Albania has been ranked as a country that “regularly violates rights” by the International Trade Union Confederation. Its report for 2021 ranks 149 countries on the degree of respect they have for workers’ rights.
It gives Albania a Rating of 3, alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Russia. Others with similar scores include Mexico, Liberia, and surprisingly, the UK. Both Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia improved their rating in previous years, while Albania did not.
Regional countries that fared better than Albania include Croatia, Moldova, and Montenegro, with “repeated violations.” Serbia was categorized as Rating 4, along with Hungary and the US for “systematic violations of rights.”
Turkey was Rating 5 with “no guarantee of rights,” as were Belarus, Iran, North Korea, and China.
The report found that:
“In 2021, the government of Turkey continued to impose severe restrictions on civil liberties, and workers’ freedoms and rights were relentlessly denied with police crackdowns on protests, while trade union leaders were arbitrarily arrested and their homes raided.”
The countries categorized as having the best human rights protections included Sweden, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, and Austria.
Albania, specifically an Albanian company, got a special mention in a section dedicated to companies that violate workers’ rights. Mining company AlbChrome, owned by businessman Samir Mane, was put on the list alongside Bangladeshi sweatshops and Khazakstani oil companies.
The report states that “these companies violated workers’ rights, are linked to a violation of workers’ rights or failed to use their leverage to address workers’ rights violations.”
AlbChrome has been the subject of criticism regarding conditions, safety measures, the provision of safety equipment, and salaries within its mines. There have been several deaths and injuries over the years, yet the company has never been held responsible. Furthermore, those that have organized Unions or protested have allegedly been pressured, threatened, fired, and even had legal action initiated against them.
While Europe performed better than the Middle East, serious violations were found throughout the region. 73% of countries violated the right to strike, and over half restricted the right to collective bargaining. Access to justice was denied in around ⅓ of countries, and nearly 40% stopped trade union activities.
Almost a quarter of European countries restricted free speech and assembly, 29% restricted the right to civil liberties, and 12% reported violent attacks on workers.
In terms of the overall score, Europe has plateaued since 2016, while Africa has noted a slight decrease.
