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8/22/2019 Monitoring of the Employment Strategy
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REPORT
Monitoring
of the eMployMent
Sectoral Strategy
froM gender
perSpective
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This monitoring was made possible with the support o
Open Society Foundation or Albania (OSFA)
Experts:
Ani Plaku, Ma
Daniela Kalaja, Ma
Ermira Danaj, Ma
Monika Kocaqi, Ma
Processed and prepared the material or release:
Daniela Kalaja, Ma
Monika Kocaqi, Ma
Interviewers:
Aida Bala
Alba Agolli
Altina Behaj
Andon LulaBehije Hyseni
Dorina Abdiaj, Ma
Elda Sopaj
Elona Mustaaj
Fatbardha Vakaj
Keti Qirinxhi
Liljana ela
Rezarta Andoni
Valbona Jaupllari
@ Reeksione Association, Tirana
The sale or use o this guide or proft is prohibited
Translated in English: Denis Haxhia
Design & Layout: outprint
The opinions expressed in this report belong to the authors and do not necessarily represent
the opinions o the Open Society Foundation or Albania.
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acKnoWledgeMentS
Reeksione Association expresses its gratitude to the Open Society Foundation or Albania (OSFA),
or providing fnancial support in the implementation o the project: Improving the status o women in
society through combating their social exclusion and supporting their access to labour market, part o
which was the compilation o this monitoring report.
We thank all the government institutions at central and local level, who were involved in various
components o the implementation o this project, particularly with regards to monitoring the Employment
Sectoral Strategy 2007 - 2013. The inormation provided by the Ministry o Labour, Social Aairs and
Equal Opportunities, National Employment Service, Regional Employment Ofces in Kukes, Shkodra,
Dibra, Lezha, Tirana, Durrs, Elbasan, Fier, Berat, Vlora, Kora and Gjirokastra, was necessary in order
to reect a more accurate picture regarding the institutions responsible or providing services in the feld
o employment.
We also thank all the respondents as well all the interviewed or the time they dedicated to us and the
inormation given to us through the instruments used or the monitoring.
Last but not least, Reeksione Association expresses a special thanks to all the experts, the interviewers
and members o sta involved in every step o the implementation o this project. Their maximal workand dedication was the decisive actor or achieving the desired success.
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aBBreviationS
LFS Labour Force Survey
EU European Union
INSTAT Institute o Statistics
SLI State Labour Inspectorate
ITInormation Technology
LSMS Study or Measurement o Living Standards
MoLSAEO Ministry o Labour, Social Aairs and Equal Opportunities
NPO Non Proft Organization
ILO International Labour Organization
PWD People with Disabilities
GNP Gross National Product
SME Small and Medium Enterprises
OSFA Open Society Foundation or Albania
SES Sectoral Employment Strategy 2007-2013
NES National Employment Service
TV Television
REO Regional Employment Ofce
LEO Local Employment Ofce
DCM Decision o the Council o Ministers
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contentS
Acknowledgments 03
Abbreviations 04
Introduction 06
Methodology 11
The legal ramework relating to employment in Albania 14
Employment Sectoral Strategy 2007 2013 18
Mapping o Employment Services Sector based on Employment Strategy 21
Analysis and interpretation o data rom the monitoring 26
Conclusions 41
Annexes 45
Format o the questionnaire 45
Format o the Interview 49
Defnitions on employment by the Institute o Statistics 53
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introdUction
Drating and publication o the monitoring report o the Sectoral Strategy or Employment 2007 - 2013 under
the gender perspective is part o the project Improving the status o women in society through combating
their social exclusion and supporting their access to the labour market, a project implemented by Reections
Association, with fnancial support rom the Open Society Foundation or Albania (OSFA).
This monitoring report, under a gender perspective, takes values in a situation where more and more we
hear discussions and debates about the issue o eminization o poverty. In Albania, as elsewhere, poverty
has dierent consequences or women and men. Gender division o labour or sexual division o labour reers
to the assignment o dierent roles, responsibilities and duties or men and women, based on social ideas o
what men and women should do and are capable o doing. Dierent duties and responsibilities are assigned
to women/girls and men/boys, according to their gender-sex roles, and not necessarily according to their skills
or personal preerences. In time, this separation leads to a gender division o skills. Men/boys and women/
girls learn and perect only those considered appropriate or their gender roles. This creates dierent skills
and abilities or them, which are then assigned to one gender only. Responsibilities o women/girls withinthe household and amily, oten limit their opportunities to seek work and to participate actively in the labour
market. Conclusions drawn rom the 2008 LSMS data show that in emale-headed households the average
consumption is lower than that o households headed by men.
Unemployment is one o the main problems identifed in Albania and the fgures are truly alarming when
it comes to the number o unemployed women/girls. But equally alarming is the situation o women/girls
employed in the inormal market, although there doesnt seem to be comprehensive studies on the subject.
Other issues to consider in this aspect are also wages and gender dierences, gender discrimination in hiring,
women/girls in the private sector especially small and medium enterprises, the status o women/girls in rural
areas, education and proessional training, etc.
Although women and girls constitute the largest number o higher education graduates, their economic status
leaves much to be desired. The participation o women/girls in the labour market has decreased. The participation
rate o women/girls in the labour orce in 2009 was 51.8%, compared with 56.2% in 2007 1. Women/girls in
Albania have less access than men/boys in starting a job and consequently the level o unemployment among
them is higher. The employment rate or the population aged 15-64 in 2009 was 53.4%. This indicator was
64.3% or males and 43.6% or emales. The employment rate or women/girls has declined since 2007 when it
was 49.3%. The unemployment rate among women/girls in 2009 was 15.9%, compared with 12.2% or men/
boys in the same year, while in 2007 the unemployment o women/girls was 12.2%. The indicators o long-
term unemployment (as standard defnition, the long-term unemployed are the people unemployed or a period
ranging rom one year or more) show that women/girls are more likely to remain unemployed or a longer timethan men/boys. The dierence between them is respectively 10.6% and 7.8%. This gap has increased over
the years. Since 2007, long-term unemployment or women/girls has increased rom 8.8% to 10.6%. Also,
among the discouraged unemployed, women/girls represent about 70%, which means that these women/
girls do not wish any longer to enter the labour market. Discouragement oten comes rom lack o social
services to care or children and the elderly. Employment by sector also shows dierences in gender indexes.
In the public sector there are 54.3% male and 45.7% emale employees, in the private sector there are 70.3%
male and 29.7% emale and in the agricultural sector there are 43.3% male and 56.7% emale. Data rom the
people employed in the public sector show that women/girls occupy the highest percentage o employment in
occupations such as specialist or simple worker, positions with lower wages, compared with proessions such
as legislators, ofcers, senior directors and policy-makers, in which men/boys are mainly seen as employees.
1. Labour Market 2009
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By making a comparison o employment in two levels, the central and local one, the data indicate that women
represent a greater percentage o employment in the central level. Thus, in the central government institutions,
43% o employees are emale, while this fgure in the local administration results as 30%.
The right to employment is recognized and guaranteed by the Constitution o the Republic o Albania2 and,
along with other rights, comprises the basis o the legal order. The practical application o this right is achievedthrough the implementation o specifc national laws, ratifed international documents as well as through
specifc strategies.
The Sectoral Employment Strategy o 2007-2013 aims to lay the main strategic basis or the Ministry o Labour,
Social Aairs and Equal Opportunities or the development o employment services and proessional training.
This means improving the quality o services to job seeking and job providing clients and by improving the
quality o employment services, as well as efcient implementation o active and passive programs. The main
goal is to reduce unemployment to the unemployment rate or European Union countries gradually until 2013.
The main objective o the employment policies is to support job seekers in fnding a suitable job. Employment
policies are an important tool or improving the labour market situation, but still have a limited impact onreducing unemployment. This comes as a result o several actors in the labour market that are associated with
the act that labour market policies are costly and require more people to implement them.
One o the dimensions o the Sectoral Employment Strategy is gender equality and equal opportunities. The
National Employment Service should provide measures to monitor opportunities and equal treatment between
men/women and boys/girls in the feld o employment services, proessional training and income support in
case o unemployment. Special policies are scheduled or groups o women/girls in need, such as:
For head o household women and victims o trafcking there will be measures taken to provide
proessional training at public proessional training centres (ree service), and measures or their
employment. This also relates to prevention o trafcking.
Regarding women/girls o the Roma and Egyptian community, there will be work in awareness o
employees o employment ofces or the implementation o existing programs to increase employment
opportunities or these groups3 and the measures envisaged in the National Strategy or the Integration
o Roma Community.
Also in the 2007-2013 Employmnt Sectorial Strategy there are objectives relating to employment and
proessional training or the Roma community, employment and proessional training or children working in
inormal ways as well as policies or employment and proessional training o potential migrants and those
returned.
Reeksione Association believes that this monitoring report rom a gender perspective is a positive experience
or Albania and will serve as an analytical tool: to assess the current achievements o the Strategy; to identiy
weaknesses, problems and challenges; as well as to determine objectives or the uture.
In the implementation o this monitoring report were used a combination o quantitative methods and qualitative
ones. In this ramework, there have been developed two main instruments4: a questionnaire or quantitative
data collection, as well as interviews or the achievement o the qualitative research component. Although the
bulk o the monitoring report consists o analysis and processing o data collected through the survey, there is
2.Article 49 o the Constitution o the Republic o Albania.3. DCM 632, dated 18.09.2003 On the promotion o employment program or emale unemployed job seekers4. For details, please reer to the ull ormat o the questionnaire and interview, attached to this report as Annex 1.
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also inormation collected rom the desk research, mainly regarding the introduction o legal and administrative
ramework in the feld o employment and proessional training.
The survey was conducted in all the 12 (twelve)5 regions o the country and ocused on the category o
unemployed job seekers who have benefted rom the implementation o the Employment Sectoral Strategy as
well as programs in Proessional Training. In total there were 1547 (one thousand fve hundred and orty-seven) quantitative questionnaires completed, with a 44% gender representation o male and 56% emale.
Qualitative interviews were conducted with samples o employees o labour ofces. These interviews aimed to
obtain inormation on the implementation o the strategy rom the perspective o those who provide services.
The frst part o the interview ocused on inormation about education, age and position o the employees, the
responsibilities o the institution, conduct and representation policies. The second part o the interview ocused
more on inormation about the quality o services oered and meeting the needs o unemployed job seekers
through the provision o these services. The number o the interviewed totalled 85 (eighty-fve), o which 22
(twenty two) males and 63 (sixty three) emales.
An important part o this monitoring report is also the introduction o legal and administrative ramework
in the feld o employment and proessional training. This presentation is ocused on: (a) InternationalDocuments ratifed and signed by the Albanian government where the most important are: Conventions o
the International Labour Organization, Convention on the Elimination o All Forms o Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW), a number o documents o the European Union, Millennium Development
Objectives, etc. (b) the National Legislation which will be presented with a series o laws, the most important
to be singled out are: Labour Code o the Republic o Albania, Law On the gender equality in society,
Law On education and proessional training in the Republic o Albania, Law On the protection rom
discriminationand some strategies developed during recent years, in which it is treated as a priority the issue
o employment or proessional training: National Strategy or Gender Equality, Violence against Women
and Domestic Violence 2011-2015, Social Protection Sectoral Strategy, Rural Development Cross-
sectoral Strategy, Cross-sectoral Strategy on Public Administration Reorm and National Strategy
on the Development and Integration 2007-2013.
Mapping o Employment Services, as part o this monitoring report, ocuses on administrative aspects
o employment and vocational training. It summarizes the Employment Services, Private employment
servicesand Employment promotion programsand more specifcally:
the program or the promotion o employment o unemployed job seekers;
the program or the promotion o employment through proessionaltraining;
the program or the encouragement o employment through institutional training;
the program or the promotion o employment or unemployed emale job seekers;
the program or the promotion o employment o unemployed job seekers who have completedhigher education at home and abroad, through their involvement in apprenticeship programs in
public or private institutions/enterprises6
The analysis and interpretation o the data, as being the most important part o this monitoring report,
ocuses on the results obtained rom the processing o statistical and qualitative data applied. It is organized
with respect to monitoring methodology and ocuses at frst on the analysis and interpretation o quantitative
data and then the analysis and interpretation o data rom qualitative interviews with the service providers.
In a logical approach, the last part o the report summarizes the fnal conclusions o the report highlighting as
the most important:
5. Respectively in Tirana, Durres, Elbasan, Berat, Korce, Fier, Vlora, Shkodra, Lezha, Kukes and Dibra.6. Employment promotion program to be implemented or the frst time in 2007.
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People with eight-year education and college (middle) education appear to have higher incidence or
unemployment as active unemployed, while within each o these two groups results that the number
o unemployed males with secondary education is higher than that o unemployed emale job seekers,
with the same educational level at about 5%. Meanwhile gender dierences or unemployed people
with higher education shows/proves once again that women/girls with high school education have more
difcult access to employment compared to men/boys with the same educational level. Unemployed job seekers belonging to a married civil status, turn out to comprise a higher percentage
(70%) compared with those that belong to single status. By gender comparative approach it is noticed
that, i among single job seekers the number o women and men is the same, in the group o married
unemployed job seekers the number o unemployed emale job seekers is lower than that o males. This
act is supported by the conclusion that married women withdraw rom the labour market or a certain
period o time, due to liabilities associated with raising a amily, giving birth and raising children, etc.
Regarding the groups o unemployed job seekers who are divorced, separated7 or widowed, it is
noticed that even though they are ewer in number in terms o their position as job seekers, again within
these groups it is women who have been aected more by unemployment. This is a very important act
that should be considered as a priority by all institutions that oer services in the feld o employment in
order to help these vulnerable groups. Nearly 90% o the interviewed claim that the employer has been paying social and health security. However,
unortunately, we have to admit that this result cannot be generalizing beyond the sample selected as in
its division we were based on the monitorised indicators o counselling by the labour ofces, the main
ocus being the unemployed treated with economic or unemployment beneft (assistance not provided
unless they have paid social/health security). We need to emphasize the act that rom our work in the
feld and ongoing contacts with individuals/groups in need, we have concluded that coverage o the
relevant obligations or social/healthcare security rom the employer to the employee does not always
happen, or is simply in the parameters o the minimum obligation, causing major damage up to non
profting o the relevant beneft/pension in time, or during periods o unemployment.
Inormal work remains the main activity that helps unemployed job seekers to overcome the difculties
created during their period o unemployed. Another source o income is considered the treatment
with income or economic assistance/support rom relatives/amily members who live in the country.
Surprisingly it results that proceeds/support rom relatives/amily members who live abroad is classifed
as a last resort support and much smaller compared to the frst three. From the gender perspective, the
data revealed that women/girls are less involved in the inormal sector, but their support comes mostly
rom relatives who live/work within the country.
90% o the interviewed declare that they have registered at the employment ofces as unemployed
job seekers. Among the 10% who are not registered, almost hal o them claim to not have registered
because o the lack o trust placed in these structures, while others within this category state that the
reasons or their ailure to register relate to the lack o inormation on services that employment ofces
can provide, or the lack o inrastructure or not contacting/receiving inormation on these institutionsand their useulness. Although positive steps have been taken, there is still need or intervention in terms
o raising awareness o the population or registration as unemployed job seeker, as well as the creation
o trust that the relevant structures will deal with the priority o the registrants.
The majority o the interviewed (90.8%) declared that they had not attended any training course or
qualifcation oered by employment ofces. Among those who have attended training courses or
qualifcations, the number o women/girls turns out to be higher, which highlights the level o importance
that women/girls devote to their proessional training. About 31.3% o the interviewed responded that
this option was not oered by employment ofces; 29.07% stated that they were not oered valid
opportunities, while 9.7% claim that the reasons or not attending the courses oered are associated
with the lack o support and social services within the group, the gender dierence being dominant,
emales are almost double the number o males.
7. Spouses are separated but have not yet started/completed the process o divorce.
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75% o the interviewed that are involved in training courses have not been oered a job aterwards by the
employment ofces. This act is a very signifcant indication that justifes the attitude/lack o credibility o
many individuals opposed to the eectiveness o services provided by employment ofces. Meanwhile,
the details regarding the group o unemployed job seekers participating in training/qualifcation and
which was subsequently oered a job indicate the number o women/girls has been higher than that o
men/boys. The data show that most o the respondents did not apply through an employment promotion program.
However, rom the number o those who applied, emales represent the highest percentage. The reason
why most o the respondents have not applied through employment promotion programs stands with
the act that this option has not really been suggested/oered by the employment ofces. Among the
interviewed is recorded a group that considers as irrelevant the options provided and thereore did
not consider them. Again or the group o women/girls, one o the main reasons or uninvolvement in
employment promotion programs has to do with lack o support and social care services.
From the processing o data in terms o fnding a fnal solution on employment, through the application
o employment promotion programs, it shows that the majority o the interviewed could not fnd a fnal
solution with respect to their employment, they are simply involved temporarily in such programs.
There are signifcant changes in the attitude and mentality regarding the reliability o employmentservices. This is because o the increased accountability and eorts o these institutions in oering more
quality services towards vulnerable groups. Unlike a ew years ago, there is now a growing awareness
regarding the importance o registration at employment ofces as unemployed job seekers, especially
among youngsters or graduates. The level o confdence in the eectiveness or quality o services
oered by these institutions remains low or a high percentage o unemployed job seekers, particularly
the long-term ones.
Despite an increase in fnancial resources allocated to employment institutions, including the state
budget and oreign donors, in many cases these resources are considered insufcient in terms o space,
logistics, commodities, etc.
In terms o increasing the quality o services, an important point that is emphasized by the interviewed
is the increase in sensitivity and opportunities to be oered in terms o the unemployed by the labour
market and businesses, particularly or vulnerable groups such as women as heads o households below
the poverty line, divorced women, trafcked women/girls, raped women/girls, people with disabilities,
young people under the age o 18, vulnerable groups such as Roma, orphans and others.
The process o developing the Sectoral Employment Strategy gets the attention and contribution o
the structures responsible or implementing this strategy. Some o the ways that this contribution is
provided are: analysis and periodic survey o the labour market, participation in working groups that
arise during the drating o the strategy as well as giving direct opinions/comments, providing data and
statistics based on daily work in the implementation o the adopted strategy, concrete planning or the
implementation o the strategy, etc.
There is need o well coordinated and continuous eorts o all central and local actors, the non-proftsector, the business as well as benefciary groups, to inuence and alleviate the problem o unemployment.
The state must hold the weight and the main responsibility in coordinating these actions.
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8. For details, please reer to the ull ormat o the questionnaire and interview, attached to this report as Annex 1.9. Respectively in Tirana, Durres, Elbasan, Berat, Korce, Fier, Vlora, Shkodra, Lezha, Kukes and Dibra.
10. Situation beore / ater the election at the local level led to the length o the survey, particularly in the lower and creating difculties
or data collection, especially in connection with the services provided by relevant institutions in the feld o employment. The data was
gathered during the period May - October 2011.
Methodology
As quoted above, the monitoring o the implementation o the Employment Sectoral Strategy 2007 - 2013 was
one o the main components o the implementation o the project: Improving the status o women in society
through combating their social exclusion and supporting their access to labour market.
The methodologyused or conducting this study was a combination o quantitative methods with qualitative
ones. In this ramework, there have been developed two main instruments 88: a questionnaire or quantitative
data collection, as well as interviews or the achievement o the qualitative research component. Although the
bulk o the monitoring report consists o analysis and processing o data collected through the survey, there is
also inormation collected rom the desk research, mainly regarding the introduction o legal and administrative
ramework in the feld o employment and vocational training.
The questionnaire, which was the main instrument o data collection during the survey, was constructed based
on individual answers, where the unit o choice was the individual. The questionnaire consisted o our parts,
each o which ocused on certain inormation. The frst part collected more general inormation mainly relatedto gender, marital status, education level, geographic position o the respondents, etc. The second part o the
questionnaire ocused more on inormation related to the previous relations in the feld o employment, mainly
those specifed in the employment sector, job position, working hours, etc. The third part o the questionnaire
collected data and inormation relating to the period o unemployment and the services oered in this case
by the respective institutions. Meanwhile, the ourth part o the questionnaire ocused more on inormation on
employment mediation services, oered by the employment ofces, more specifcally inormation about the
type o employment oered, the relevant sector, the relations regarding the compliance o security and social
health components, etc.
The survey was conducted in all the 12 (twelve)9 regions o the country over a period o 6 (six) months10.
The survey sample was based on a quota level or each region, a level determined by taking into account the
percentage o the unemployed registered or each region.
Table 1: Number o questionnaires distributed by regions.
REGION NUMBER OF QUESTIONNAIRES PERCENTAGE OF DISTRIBUTIONS
Berat 105 6.79
Durrs 176 11.38
Elbasan 103 6.66
Fier 104 6.72
Gjirokastr 96 6.21
Kor 101 6.53
Kuks 90 5.82
Lezh 103 6.66
Dibr 151 9.76
Shkodr 154 9.95
Tiran 261 16.87
Vlor 103 6.66
TOTAL 1547 100.00
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The survey ocused on the category o unemployed job seekers who have benefted rom the implementation
o the Employment Sectoral Strategy as well as programs o Proessional Training. These categories are
monitored by the employment ofces under a range o indicators, which served as the basis or the allocation
o quota or each category and or each service oered by these institutions. Ater setting the quotas or each
region and service categories, the selection o interviewees was made at random. Meanwhile, the working
group decided on some conditions on the survey, such as:1. To be surveyed only people included in the group o population o working age, i.e. aged 16 to 65 years old;
2. To be surveyed only one o the spouses within the same amily;
3. To maintain a balance between the number o male and emale respondents;
4. To aim primarily the survey o people (male and emale) who had started a work relation ater treatment
oered by the relevant institutions in the feld o employment, during the time o being registered as unemployed
jobseeker.
Table 2: Distribution o the sample with quotas by regions.
Monitorable indicators o
counselling rom LabourOfces
Total o assistedon employment
Unemployed
on economicbenefts
Unemployed on
unemploymentbenefts
Advised Contacts withthe employee
Tiran 260 30 70 50 50
Durrs 170 30 70 20 30
Elbasan 150 20 70 20 20
Shkodr 150 20 70 20 20
Kuks 150 20 70 20 20
Dibr 100 20 70 20 20
Kor 100 20 50 10 10
Gjirokastr 100 20 50 10 10
Vlor 100 20 50 10 10
Fier 100 20 50 10 10
Lezh 100 20 50 10 10
Berat 100 20 50 10 10
Part o the survey methodology was also training a group o interviewers in order to explain each question o
the research instruments, explaining the separation and selection o sampling and the explanation o all the
rules to be ollowed in collecting the answers and inormation as close to reality as possible. The training was
ollowed by feld testing o questionnaires, as well as improving some questions that resulted too vague to
gather relevant inormation.
The collection o inormation on the feld was ollowed by the casual process o inormation validity control, the
results o which dictated us to return back to the feld to recollect inormation rom a group o 300 respondents.
The process o data entry and selection was conducted within a two month period, ollowed by the processing
and analysis o the data collected, as a result o which a set o tables was compiled with relevant quantitative
indicators, which can be ound in the ollowing pages, as illustrations o the conclusions drawn rom this
monitoring.
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11. We should not orget that during the construction o the sampling, one o the conditions had to do with the age o respondents who
had to be included within the economically active age (i.e. up to 65)
General characteristics o the survey sample.
The survey touched a population o an average age group o 41 (orty one) years old or males and 38 (thirty
eight) years old or emales11. Meanwhile, the percentage o the respondents by gender results to be about
44% male and about 56% emale. The education level o the respondents has resulted mainly middle (college)
or proessional middle education (45%), while about 17% reported higher education. It must be emphasized
that there is a signifcant dierence between the sexes in terms o higher education, as 20% o the surveyedwith higher education are emales, with only 13% males. The survey shows that 70% o the respondents are
married, 90% o the respondents are part o the amily with one crown and have an average number o children
o about 1.7. There are no signifcant gender dierences in this regard.
Qualitative analysis.
The qualitative analysis was conducted through interviews o employees rom labour ofces. These interviews
were intended to collect inormation on the implementation o the strategy rom the perspective o those who
provide the services. The frst part o the interview collected inormation on education, age and position o
the employees. Then each o them provided inormation on the responsibilities o the institution, conduct and
representation policies. The second part o the interview ocused more on inormation about the quality o
services oered and meeting the needs o unemployed job seekers through the provision o these services. Thenumber o the interviewed totalled 85 (eighty-fve), o which 22 (twenty two) males and 63 (sixty three) emales.
Their average age was 38 (thirty eight) years old. About 95% o them result to have higher education. 67% o
the interviewed were in the position o the specialist and the rest in the position o manager o employment
ofces.
Limitations o the survey.
The survey was conducted by choosing as data disaggregation and separation level the region and the sample
division was conducted based on the services and people or each service. Despite the number o people
surveyed being relatively signifcant (1.547) and the division in all the regions, the frst limitation o this survey
has to do with the act that the method o distribution in the regions o the registered unemployed did not
represent a part o the unemployed population (registered and unregistered). Consequently, throughout our
analysis we will reer to the sample and not the entire population o all regions.
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legal fraMeWorK in relation
to eMployMent in alBania
The right to employment is recognized and guaranteed by the Constitution o the Republic o Albania12 and,
along with other rights, comprises the basis o the legal order. The practical application o this right is achieved
through the implementation o specifc national laws, ratifed international documents as well as through
specifc strategies.
A. INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS.
In the Constitution o the Republic o Albania and particularly in the provisions o the Labour Code, it is reected
in a satisactory manner the standards o the Employment Convention and Recommendation19613, the
European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms14, or ensuring ull employment,
proft making and reely chosen as a means to achieve the practical achievement o the right to work.
The Republic o Albania in support o Law no. 8086, dated 13.3.1996 has acceded to the Conventions o theInternational Labour Organisation, such as Convention no. 105 On the Abolition o Forced Labour,
Convention no. 111 On Discrimination in Employment and Occupationor Convention no. 138 On the
Minimum Age or Admission to Work.
The International Labour Standards act as an international code and defne principles and goals that must be
ollowed. Its structure gives the possibility to governments, employers and employees to agree on basic rules
o agreement in the sphere o work. The International Labour Organization (ILO), in order to spread among the
nations global programs to achieve ull employment and raising the standard o living, reviews and evaluates
the role o economic and fnancial policies in employment policy. Some o the International Labour Conventions
and Recommendations that are directly related to employment policy are:
Convention and Recommendation on the Employment Service, 1948
Recommendation on Proessional Leadership, 1949
Recommendation on Proessional Qualifcation, 1962
Convention and Recommendation on Discrimination (Employment and Occupation), 1958
Recommendation on Employment Policy, 1964
Recommendation on Employment Policy (Supplementary Provisions), 1984
Convention no. 138 On the Minimum Age at Work (1973), ratifed by Albania in 1996
Convention no. 182 on Prohibition o the Worst Forms o Underage Labour (1999), ratifed by Albania
in 2001
Convention no. 131, dated 06.06.1970 Minimum Wage Assignment, ratifed by Albania through Law
no. 8775, dated 23.04.2001
Convention No. 26 Establishment o a Mechanism or Setting the Minimum Wage (1928), ratifed by
Albania through Law Nr.8786, dated 07.05.2001
Convention Nr.95 Protection o Wages (1949), ratifed by Albania through Law Nr.8787, dated
07.05.2001
Convention no. 183 Maternity Protection (2000) o ILO, ratifed by Albania through Law Nr.8829, dated
05.11.2001
Convention nr.155 Occupational Saety, Health and Working Environment (1981), ratifed by Albania
through Law Nr.9147, dated 30.10.2003
C100 - Equal Remuneration Convention (1951), and others.
An important international document which we must emphasise when analysing the feld o employment law
12. Article 49 o the Constitution o the Republic o Albania
13. Section 1. General principles. Recommendation on the Employment Policy (Supplementary Provisions) 198414. Article 4, which is about the orced labour or coercion, the European Convention on Human Rights, ratifed by Albania 1996..
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15. Article 1, Law No. 7995, dated 20.09.1995 On the Promotion o Employment
is the Convention on the Elimination o All Forms o Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In article
11, the Convention specifes the obligations o the participant countries in the feld o employment requiring
them to: take measures to eliminate discrimination against women/girls in the feld o employment; to ensure,
on the basis o equality o men and women, the right to work, equal employment opportunities, ree choice o
proession, proessional preparation and qualifcation, promotion opportunity, equal pay, social security, health
protection and saety at work including maintenance o reproductive unction. In article 13, the Conventionspecifes that participant countries shall take all measures to eliminate discrimination against women/girls
in other areas o economic and social lie to ensure the same rights, mainly concerning the right to amily
benefts ocusing on the right to credit, loans and other orms o fnancial credit. Meanwhile in Article 14, the
Convention emphasizes the act that participant countries should consider the problems aced by women/girls
in rural areas and the roles they play in the economic survival o their amilies, including work on non-monetary
sectors o the economy and should take appropriate measures to ensure implementation o this Convention
or women/girls in rural areas.
Similarly, in this context it is worth emphasizing the importance o a range o European Union documents, such
as:
Directive o the European Parliament and the European Commission o 23 September 2002 - toimplement the principle o equal treatment or men and women regarding access to employment,
proessional education and increase in responsibility and working conditions;
European Commission Directive 86/613/EEC o 11 December 1986 - to implement the principle o
equal treatment between men and women involved in economic activities based on sel-employment,
including agriculture, and to protect womens sel- employed during the pregnancy and maternity leave.
European Commission Directive o July 2010 or candidate countries - to increase employment o
women/girls, increasing social inclusion o women/girls and marginalized groups, as well as increase o
sel-employed/businesses run by women/girls;
European Union Strategy or equality between men and women 2010-2015 - which highlights many
important actions to be taken to promote gender equality in the implementation o all aspects, including
employment.
Another important document is also the one that contains the Millennium Development Objectives, in
support o which the Parliament adopted in July 2003 a corresponding resolution. The Third objective o the
Millennium Development Objectives is specifcally designed to empower women/girls, including their economic
empowerment.
B. ALBANIAN LEGISLATION.
The Labour Code o the Republic o Albania, approved by Law no. 7961, dated 12.7.1995, as amended
and completed by Law no. 8085, dated 13.3.1996, as well as by law no. 9125, dated 29.7.2003. This Code
is based on the main constitutional provisions o the Republic o Albania respects the ratifed internationalconventions and is based on generally accepted norms o international law. The Labour Code recognizes the
equal right or men and women to choose their proession reely, the right to equal remuneration or equal work,
the right to annual paid leave, etc.
Law no. 7995, dated 20.09.1995 On the Promotion o Employment, which underwent changes and
amendments to Law Nr.8444, dated 21.01.1999 and Law Nr.8862, dated 07.03.2002. The purpose o the
law in relation to employment, proessional training and qualifcation, the National Employment Service and the
employment und, is to actively pursue the general policy to support ull employment, productive and reely
chosen15. The state creates and develops the Labour Ofces, which operate under the control o a central
authority, to ulfl the right o all citizens resident in Albania, to profting employment, to receive counselling and
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proessional training or any such employment and to receive income support16.
Law 7986, dated 13.09.1995 On State Inspectorate o Labour, as amended and completed by Law no.
8857, dated 07.02.2002, is intended to ensure the implementation o labour legislation by employers and
people employed by them.
Law Nr.9034, dated 20.03.2003, On the Migration o Albanian Citizens or Employment Reasons, regulates
relations in the feld o immigration o Albanian citizens, who leave the Republic o Albania or employment
purposes. The state guarantees care and protection o its citizens and immigrants as well as maintaining and
strengthening their ties with the Republic o Albania. The subjects o this law are Albanian citizens who migrate
or employment in another countries, under the provisions o this law and international standards accepted by
the receiving country. In this law there defned the rights o Albanian citizens on immigration (employment) as
well as the liabilities o the Albanian state towards immigrants.
Law no. 9970, dated 24.07.2008 On gender equality in society, evidently satisfes the legal ramework
regarding equal rights between women and men. This law puts both sexes in equal positions in relation to
employment, education, decision-making, anti-discriminatory behaviour and sexual harassment.
Law no. 8872, dated 29 March 2002, On education and proessional training in the
Republic o Albania, in Article 1, paragraph 3, stipulates the right o lielong education and
proessional training. This law guarantees ull equality o treatment or all, regardless o
gender, regarding access to education and proessional training, counselling and guidance.
Directive No. 394, dated 23 February 2004, by the Ministry o Labour, Social Aairs and Equal Opportunities
On the ees o proessional education system, specifes that vulnerable categories, including Roma and
trafcked women/girls, do not pay any registration ee or training courses oered by the Public Centres o
Proessional Training.
Law no. 10221, dated 04.02.2010 On protection rom discrimination, on chapter 217 has a number o articles
which speciy the prohibition o discrimination in employment, the obligations o the employers and the rights
o the employees.
Some strategies developed during recent years, in which is treated as a priority the issue o employment or
proessional training, are listed as ollows:
National Strategy or Gender Equality and against Domestic Violence 2007-201018, in objective 3.1
o which is highlighted the growing number o projects or programs which promote proessional training and
employment o women and girls, as well as the extension o these projects in rural areas. National Strategy or Gender Equality, Violence towards Women and Domestic Violence 2011 -
201519, based on the above-mentioned strategy, has one o its main goals the economic empowerment
o women and men through addressing gender inequalities that lead to poverty, as well as promoting social
inclusion.
Social Protection Sectoral Strategy20defnes women as one o the vulnerable groups. The presence o
the objective or access to social services in this strategy has helped in viewing social problems in gender points
o view. In the social protection strategy there is a special part in relation to women/girls which emphasizes the
16. Article 2, Law No. 7995, dated 20.09.199517. Chapter II, Articles 12 - 16.
18. Approved by DCM no. 913 dated 19.012.2007;
19. Approved by DCM no. 573 dated 16.06.2011
20. Approved by DCM 80, dated 28.01.2008
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social services or victims o trafcking and women/girl victims o domestic violence.
Cross-Sectoral Strategy on Rural Development21, in which women/girls are treated as a vulnerable
category along with children and the elderly. The issue o women is also related to the migration o men rom
rural areas and the scarcity o social services that aect women/girls.
Cross-Sectoral Strategy on Public Administration Reorm22, aims the quality o public services and
states that women/girls employed in public administration are equally protected by common law. Gender quotasthat could regulate the representation o women/girls in the public administration sector do not constitute an
obligation or the employee.
The National Strategy or Development and Integration 2007-201323 represents the countrys
undamental strategic document that combines the perspective o sustainable economic development
and social integration in the European Union and NATO, as well as achieving the Millennium Development
Objectives. In this national strategy it is considered that the growth rate o employment is one o the conditions
or sustainable development. This can be achieved through improved inrastructure and increased investment,
but also through investment in human capital. The strategy shares the same purpose with the Lisbon Agenda
to pull into the job market and to keep more people employed, as a vital instrument that supports economic
growth, social cohesion and fghts poverty.
Strategy for Decentralizationand LocalGovernance24 - The decentralization o employment services,education and social welare charges the local power with enormous responsibility o securing the rights o
women/girls to be represented equally with men/boys.
21. Approved by DCM nr.775 dated 14.11.2007
22. Approved by DCM nr.1017, dated 18.09.2009
23. Approved by DCM nr.342 dated 12.03.2008
24. According to Law 8652 dated 31.07.2000 On the organization and unctioning o local government.
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eMployMent Sectoral Strategy
2007 - 2013
The Employment Sectoral Strategy aims to lay the main strategic basis or the Ministry o Labour, Social
Aairs and Equal Opportunities or the development o employment services and proessional training. This
means improving the quality o services towards job seeking and employing clients by improving the quality o
employment services, as well as efcient implementation o active and passive programs. The main goal is to
reduce unemployment at the unemployment rate or European Union countries gradually until 2013. The main
priorities o this strategy are:
Reduction o unemployment by 0.3% - 04% each year;
Increase in employment by 1.9% - 2.2% per year;
To include within 2013 20% o the registered unemployed to participate in an active program in the orm
o training, retraining, workplace practices, or other measures that generate employment;
Programs or the opening o new jobs and retaining existing ones; Promote proessional training throughout lie;
Increase investment in human capital;
Ensure all the states support or the unemployed and groups in need;
Improving the perormance o employment services network within the existing capacity;
To create a positive climate or business development and investment, increase competitiveness o
SMEs in regional and global market through the development o inormation and technology, reduction
o administrative barriers and creating incentives or business;
Gradual narrowing o the impact o the inormal sector.
The main objective o employment policies is to support job seekers in fnding a suitable job. Employment
policies are an important tool or improving the labour market situation, but still have a limited impact on
reducing unemployment. This comes as a result o several actors in the labour market that are related to the
act that labour market policies are costly and require more people to implement them.
One o the dimensions o Sectoral Employment Strategy is gender equality and equal opportunities. The
National Employment Service should provide measures to monitor equal opportunities and equal treatment
between men and women in employment services, proessional training, and support it in case o unemployment.
Special policies are scheduled to be ollowed or groups o women in need, such as:
Forheadofhouseholdswomenandvictimsoftrafcking,measureswillbetakentoprovideprofessional
training at public proessional training centers (ree service), and measures or their employment. This also
relates to prevention o trafcking.
Forwomen/girlsofRomaandEgyptiancommunitytherewillworktosensitizethestaffofemploymentofces
or the implementation o existing programs to increase employment opportunities or these groups (DCM 632
dated 18.09.2003) and the measures predicted in the National Integration o the Roma Community.
Also in 2007-2013 PSU there are objectives relating to employment and proessional training or the Roma
community, employment and proessional training or children working in inormal ways as well as policies or
employment and proessional training o potential migrants and those returning.
Improving the business environment and actions or SME. Development o SME sector is considered
as the most efcient or economies in transition, which generates sustainable economic growth, employment
and poverty alleviation. Macroeconomic growth was around 6% beore 2008, but dropped to 3% in 2010 25.
25. Albania 2011 Annual Progress Report, European Commission 2011, Report on the global development o humanity.
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Undoubtedly, the SME sector has an important contribution in this process. The contribution o SME sector is
valued to provide about 64% to the GNP and the employment o about 66% o employees in the private sector.
Passive programs - unemployment beneft. Unemployment benefts are paid or up to one year or people
who have paid contributions or at least 12 (twelve) months. In order to promote training during their period o
unemployment, unemployment payments can be extended up to 18 (eighteen) months, provided they receiveno salary or other beneft during the training period.
Proessional training. The main objectives o the strategy in relation to education and proessional training are:
(a) Increase the exibility o the oer, opportunities to access, advancement and vertical and horizontal mobility
in proessional education and training, (b) modernization o the curriculum model or linking with the labour
requirements and increase the degree o exibility, (c) Development o institutional mechanisms to perorm new
unctions and support unctions in the current proessional education and training, (d) Development o teaching
and managerial competence personnel o the proessional education, (e) Completion o normative-legal
ramework o education and proessional training to support all reorm changes in this sector, () quantitative
and qualitative development o the objects, acilities and teaching aids to support the anticipated qualitative
and quantitative growth o the supply o education and proessional training.
Measures to improve the situation in the inormal market. The phenomenon o inormal work has its
negative sides such as: disorientation o the labour market, encouraging illegal work, reducing revenues to the
state budget, reduction o income or social security and health, creating a vulnerable class o people, etc. In
order to minimize black labour, new efcient methods that use the experience o other countries are being
introduced.
Protection and health at work. Protection and health at work are a key priority and at the same time a
continuous process and purpose. The achievement o this goal will be reached through harmonization o
legislation on the health and saety at work with EU legislation, as well as improving the capacity or control
and protection services.
Social dialogue. For the improvement o social dialogue in Albania, the actors o social dialogue in the country
have recommended: (a) Further improvement o the legal system, reecting the requirements o international
conventions, (b) Increase the efciency o social dialogue at central level, branch- proession level, regional and
local level, (c) Improving the unctioning, organizational perection, increasing the degree o autonomy, urther
expanding the scope o consultation, as well as increasing the level o management. The ollowing proposals
have been made: Institutionalization o the sectoral dialogue through the establishment o common ground,
mainly or industrial relations, education and health: Improving the unctioning o the consultative councils
in regional and local level, by expanding the scope o consultation and appointment o technical structures
management, expansion o private sector union organization.
Other planned goals through the implementation o this Strategy are:
To perorm a realistic analysis conorm the standards o EU countries, there will be or the period 2007
- 2013: Annual analysis o the eectiveness o programs to promote employment, as a prerequisite
or determining the priorities or the coming year; as well as analysis and monitoring by international
institutions like the EU and the ILO, the perormance o programs aimed at improving their implementation
in the uture. In the longer term, it is proposed that the monitoring o these programs is made by
accredited independent expertise and certifed or the realization o such a mission.
Proessional practice will be a new program in the labour market. This program will ocus on the
category o youngsters, who have just fnished their studies at their university or high school within the
country and abroad and are unemployed, as a result o lack o work experience. For this reason, these
youngsters will be included in proessional practice programs (internships) in enterprises or institutions
whether private or public.
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In addition to proessioonal practice programs, in the promotion o youth employment it is aimed: (a)
ongoing implementation o programs to promote employment where priority will be given to youngsters,
(b) the efcient implementation o the counselling program or employment and occupation, including
mobile counselling programs in schools, universities and in the employment ofce, (c) or specifc groups
o youngsters there will be measures taken in connection with their proessional training with reduced
ees or ree public proessional training centres. Another program on the labour market will be one or people with disabilities (PWD). The purpose o
this program is to implement the employment promotion law (Article 17), regulate the obligation o the
employer or employing PWD and in cases where he/she does not do this, to deposit in the NES und
a minimum salary or each person that has not been employed. The unds collected will be used or
opening new jobs or these people. The orms o support will be: (i) fnancing at the national minimum
wage and mandatory insurance or each employee, (ii) subsidies or the provision or adaptation o the
workplace, (iii) ees or the ormation through work, (iv) job openings in which are hired massively people
with disabilities (workshops and common employment centres).
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Mapping of eMployMent ServiceS,
BaSed on the eMployMent
Sectoral Strategy 2007-2013
A. Employment services.
Employment public service in the labour market is implemented by the National Employment Service (NES),
which is an independent public service, with the status o a central state administration, answering to the
Minister o Labour, Social Aairs and Equal Opportunities. The highest decision-maker o the National
Employment Service is the Tripartial Administrative Council with the participation o 3 (three) representatives
o employers, 3 (three) employees and 7 (seven) o the state. Services oered by the NES include activities
such as: (i) the registration o jobseekers, (ii) employment mediation (matching demand and supply or labour),
(iii) guidance and counseling or job seekers, (iv) preparation o documentation or unemployment benefts, (v)
orientation and placement in proessional training, (vi) the collection o inormation on the labour market, (vii)
implementation o programs to promote employment. The National Employment Service as an institution thatprovides services and implementing employment policies in the labour market, accomplishes this mission
through a network o 36 (thirty six) Employment Ofces. Creating a quality system o services necessitates the
creation o a computerized inormation system o employment services, as well as initial and continuing training
o the NES sta.
The strategic objective or 2007-2013 in the feld o employment services is the modernization o services by
continuously transorming the NES rom an institution that provides administrative services to the institution
that provides services to its two main customers, unemployed jobseekers and business. To achieve this
objective it is necessary: (i) institutional strengthening and development o employment services system, (ii) to
create a modern and unique system o employment services across the country through the improvement and
development o methods o work and managerial capacity o the sta, (iii) to increase employment and decreaseunemployment through the implementation o active employment policies, (iv) to establish and develop strong
partnership relationships with other actors operating in the labour market, especially with the social partners.
The objectives that have been taken and continue to apply to achieve these key objectives can be grouped
as ollows:
1. Creating a modern and unique system o employment services across the country;
2. Establishment and development o partnership relations with other actors in the labour market;
3. Development o Inormation Technology (IT) in the employment services as a key actor or improving
the quality o services;
4. Improving contacts with enterprises;
5. Human resources development.
B. Private employment services.
Albania has ratifed convention no. 181 o the ILO Private Employment Agencies which includes activities that
a private employment agency need to conduct and the rights and obligations o the clients o such services.
Starting rom 1999, Albanian legislation allows the creation and operation o private employment agencies.
These agencies provide: (i) services to assess the requests and applications or employment within and outside
the country, (ii) services related to job searching, (iii) services or hiring workers, to become available to a third
party, physical or legal person, who assigns tasks and supervises their implementation. The activity o private
agencies is mainly ocused on hiring a limited number o people, especially those abroad. The main goals or
the improvement o private employment agencies in the labour market are:
To increase their cooperation with public employment services; Stricter control at the time o licensing, so that those who receive the license are able to perorm the
services;
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26. Employment promotion program to be implemented or the frst time in 2007
C. Employment promotion programs
Employment promotion programs were presented or the frst time in Albania in 1999. The main aim o these
programs is: (i) the creation o new jobs and reduce unemployment, (ii) the proessional training o unemployed
job seekers, especially in those areas where there are no training acilities, (iii) help the company to increase its
activity and to make a better selection o the workorce, (iv) direct encouragement o employment o a part o
the trainees, (v) minimization o black labour; (vi) involvement in these programs o unemployed job seekers,benefciaries o the schemes o income support in order to reduce the costs o these programs, (vii) to promote
youth employment and special groups o unemployed. Employment promotion programs are the only active
state programs that operate directly in the group o unemployed job seekers to encourage them to fnd a long
term employment. These programs, along with the mediation program at work, inuence realistically to reduce
the number o registered unemployed and, more importantly, removing them rom the passive schemes o
income support (unemployment benefts and fnancial assistance).
Currently there are applied 5 (fve) employment promotion programs, as ollows:
1. The program o promoting employment o the unemployed job seekers: employers who hire with
temporary employment (3-6 months) the unemployed job seekers, can beneft monthly fnancing up to
100% o the minimum wage and social security costs o the benefciaries. I the benefciaries are hiredor a period o one year and through regular contracts, the employer has the right to receive a monthly
fnancing equal to the sum o a minimum wage and social security contributions mandatory or a period
up to 5 months. I the benefciary has no relevant proessional training to the task that he or she must
perorm and the employer oers it, he/she can gain an increase o 10-20 percent o unding or each
benefciary.
2. The program o promoting employment through proessional training: this program fnancially
supports the employers that provide the training o benefciaries and hire a number o the trainees or
at least a year. The government fnancially assists the employer in respect to wages and social security
contributions during nine months o training. Ater completing the training courses, the employer is
obliged to hire 40 (orty) percent o the trainees.
3. The program to encourage employment through institutional training: employment ofces
establish and provide training to the benefciaries o those companies that (i) guarantee employment
ater completion o training or (ii) can show through market studies and investigation work that the
training will be useul or the participants. The benefciaries who reuse to participate in these courses
are removed rom the list o unemployed job seekers and have their unemployment benefts stopped.
4. The employment promotion program o emale unemployed jobseekers: aims to integrate into the
labour market women/girls marginalized such as Roma women/girls, ormerly trafcked women, the
elderly and invalid women/girls. It lasts rom one to three years. During the frst year, the employer can
obtain 75 percent fnancing or social security contributions and 4 (our) minimum wages. During the
second year, employers receive 85 percent o contributions or social insurance and 6 (six) minimum
wages and during the third year they receive 100 percent o social security contributions and 8 (eight)minimum wages.
5. The program o promoting employment o unemployed job seekers who have completed higher
education at home and abroad, through their involvement in programs o proessional practices
in institutions/public or private companies26: public employers are required to give ree access o their
acilities to these job seekers, in relation to administration personnel, under the scheme: or every 50
sta members - one apprentice. Private employers, who take in their acilities unemployed job seekers
involved in this program, receive a monthly unding rom the respective employment ofce, at 100
percent o the base level o unemployment beneft, or every month o practice o the job seeker. The
same measure o unding is received by the unemployed job seekers involved in this program.
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27. Institute o Statistics, Outcomes o Labour Force Survey, 2009, http://www.instat.gov.al/graphics/doc/downloads/ls/Rezultate%20AFP% 202009.pd
28. Ibid
29. INSTAT, Labour Force Survey 2009
30. Ibid
Chart 1: Key labour market indicators by gender. Source: AFP 2009
0%Unemployment rate Employment rate Inactivity rate
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Male
Female
Participation o women in the labour market.
According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2009, the population o working age in Albania is 2.15 million
people, while the labour orce is 1,346,000 people or 61.9% o the population 15-64 years old27. Women and
girls constitute 51.8% o the economically active population, while males constitute 73.3%. The participation
o women in the labour market has decreased in recent years. The level o participation o women in the
labour orce in 2009 was 51.8% versus 56.2% in 200728
. The employment rate or 2009 was 53.4%, whilethe unemployment rate was 13.8% o the population. I we look at the participation in the labour orce (ratio o
economically active population aged 15-64 and working age population), sorted by gender, we see a dierence
o 19.3% among males and emales. The rate o labour orce participation or males was 73.3% 29 and 51.8%
or emales. In 2008 there was an increase o the gender gap in comparison with the 2007 results o AFP.
The gender gap also, with respect to unemployment, is important. The unemployment rate or women/girls in
2009 was 15.9% and or men/boys was 12.2%, while in 2007 the unemployment o women/girls was 12.2%.
In connection with long-term unemployment women/girls are more likely to remain unemployed or a longer
period than men/boys. The dierence is signifcant, respectively 10.6% and 7.8%, and has grown over the
years. Since 2007, the long-term unemployment or women/girls has increased rom 8.8% to 10.6%. Also,
among the discouraged unemployed, women/girls make up about 70%30, which means that these women/
girls do not actively seek to reintegrate into the labour market.
Besides the above indicators, there are also other indicators that are just as important, or more, compared to
the level o employment and unemployment rates such as labour orce participation and the rate o inactivity.
The rate o inactivity reers to the percentage o people who, in principle, should have been active in the labour
market but are not registered either as employed or unemployed. This rate is 26.7% or men/boys, while or
women/girls is almost two times higher, respectively, 48.2%.
In relation to employment by sectors, we have a situation where the state sector has 54.3% male and 45.7%
emale, the private sector has 70.3% male and 29.7% emale, and the agricultural sector has 43.3% male
and 56.7% emale. The data o the employed in the public sector show that women/girls occupy the highest
percentage o employment in occupations such as specialist or simple worker, positions paid less, compared
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31. INSTAT, Females and Males in Albania, 2008
32. Source: Adapted rom Females and Males in Albania, INSTAT 2008
with proessions such as lawyers, clerks and high managers, policy makers, which employ mainly men/
boys. By making a comparison o employment in two levels, central and local, the data indicate that emales
represent a greater percentage o employment in the central level. Thus at the central government institutions,
43% o employees are emale, while this fgure in the local administration results at 30%. The employment o
emales is seen mainly in the sectors o health and education and less in other sectors such as bar-restaurants,
manuacturing, trade.
Table 3: Structure of employment by sector (15 - 64 years old). Source: LFS 2009.
Structure o labour orce
Male Female Total
Public Sector 16 17.6 16.7
Agriculture 33.2 56.5 43.2
Private Sector 50.8 25.9 40.1
The above table shows how men/boys and women/girls are represented in dierent sectors o the labour
market. It can be seen that a higher percentage o women/girls is employed in agriculture, 56.5%, comparedwith 33.2% or men/boys. Another signifcant gender dierence can be seen in the private sector, while in the
public sector there is little dierence between the participation o men/boys and women/girls.
In the industrial sector, textiles and shoemaking occupy about 30% o employment. Here is a work orce o
unskilled, underpaid and dominated by women/girls. Meanwhile at the agricultural sector which is decreasing,
we have a participation o men/boys o around 33.2% and 56.5% or women/girls. I we reer to the data o
women/girls employment by dierent sectors, we see that they are employed in less paid sectors31.
Table 4: Overall employment by economic activity32
Economic activities according to NACE code % male % emale
Activities or human health and social work 23.8 76.2
Education 37.0 63.0
Agriculture, orestry and fshing 43.6 56.4
Financial and insurance activities 49.6 50.4
Production 52.5 47.5
Other 62.4 37.2
Wholesale and retail trade 63.0 37.0
Accommodation and ood services activities 65.4 34.6
Public administration and deense 71.1 28.9
Real estate activities 76.1 23.9
Power supply and gas 78.7 21.3
Transportation and telecommunications 83.3 16.7
Extraction o minerals and stones 90.8 9.2
Construction 97.3 2.7
In this table we see how some sectors are exclusive to women/girls and some or men/boys. Again we have
the same view, where the sectors o health, education and social work are dominated by women/girls and it
should be noted that payments in these sectors are the lowest.
Women/girls are more vulnerable to dismissal, or are less avorable to be employed or maintain the workplace,
especially during pregnancy. The low level o remuneration o women/girls also aects their low participation
in private sel-employment activities, which provide higher income than the public sector. The low access to
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33. Amnesty International: Albania. Domestic Violence against Women. It is not her shame , 2005
34. Albania Country Gender Profle 2010, JICA.35. In the estimates the ages have not been weighted.
36. INSTAT- LSMS 2005
37. Concluding comments o the Committee on the Elimination o Discrimination Against Women, July 30, 2010 - Committee on the
Elimination o Discrimination o Women Forty-sixth session rom 12 to 30 July 2010.
property (only 8 percent o women/girls legally own property33), as well as the lack o avorable policies to
encourage private enterprise to women/girls, has led to a low number o those who run small businesses,
medium or large.
In 2005 only 17% o non-agricultural businesses were led by women/girls; in 2010 there was a small increase
o 18%34. Ensuring equal opportunities or paid employment has a positive impact in bringing the amily out o
poverty and increasing social status o women/girls in the amily. From an analysis o the actors aecting theamount o compensation, such as age group, education level and gender, the latter turns out to aect strongly.
Women/girls are signifcantly disadvantaged by men/boys, with an average salary o 35% lower or the same
educational level35. Also a more detailed analysis by economic sectors shows that the average net monthly
wages o men/boys is36 signifcantly higher than that o women/girls in all branches o the economy and the
dierence is more pronounced or salaried employees in the private non-agricultural sector.
The concern or the situation o women/girls in the labour market in Albania is also touched in the Closing
Comments37 o the orty-sixth session o the Committee on the Elimination o Discrimination against Women.
While commending the participant Country or its achievements in the employment sector, particularly concerning
the adoption o legislation relating to equal employment opportunities to women, the Committeeis concerned
about the prevalence o an incredibly high number o unemployment among women compared withmen, although the participant Country recognize that women have good academic results and that is prevalent
among women belonging to the most deprived groups or working in the inormal sector. The Committee is also
concerned about the state o social security o a high number o women that are removed rom work
ater the economic reorms and privatizations undertaken during the transition period in 1990. The
Committee is concerned about the large gender dierence in salaries, unimplemented support schemes
developed or women who need to ulfll amily obligations and work and limited supervision exercised
by the Labour Inspectorate, particularly with regard to dangerous workplaces or women, women
working at home and the inormal sector, and sexual harassment in the workplace. Given this situation,
in the relevant recommendations, the Committee urges the participant Country:
To ensure de acto equal opportunities or women and men in the labour market among other things, the
use o temporary and specifc measures in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 1, o the Convention
and the Committees general recommendation No. 25, also about women who have been without work
since the period o transition and are without adequate social security in order to avoid that they rely on
social assistance when they reach retirement age.
To monitor closely the situation o women working in the inormal sector and at home and introduce
measures relating to employment, to ensure that women have the opportunity to work ull-time and
permanently with adequate social benefts, i they wish.
To empower special training programs or dierent groups o unemployed women.
To strengthen also the eective measures that allow the combination o amily and proessional
responsibilities, particularly in rural areas and to promote sharing o amily and household responsibilities
between men and women, among others, through awareness and education initiatives or womenand men or the appropriate sharing o childcare or other dependent members o amily, as well as
household economical duties.
To review the issue o dierences in wages between men and women and to reer to research and
practices in relation to equal pay or equal work or work o equal value in order to overcome the
dierentiation in wages.
To strengthen inspection measures in order to ensure a better implementation o the Labour Code,
particularly with regard to dangerous working places that are flled by women, women working at home
and the inormal sector, and sexual harassment in the workplace.
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analySiS and interpretation
of data froM the Monitoring
As explained in the introduction o this report (on methodology), the main instruments or collecting inormation
wereinterviews and questionnaires, not the sel-administering type.
Interviews were mainly used in meetings with various employees o the Regional Employment Ofces in various
districts o the country. It must be said that despite the persistence to get a more complete inormation rom
all REO, not all the cases were successul. Bureaucracy and reluctance to provide inormation, we believe
that this reluctance is related to the word monitoring or the word NPO (Non-Profting Organisation),
have accompanied us almost throughout the whole process, especially when using the above mentioned
instruments.
RESULTS
When designing the questionnaire, care was taken in constructing the questions so that the level o knowledge
o the interviewed could be explored step by step. Thereore, frst there were used questions to collect generaldemographic inormation, then continued on inormation about previous employment relations (or those that
may have had one), inormation on unemployment, as well as inormation in terms o mediation and other
services oered by employment ofces.
From the demographic data o the sample, the link between unemployed job seekers and their education,
as presented in Figure 1, turns out to be as such: the two main groups that have the highest incidence to deal
with unemployment, and as a result o being registered as active unemployed job seekers, are those with eight-
year education and secondary (college) education and, rom the total o the interviewed, these groups occupy
2/3. Meanwhile, within each o these two groups, results that the number o unemployed job seeking males
with secondary education is higher than that o unemployed job seeking emales, with the same educational
level o around 5%. This data draws attention to the act that some women/girls with secondary education
begin to leave work relations due to the inclusion and greater commitment to amily obligations (marriage,
birth, raising children, etc). In other words, their absence in the labour market is not always noticed and oten
considered normal since they are already expected to meet the obligations traditionally involved in social
reproductive role and their commitment is expected to be much larger in the jobs inside the house and amily
obligations. Another interesting actor evidenced by the monitoring is that unemployed job seekers with higher
education are at a greater percentage than that o unemployed job seekers who have attended secondary
vocational education, which emphasizes the importance and necessity o this type o education. Meanwhile,
Figure 1. Relation o unemployed job seekers to the educational level
0%Uneducated
0.9% 1.3%3.0%
4.9%
31.7% 31.7%
36.5%
30.9%
13.2%
10.0%
13.9%
20.7%
0.8% 0.4%
ElementarySchool
8-yearsSchool
HighSchool
ProfessionalHigh School
PostGraduated
University
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Male
Female
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Figure 2. Relations o unemployed job seekers to their civil status
38. Please remember the limitations o monitoring explained in chapter Methodology
39. Spouses are separate, but have not yet started/completed the process o divorce
24.1% 24.6%
73.9%
67.2%
0.9%4.5%
0.6%2.6%
0.2% 0.6%
Single Married Divorced Widow Separated0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Male
Female
as can be seen rom the graph, girls/women with primary and high education registered as unemployed job
seekers, are at a higher percentage than boys/men o the same educational level. Two categories that seem
less aected by the problem o unemployment, rom the data presented in Figure 1, appear to be non educated
people and those with post-graduate education. In act, the interpretation o this graphical representation is
associated only with our sampling and does not constitute a basis or generalization38. In the sampling o the
interviewed, the number o those without education or post-graduate education has been much smaller thanthe number o people belonging to other educational levels. However, in a broader plan rom our sample, we
cannot not draw attention to the act that i or people with post university education there are reduced chances
or being unemployed, precisely because o their educational level, or non educated people the chances or
being unemployed are much higher. But what aects the non evidention o this act is the declaration or non
declaration o their position as unemployed, through the registration at employment ofces. This conclusion
draws attention to the great importance that should be given to awareness o the population towards registering
as unemployed job seekers and the creation o trust that the appropriate structures will treat with priority the
registered.
From the demographic data o the sample, the link between unemployed job seekers and their
civil status, as presented in Figure 2, turns out to be as such: 70% o unemployed job seekers belongto the married civil status, while another group identifed with a high percentage is that o single. I
we urther analyze these two groups under a gender perspective, it is noted that i among single unemployed
job seekers the number o women and men is the same, in the group o married unemployed jobs
eekers the number o emale unemployed job seekers is lower than that o males. This act supports the
previous conclusion regarding the withdrawal o married women rom the labour market at a certain period o
time due to other obligations associated with raising a amily, giving birth and raising children, etc. Meanwhile,
regarding groups o unemployed job seekers who are divorced, separated39 or widowed, it is noted
that even though they are ewer in numbers in terms o their position o ormer job seekers, again within
these groups it is women who have been aected more by unemployment. This is a very important act that
should be considered a priority by all the institutions that oer services in the feld o employment in order to
help these vulnerable groups.
I we reer to the relation o unemployed job seekers to the type o amily they live in/create, then
the data collected or our sample show that the majority o unemployed job seekers are parents o least
one child (80% o respondents), a situation that makes it even more imperative and urgent the solution to
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Figure 3: Relation o unemployed jobseekers to their position in the amily.
71.6%
13.2%
39.2%
3.2%
62.8%
36.3%
0.2% 0.4% 0.3%
24.7%22.1%23.2%
Head of the family Spouse Partner Child0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Total
Male
Female
Figure 4: Sectors in which unemployed job seekers have had prior employment relations
54.7% 55.1%
44.1% 43.0%
1.1% 1.6%
Privat State Non for prot0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Male
Female
their problem since they have dependent children. Most o the respondents live in amilies with a
crown. Meanwhile, regarding the position o the interviewed in their amily (Figure 3), it results that the bulk o the
respondents are in a position o head o amily - group in which men dominate. There have been however
respondents at the position o spouse - group in which women dominate, as well as respondents in the
position o children where we see an almost equal involvement o both genders. These data also draws our
attention towards another gender stereotype in relation to employment, where men are mostly those who arecharged by society with the task o having a job outside the amily, with the purpose o providing income and
better wellbeing or th