Construction crackdown reveals violations in Kosovo: 50 construction sites closed, dozens of companies headed to court

Construction crackdown reveals violations in Kosovo: 50 construction sites closed, dozens of companies headed to court

The Central Labor Inspectorate has published the next figures from the major inspection campaign in high-risk sectors, which began after the increase in workplace deaths.

The broad action of the Ministry of Labor, in cooperation with the Central Labor Inspectorate, is continuing at an increased pace in the construction sector, following the increase in cases of accidents and deaths in the workplace.

During the first 48 hours of reporting alone, the published results indicate a worrying situation in many construction sites in Kosovo.

According to official data, a total of 110 workplaces were inspected, while in 50 of them a decision was made to immediately stop work due to violations found in terms of occupational safety and health.

Also, during this period, 33 warnings were issued against various entities.

The Central Labor Inspectorate has announced that the action is focusing on high-risk sectors, while at this stage the main attention is focused on construction, a sector which is considered among the most problematic in terms of working conditions and the number of fatal accidents.

The latest report states that on the sixth day of the action alone, 41 new inspections were carried out, all in the construction sector. Of these inspections, 16 cases ended with a decision to stop the works.

According to the regional breakdown, two bans have been imposed in Peja, 11 in Prizren and three in Prishtina.

On the same day, inspectors also issued 13 warnings to companies where irregularities were found that require immediate improvement, while in 13 other cases no need for any punitive measures was found.

Meanwhile, in eight cases, work was allowed to continue, as the conditions were deemed acceptable, while in 12 cases, the entities eliminated the irregularities identified during the inspection and improved safety conditions.

The Inspectorate has clarified that the column containing the number of work stops automatically implies the number of requests for violations that will be processed against the relevant companies.

The announcement states that at the end of the action, all entities that have resulted in a work stoppage will be automatically prosecuted in the Court for minor offenses, in accordance with the violations found during the inspections.

The re-inspection phase has also been announced, which will take place in the coming days according to the deadlines set by the responsible inspectors.

“The Re-inspection process will be carried out in the days following the action according to the deadlines set by the Inspectors for the elimination of irregularities. Elimination of irregularities means the process when the inspected entity has taken actions to improve the condition of the Sshp.”, the announcement states.

According to the Inspectorate’s explanation, the elimination of irregularities means cases where the inspected entity has taken concrete actions to improve the state of occupational safety and health.

Regarding the distribution of inspections in the main municipalities of the country, the report shows that 12 workplaces were inspected in Pristina, 10 in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje, 13 in Ferizaj/Urosevac, 12 in Gjilan/Gnjilane, 13 in Mitrovica, 12 in Lipjan/Lipljan, 11 in Podujeva/Podujevo, 11 in Drenas/Drenas and 16 in Gjakova/Djakovica.

The president of the Independent Trade Union of the Private Sector of Kosovo, Jusuf Azemi, also reacted to the situation in this sector, assessing that the lack of vigilance and carelessness of construction company owners remain among the main reasons for deaths in the workplace.

According to him, the problems are not only related to the lack of technical conditions, but also to the mild penalties imposed on companies that violate safety rules.

Azemi has stated that even the punishments from the courts and inspectors are too light and do not create a deterrent effect.

He emphasized that when a worker loses his life at work, often the owner or manager of the company is only detained for 48 hours and then released, which according to him does not correspond to the seriousness of the consequences.

“Even the sentences of the courts and inspectors are so mild that you can’t imagine. When we see that a worker dies in the workplace, a company owner or manager can be held for 48 hours at the police station and then he is free. I think that the Central Labor Inspectorate should be equipped with more labor inspectors, inspectors who know how to implement the Law on Safety and Health in the first place. In the second place, they should be more vigilant and the cases that they see as dangerous should be closed until a certain time”, emphasized Azemi.

The union leader has requested that the Central Labor Inspectorate be equipped with more professional inspectors, trained to implement the Law on Occupational Safety and Health.

He also requested that high-risk cases be closed immediately until the risks are completely eliminated.

According to Azemi, around 70 percent of workplace deaths in Kosovo come from the construction sector, while the average age of victims is only 38 years old.

According to him, if the Law on Occupational Safety and Health is respected, many of these tragic cases could be avoided and the number of accidents would decrease significantly.

The action launched at the beginning of this week will last a total of 15 days and will extend to seven regions of Kosovo, with the aim of identifying violations, improving working conditions and preventing new fatal cases in the workplace.