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The number of people who die while working is continuing to increase in Kosovo. The last case happened two days ago, where Krenar Jemini, 22, from Suhareke, died as a result of injuries at the workplace. He died while working in the import of petroleum products. The 22-year-old is the 24th person who passed away within one year.
The low levels of security safety at work, but also the carelessness have been identified as the factors that have influenced from year-to-year in increasing the number of people who die in the workplace.According to statistics since January 1, 2018 to date, 24 workers lost their jobs.
The head of the Private Sector Union, Jusuf Azemi, said the number of people who lose their lives at work is increasing every day.
"During 2018 there were 23 cases. Unfortunately, it is a record number," said Jusuf Azemi.
According to Azemi, these cases, among other things, are happening due to the lack of education of the employers and workers.
"The Labor Inspectorate has failed in this line, in which workers are dying. About 50% of private sector workers work without employment contracts, without security, and some of them are under age."
In this way, he said the state is committing a crime against private sector workers and the current situation is considered an extremely dangerous situation.
There were also sharp reactions to the deaths of workers at work by the Vetevendosje party, saying that the 2018 was fatal for Kosovo workers.
"Deaths occur mainly in the construction sector, workers work without security measures. In this and other sectors, workers often work without a contract and where the main responsibilities for their deaths are employer companies. Other issues that add to this unequal relationship are the irresponsibility of the governments, the small number of inspectors, their lack of qualifications, the lack of disability pensions for all cases of injuries and the lack of strong unions."
Thus the security at work in Kosovo during 2018 has been one of the most discussed topics.
Only during 2018, 23 people died in the workplace, and more than 112 people suffered bodily injury.
Often the blame is laid on the conditions being offered at workplaces, which are considered to be inadequate.
The Labor Inspectorate has indicated that 251 fines were imposed last year for not respecting the applicable labor safety law.
The need for inspector is continuing to be great as there are only 42 inspectors who must cover the entire territory of Kosovo.
According to statistics, over the last five years in Kosovo over 90 workers have been killed in their workplace. This has fueled the concern of organizations dealing with workers' rights, whose representatives have called for greater security at work.