Albania is failing to meet European standards that guarantee the protection and rights of children and mothers.
The European Committee of Social Rights released its report on the rights of children, families, and migrants today. It assessed whether 37 European countries met the provisions of the European Social Charter.
Albania ratified the Charter in 2002. However it has not yet accepted articles 16, 17, 27, and 31, that concern the right of families, mothers, and children to legal and economic protection, and the right to housing.
During the period under review, 2014 to 2017, the ECSR found 17 instances of non-conformity in Albania. The report also denounced the lack of information provided by the government, considering it a breach of the reporting obligation provided by the Charter.
It seems that the government only provided information on existing legislation, while failing to give any detailed data on child labor and sexual exploitation, or on the measures taken to prevent them. The report relied on the Office of the Ombudperson and NGOs to acquire a sample of the latter, while advising that legislation alone is not enough to ensure protection from child labor. No sufficient statistics on children exploited in Albania are currently available.
Thus, the report found, whereas the legislation exists, a number of the Charter’s provisions are not implemented in practice. While the Charter prohibits employment below the age of 15, the report found that the definition of “light work” in Albanian law is too ambiguous and that, in practice, prohibition of employment under 15 was not guaranteed. The report advised improving the system of monitoring child labor and increasing the performance and capacities of the labor inspectorate.
The report noted that about 200 children are working in the energy sector, primarily in the Bulqiza mines. The Albanian Coalition against Child Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children reported that over 50,000 children work to ensure the survival of their families. A 2017 UNICEF study showed that 15,000 Albanian children are out of school and most of them are engaged in child labor. Over 2500 Albanian children beg and live on the streets, which also leaves them very vulnerable to sexual exploitation.
The report deemed insufficient the measures taken to combat trafficking of children and to assist children in the street. With regards to fair pay, the report concluded that the wages paid to young workers and apprentices were not fair. This is due to the fact that “the net minimum wage in Albania is manifestly unfair” in general.
Albanian women employees can only receive maternity benefits if they have been insured, that is, working legally for an employer who paid their social security benefits regularly, for at least a year. The government did not provide any information regarding the level of maternity benefits. The report deemed the required period of 12 months’ contribution to the social security scheme too long.
Albanian working women are also vulnerable to dismissal during maternity leave, the report found, as there is no adequate protection against such dismissals. Furthermore, even if a woman manages to win an unlawful dismissal during a pregnancy suit, reinstatement is not guaranteed in the private sector, and the compensation awarded is inadequate.
The report also found a number of failures to guarantee the rights of migrants including a lack of sufficient cooperation between social services in emigration and immigration countries, lack of concrete measures taken by the government to eliminate employment and accommodation discrimination, and lack of teaching of mother tongue for migrants.
