Shahini: In some sectors, workers risk their lives without having health insurance

Agim Shahini, President of the Alliance of Kosovo Businesses, emphasized on the occasion of International Workers’ Day that Kosovo still lacks a Law on Health Insurance and that employees in high-risk jobs in construction, the police, security forces, and other sectors remain without health insurance.

"Workers in several sectors risk their lives on the job, especially in construction. Every month, someone dies from falling off scaffolding, and yet these workers still do not have insurance. The Prime Minister promised a Health Insurance Law before the 2020 elections, and it was prepared in 2022, but it had many flaws and was sent back by the Constitutional Court. So our workers still do not have health insurance. The law was poorly drafted intentionally so it would be rejected, because there was no real intention to create a proper one that could pass," Shahini told Kosovo Online.

He stated that when worker protests do happen in Kosovo, they lack clear demands, and fewer than a thousand people typically participate, something that might give the false impression that workers are satisfied with their conditions, as they are not actively demanding their rights.

"Public sector employees are not allowed to protest, and in the private sector, there is either fear or perhaps a lack of free time to participate in protests. Also, trade unions in Kosovo are in a very poor state. They are divided and tend to have more political than labor-related positions. They have lost credibility, so even when they call for protest gatherings, workers do not respond," Shahini emphasized.