. The new ILO report looks into how non-standard forms of employment are implemented in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.