d
Application of Anti-discrimination Law and Law
on the Use of Languages in Kosovo Public Companies
HLC-Kosovo Report
December 2007
Content
1. Relevant Constitutional and Legal
Provisions
1.1. Constitutional Framework for Provisional
Self-Government
1.2. Law on the
Use of Languages6
2.
Post and
Telecommunications of Kosovo - PTK9
3.
Kosovo Energy
Corporation - KEK
4.
Prishtinë/Priština International Airport
5.
Kosovo
Railways Public Company
7.
Public Companies Termokos Prištine/Prishtinë and Central Heating Gjakovë/Đakovice
8.
Water Supply and Sewage Public Companies
8.1. Regional Public Companies for
Water Supply and Sewage
9.
City Sanitation Public Companies
9.1. Regional Public Companies for City Sanitation
Introduction
During the period: 1 October –
The objective of the research was to assess the extent to which public
companies hire members of minority communities, and to ascertain the number of
minority employees, their opportunity to use mother tongue in the workplace and
to ascertain the relationship between the public companies and the end-users of
their services (in what languages are the bills, contracts and other
information issued).
Summary
Anti-discrimination Law[3]
Articles 1, 2 (a, b) and 4 (a, b, c, d) guarantee equal treatment of ethnic
minorities, ban direct or indirect discrimination against any person on the basis
of ethnicity and guarantee equal employment opportunity in public institutions for
all persons. According to Articles 11.2, 11.3, 30.1, 30.2 and 30.3 of the Law
on the Use of Languages,[4]
minority communities are guaranteed the right to communicate in their mother
tongues in public companies. Also, minorities have the right to receive all
information, documents and other services in any of the official languages or
in the language which has “the status of a language spoken in that specific
municipality.”[5]
HLC-Kosovo assesses that the application of the
Anti-discrimination Law, in relation to the employment of ethnic minorities, is
not satisfactory. Ethnic community members are not represented in Kosovo public
companies according to their overall percentage of the population of Kosovo.[6]
In addition, HLC-Kosovo considers that the Law on the Use of Languages is not being
entirely implemented. However, there is progress in KEK and PTK. Progress can
be especially seen in public utility companies. It can be noticed primarily in
the issuance of employment contracts to ethnic community members in their own
mother tongues. It is only the Roma population that does not receive contracts
in their language. In some cases, Bosniaks and Turks want their contracts to be
in Albanian and not in their mother tongues. Bosniaks and Muslims[7]
most often receive contracts in Serbian while Turks receive contracts in
Albanian.
HLC-Kosovo assesses that the Law on the Use of Languages is most
respected at the Priština/Prishtinë Airport, when compared to other Kosovo public
companies. The Airport management makes sure that all provisions of the Law on
Use of Languages and the Anti-discrimination Law are fully applied.
In order
to improve the employment rate and the integration of minorities, the PTK, in
August 2007, opened a Department for Integration of Communities. The Director
of the Department is a Serb.
As far as
the regional public companies for water supply, sewage, heating and public transportation
are concerned, the Law on the Use of Languages is barely implemented at all. In
most cases, these public companies have not undertaken any measures in order to
respect the provisions of this law. HLC-Kosovo noticed positive progress in Prishtinë/Priština Water Supply Company
and Hidromorava Gjilan/Gnjilane,
regional water-supply companies; employment contracts and employees’ leave request
authorizations are issued in the Serbian language to Serb employees.
Communication among colleagues in all public companies takes place
freely in all languages. All public companies’ administration clerks respond to
customers in languages in which they are addressed.
The main characteristic of all companies in
Kosovo (KEK, PTK, Kosovotrans, and Kosovo
Railways) is their centralized structure. Another characteristic of PTK is its
lack of transparency. The administration of KET,
PTK and Kosovotrans is located in
Prishtinë/Priština while the administration of Kosovo Railways is in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo
Polje. All documentation (e.g. employment contracts) is prepared in Prishtinë/Priština
or Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje. Employment procedures and all the decisions relating
to the hiring of new employees are made in the companies’ head offices,
regardless of where the future employees will work, i.e. in the head office or
in the companies’ regional centres.
Out of the total number of employees, the percentages
of minorities working for the following public companies are as follows: PTK – 4,71%, Prishtinë/Priština Airport – 2,5%, Kosovo Railways 12%, Kosovotrans
5,8%, Termokos in Prishtinë/Priština
and Town Central Heating Gjakovë/Đakovica
– 3,5%
Out of all the water supply and
sewage companies, the highest percentage of minorities is employed in the Južni hidroregion (South hydro region), a
regional Prizren/Prizren
water supply company (36% of the total number
of employees), while the lowest percentage of minority employees is in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica Water Supply company
- 5,1% of minorities.
As far as the public utility
companies are concerned, the highest percentage of minorities works for Çabrat/Čabrat Company in Gjakovë/Đakovica (56% of the total
number of employees), while the lowest number of minority employees work for Pastrimi Company in Prishtinë/Priština (2%).
1. Relevant Constitutional and Legal Provisions
1.1.
Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government[8]
Human Rights
3.1 All persons
in Kosovo shall enjoy, without discrimination on any ground and in full
equality, human rights and fundamental freedoms.
3.2 The
Provisional Institutions of Self-Government shall observe and ensure
internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, including
those rights and freedoms set forth in:
(a) The
Universal Declaration on Human Rights;
(b) The European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its
Protocols;
(c) The
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Protocols thereto;
(d) The
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;
(g) The European
Charter for Regional or Minority Languages; and
(h) The Council
of
Rights of Communities and Their Members
4.4 Communities
and their members shall have the right to:
(a) Use their
language and alphabets freely, including before the courts, agencies, and other
public bodies in Kosovo;
(c) Enjoy access
to information in their own language;
(d) Enjoy equal
opportunity with respect to employment in public bodies at all levels and with
respect to access to public services at all levels;
(f) Use and
display Community symbols, subject to the law;
(m) Receive and
provide public health and social services, on a non-discriminatory basis, in
accordance with applicable standards;
1.2. Law on the Use Languages
Article 1
1.1. The purpose of
this law is to ensure:
i. The use of the
official languages, as well as languages of communities whose mother tongue is
not an official language, in Kosovo institutions and other organizations and enterprises
who carry out public functions and services;
ii. The equal status
of Albanian and Serbian as official languages of Kosovo and the equal rights as
to their use in all Kosovo institutions;
iii. The right of
all communities in Kosovo to preserve, maintain and promote their linguistic
identity;
iv The multilingual
character of Kosovo society, which represents its unique spiritual, intellectual,
historical and cultural values.
Article 2
2.1. Albanian and
Serbian and their alphabets are official languages of Kosovo and have equal
status in Kosovo institutions.
2.2. All persons
have equal rights with regard to use of the official languages in Kosovo institutions.
2.3. In
municipalities inhabited by a community whose mother tongue is not an official language,
and which constitutes at least five (5) percent of the total population of the municipality,
the language of the community shall have the status of an official language in
the municipality and shall be in equal use with the official languages.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, exceptionally, in
Article 3
3.1. Every person
shall have the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom
to receive, seek and impart information and ideas in the language of one’s
choice without interference. Free receiving of the cross-boarder broadcasting,
whether directly or through the repeated broadcasting or retransmission is not
prohibited on the basis of language. The exercise of this freedom may be
subject to such limitations as are compatible with binding international human
rights treaties.
3.2. Every person
has the right of equality before the law and of equal protection of the law.
Any discrimination based on the grounds of language shall be prohibited.
Use of Languages in
Public Enterprises
Article 11
11.1. In Publicly
Owned Enterprises and in Socially Owned Enterprises the equality of the
official languages applies.
11.2. Every person
has the right to communicate with, and to receive services and documents from,
Publicly Owned Enterprises and Socially Owned Enterprises in any of the
official languages.
11.3. Every such
enterprise has a duty to ensure that every person can communicate with and can
obtain services and documents in any official language.
Personal Names
Article 27
27.1. The name and
surname of a person shall be entered into public registers, personal identification
and other official documents in the writing system in the official language chosen
by the person.
27.2. A person
belonging to a community whose mother tongue is not the official language shall
have the right to entry of the original form of their name and surname in the
script, and according to the tradition and linguistic system, of their
language, in public registers, personal identification and other official
documents and this form shall be used by public officials.
Article 30
30.1. In enterprises
performing public services the equality of the official languages applies in
connection with the performance of these services.
30.2. Every person
has the right to communicate with, and to receive services and documents from,
enterprises performing public services in any of the official languages. Every
such enterprise has a duty to ensure that every person can communicate with and
can obtain services and documents in any official language.
30.3. In
municipalities inhabited by communities, whose language has the status of language
which is spoken in the municipality, the provisions of Paragraphs 30.1 and 30.2
apply.
1.3. The Anti-discrimination Law
Article 1
Purpose
The purpose of this
Law is prevention and combating discrimination, promotion of effective equality
and putting into effect the principle of equal treatment of the citizens of Kosovo
under the rule of Law.
Article 2
Principles
The regulation of
the issues dealing with non-discrimination is based on these principles:
a) The principle of
equal treatment shall mean that there shall be no direct or indirect
discrimination against any person or persons, based on sex, gender, age, marital
status, language, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation
or conviction, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, race, social origin,
property, birth or any other status;
b) The principle of
fair representation of all persons and all the members of communities to
employment in the frame of public bodies of all levels.
Article 4
Implementation Scope
This Law shall apply
to all natural and legal persons as regards both the public and private sectors,
including public bodies, in relation to any action or inaction which violates
the right or rights of any natural or legal person or persons, to:
(a) conditions for
access to employment, self-employment and to occupation, including selection
criteria and recruitment conditions, whatever the branch of activity and at all
levels of the professional hierarchy, including promotion;
(b) access to all
types and to all levels of vocational guidance, vocational training, advanced
vocational training and retraining, including practical work experience;
(c) employment and
working conditions, including dismissals and pay;
(d) membership of,
and involvement in, an organisation of workers or employers, or any
organisation whose members carry on a particular profession, including the
benefits provided for by such organisations;
Article 5
Real and determining
occupational requirements
Notwithstanding
Articles 2(a), 3(a) and 3(b), a difference of treatment which is based on a
characteristic related to one or more grounds such as those stated in Article
2(a), shall not be defined as discrimination where, by reason of the nature of
the particular occupational activities concerned or of the context in which
they are carried out, such a characteristic constitutes a real and determining
occupational requirement, provided that the objective is legitimate and the
requirement is proportionate.
2. Post and
Telecommunications of Kosovo - PTK
There are 2,484 employees in this public
company;[9]
117 of them are from minority communities.[10]
Most of non-Albanians working for the company are Serbs (41).[11]
They work in Serb enclaves in the municipalities of Prishtinë/Priština (22),
Prizren/Prizren (4), Mitrovicë/Mitrovica (11), Peja/Peć (2) and Gjilan/Gnjilane
(2). A total of 32 members of the Turkish community[12]
work in the municipalities of Prishtinë/Priština (13), Prizren/Prizren (18),
and Gjilan/Gnjilane (1). There are 30 employees[13]
from the Muslim community.[14]
They work in the municipalities of Prishtinë/Priština (2), Prizren/Prizren
(16), Mitrovicë/Mitrovica (3) and Peja/Peć (9). There are also 14 Ashkali,
Roma, Egyptian, and Cherkezi employees.[15]
They work in the municipalities of Prizren/Prizren (11), Mitrovicë/Mitrovica
(2), and Gjilan/Gnjilane (1).
Ethnic
structure of Kosovo population[16]
Ethnic structure of PTK employees
Three of the Serbs working for PTK have college
degrees, 37 of them have high-school education, and one has completed elementary
school education. One person from the Turkish community has a college degree,
26 of them have high-school diplomas, and one has completed elementary school education.
As far as the Muslim community is concerned, one person has a college degree; seven
persons have associate degrees, 17 are with high-school degrees, while five of
them have elementary education. Six persons from Ashkali, Roma, Egyptian, and
Cherkezi group have high school degrees while eight of them have completed elementary
education.[17]
The plates with the company names placed on the
entrances to the PTK regional centres are written in Serbian, Albanian and
English languages. The employment contracts for Serb employees are written in the
Serbian language. The employment contracts for Bosniaks and Turks are written
in Albanian. There are no language problems regarding the issuance of employment
contracts to minority employees in their mother tongues, however, Bosniaks and
Turks want their employment contracts to be in Albanian. There is a translation
service office in PTK where three translators work. They translate documents into
Albanian, Serbian, and English languages. In cases when the quantity of
documents to be translated is overwhelming, the PTK hires temporary translators
through agencies. Simultaneous translation is provided at meetings attended by
Serbs.
The PTK logo and the website are in Albanian,
English and Serbian languages. The website is updated in all languages.
The PTK announces all vacancies in daily
newspapers and on their website in Albanian, Serbian, and English languages.
There is no information on the number of
employees and the ethnic structure of employees who had worked for PTT Serbia
before the war. According to the UNMIK Decree no. 1999/12, Article 2, Paragraph 2.3, all employees who
had previously worked for PTT Serbia could return to work.[18]
It was also decided that the PTK would have a non-discriminatory employment
policy. In addition, the ethnic structure of PTK is supposed to reflect the
multi-ethnic character of Kosovo. A total of 16 Serbs, who had worked for PTT
Serbia before the war, have returned to work.
In August 2007, the PTK Management opened a Department
for Integration of Communities. The Director of the Department is a Serb. The
task of this department is to encourage the hiring of employees from ethnic
minorities and to reintegrate the PTK Kosovo branch-offices currently used by
PTT Serbia.
PTK does not have
special vacancy announcements for the hiring of individuals from minority
communities. However, if PTK announces vacancies for Mitrovica, it is natural
to expect Serbs to apply for the job as well. The reason why PTK has vacancy
announcements is to fill a certain position. The distribution of work positions
is done according to the 1981 census demographic structure of population, that
is, according to the distribution of parliament representatives’ seats.... Our
work strategy primarily focuses on the hiring of persons from minority
communities. There were only 15 Serb employees in PTK before the opening of
this department. Now, there are 41 Serbs working for PTK and I consider this a
success.
S. P.
Director of Department for Community Integration in PTK
HLC interview –
After the war and
according to the UNMIK Decree no. 1999/12, employees who had worked for PTK
before June 1999 were hired again. We informed all the interested individuals, through
the media and the
K.G. PTK
Human Resources Director
HLC
interviews, 18 and 23 October 2007.
2.1. PTK Regional
Centres
The regional PTK centre in Gjilan/Gnjilane
covers the municipalities of Gjilan/Gnjilane, Kamenicë/Kamenica, and Viti/Vitina.
Out of the 167 employees, six are from minority communities: four employees are
from the Serb community, one employee is from the Turkish community and one
worker from the Ashkalia community. Two Serb employees work in the Serb villages
of Viti/Vitina municipality, while one Serb employee works in each of the two
municipalities of Kamenicë/Kamenica and Gjilan/Gnjilane. They all have
high-school degrees. Three Serbs started working after the war; one Serb
employee, who currently works in Viti/Vitina municipality, previously worked
for PTT Serbia before June 1999. There are also employees from Turkish and Ashkalia
communities working for PTK in Gjilan/Gnjilane: the Turkish employee is a
qualified worker who was hired after June 1999 while the Ashkalia employee has
a high school degree. The Ashkalia employee worked for PTT Serbia before the
war.
The PTK’s regional office for the
municipalities of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, Skenderaj/Srbica and Vushtrri/Vučitrn
is located in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica/. Some 213 employees work in these
municipalities: 12 employees are from minority communities (3.22%): eight
Serbs, two Bosniaks and two Ashkalia. All the Serbs work in Zubin Potok/Zubin
Potok. They were all hired after June 1999. The Bosniak and Ashkalia employees
had worked in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica for PTT Serbia before the war. They have all completed
high-school education.
The regional centre for the municipalities of Ferizaj/Uroševac,
Kaçanik/Kačanik, Shtime/Štimlje, Štrpce/Shterpcë and the pilot
municipality of Hani and Elezit/Đeneral Janković is located in Ferizaj/Uroševac.
The total number of employees is 186. They are all Albanians.
The regional PTK office for the municipalities
of Peja/Peć, Klinë/Klina, Istog/Istok and Deçan/Dečani is in Peja/Peć.
A total of 180 employees work for PTK in these municipalities. Twelve of them
are from minority communities: three Serbs and nine Bosniaks. Two Serbs employees
work in Goraždevac/Gorazhdec, while one Serb employee works in Peja/Peć.
All three of them have high-school education. Five of the Bosniaks work in Peja/Peć,
while the other four work in Istog/Istok. Out of the nine Bosniaks, eight have completed
high school education and one has a college degree.
3. Kosovo Energy Corporation - KEK
Some 7,452 employees work for KEK. Out of that
number, 100 employees come from minority communities (2,27%). The most numerous
minority group in the company are from the Turkish community (28 employees or
0.36%) and Muslims (28 employees or
0.36%). The majority of those from the Turkish community work in the Prizren/Prizren
region while Muslims work in almost
all Kosovo municipalities. There are 25 representatives of the Serb community
working for KEK (0.32%). They mostly work in Serb enclaves of Štrpce/Shterpcë,
Goraždevac/Gorazhdec, Zvečan/Zveçan, and in the Serb villages located in
the municipalities of Gjilan/Gnjilane, Kamenicë/Kamenica, and Viti/Vitina. A
total of 16 employees from category Others
(Cherkezi, Yugoslavs, Croats – 0,24%) work in Dragash/Dragaš. Three
representatives of the Roma community (0.04%) work at the KEK centers in
Prizren/Prizren and Peja/Peć.
As far as the education of the employees is
concerned, one member of the Turkish community has a university degree; five
have completed high-school education, while 13 workers have completed
elementary education. Three Muslim
employees have college degrees, 14 have associate degrees, and 10 have
completed high-school education. One Muslim
employee has no qualifications. One Serb employee has a college degree, two
Serb employees have associate degrees, and 20 Serb employees have completed
high-school education. Two Serb employees have completed elementary education.
As far as the education of the KEK employees from category Others is concerned, two have college degrees; six have completed
high-school education, while eight of them have completed elementary education.
One Roma employee has completed high-school education while the other two have
completed elementary education.[19]
The company names written on the entrances to
KEK centers are in Albanian and English languages. The employment contracts for
all employees are prepared at the KEK main office building in Prishtinë/Priština.
Employment contracts and all other documentation, including leave request
authorizations, are issued to Serb employees in the Serbian language. Some of
the Serb employees who started working for the company before the Law on the
Use of Languages was passed receive employment contracts in Albanian language.[20]
According to the information that HLC – Kosovo has obtained from KEK, contracts
are translated into the Serbian language in accordance with the law. The
members of other minority groups receive employment contracts only in Albanian.
According to HLC-Kosovo’s findings, some Bosniak and Turkish employees insist
on having their contracts written in Albanian.
Internal KEK documentation, along with
information on bulletin boards, names of employees and the names of different
departments, are all in Albanian.
There is a translation office in KEK. This
office is responsible for the translations of documents into Serbian and
English languages, and for translations from other languages into Albanian.
Electricity bills are issued in Albanian, Serbian and English languages.
Communication with consumers is conducted in the language in which KEK
employees are addressed.
KEK announces job vacancies in daily newspapers
in Albanian and Serbian languages. The KEK website is in Albanian, English and
Serbian languages. It is updated in all three languages. The communication
among colleagues is conducted freely in all languages. KEK employees provide
answers for service consumers in the language in which they are addressed.
There is no information on the number of
minority employees who had worked for Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS),
whose successor is KEK, before the war. There is also no information on the
percentage of employees, members of minority groups, who had worked before the
war. KEK informed all of its former employees, through the media, to return to
work no later than
As far as workers from
the Serb community and other minority communities are concerned, I know that
they did not report to work after the war, most likely because of the
atmosphere.... There were also political reasons why Serbs refused to return to
work. EPS still gives salaries to some 7,000 to 8,000 former employees. Some of
these employees work for KEK in the regions of Gnjilane and Mitrovica... A good
example of Serb refusal to work for KEK can be seen in KOSOVAMONT Company, a
part of KEK Company located near Obilić. After the war, it was agreed that
150 Serb employees would come back to work. KFOR safeguarded the Kosovamont
Company. This piece of information shows that the security level was good. The
company itself is located in an area mostly inhabited by Serbs, who at first
had accepted to return to work. Later on, however, when KFOR told them that
they needed to take personal IDs, they refused to return to work because they had
received instructions from someone.
B.
H., KEK Human Resources Division Director
HLC Interview
3.1. KEK Regional Centers
A total of 6,000 KEK employees work in the
Prishtinë/Priština region; 24 of them are from minority communities (0.4%): six
employees are Serbs, 10 employees are from category Muslims, three employees are Turks and five employees are from the category
Others (Cherkezi, Gorani and
Yugoslavs). All KEK employees from minority communities work in the
The regional KEK center in Prizren/Prizren is
responsible for the municipalities of Prizren/Prizren, Dragash/Dragaš, Suharekë/Suva
Reka, Malishevë/Mališevo and Rahovec/Orahovac. Some 322 employees work in this
regional center: 38 of them are members of minority communities (11.4%); 20
Turks, 13 Muslims, 2 Roma, 2 Gorani
and one Bosniak.
Turkish and Roma employees work in the
municipality of Prizren/Prizren; the majority of Muslim employees work on the
territory of Dragash/Dragaš; some Muslim
employees work in the
There are no Serb
employees working for KEK in Prizren because the workers who worked for this
company before the war did not come back to work after June 1999. According to
the law, a worker is fired from work if unjustifiably absent for five days.
However, we waited for them until September 1999. None of these employees have
either reported to work or showed interest in returning to work even though we
called on them to return to work through the media and over the bulletin board
in our company.
B.
P., Administration clerk from KEK Human Resources Department – Prizren/Prizren
Region
HLC
Interview,
The KEK regional center for the municipalities
of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, Skenderaj/Srbica and Vushtrri/Vučitrn is located
in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica. A total of 201 employees work in this region; 10
employees are from minority communities (4.97%): four from the Serb community,
two from the Turkish community and four employees are Muslims.
Serb employees work in Zvečan/Zveçan; one
of them worked there before June 1999, the other three were employed after the
armed conflict. The Turkish and Muslim
employees work in the
The regional KEK center for the municipalities
of Gjilan/Gnjilane, Kamenicë/Kamenica and Viti/Vitina is located in Gjilan/Gnjilane.
Out of a total of 225 employees, 10 are from minority communities (4.4%): eight
Serbs and two Turks.
Four Serbs work in the
The regional KEK centers for the municipalities
of Ferizaj/Uroševac, Kaçanik/Kačanik, Lipjan/Lipljan, Shtimë/Štimlje,
Štrpce/Shterpcë and the pilot
All Serb employees work in the Štrpce/Shterpcë
municipality: one of them had worked for EPS before the war while the other
three started working after June 1999. One of the Serb employees has a college
degree, while the other three workers have high-school diplomas. The Ashkalia
employee works in the
The KEK regional center for the municipalities
of Peja/Peć, Klinë/Klina, Istog/Istok and Deçan/Dečani is located in Peja/Peć.
A total of 280 employees work in this regional center; ten employees are from
minority communities (3.57%): three Serbs, six Bosniaks and one from the RAE
(Roma, Ashkalia, Egyptian) community. All Serb employees work in
Goraždevac/Gorazhdec, while the Bosniak employees and one employee from RAE
community work in Peja/Peć. One Serb employee has a college degree while
other two Serb employees have high-school diplomas. Out of the six Bosniak
employees, four have associate degrees while the other two have high-school
diplomas. The employee from the RAE community has completed high-school
education.
Our consumers who have
certain problems and therefore have to make requests related to electrical
power issues come to us and we talk to them in their languages. The bills are
issued in Serbian, Albanian and English languages. The internal rules for KEK
employees are made in Priština and I do not know if these rules have been
translated into Serbian language.
H.M.,
Coordinator of KEK Department of Consumer Care
HLC Interview
Contracts are made and
signed in Priština. The Human Resources Office in Peć does not have
documentation related to KEK employees other than the listing of work arrival
and departure times.
R. T,
KEK Human Resources Administrator – Peja/Peć Region
HLC Interview,
The regional KEK center for the municipalities
of Gjakovë/Đakovica, Rahovec/Orahovac, and Malishevë/Mališevo is located
in Gjakovë/Đakovica. A total of 162 employees work in this region. All
employees are Albanian.
4. Prishtinë/Priština International Airport
The Prishtinë/Priština
International Airport is located in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje Municipality. There are 577 employees
working at the airport; 13 employees (2.5%) are members of minority
communities: five Serbs, two Bosniaks, two RAE employees, and four Turks. One
Syrian citizen also works for the Airport.
Serbs and RAE employees are technicians. They
have all completed high-school education. The Bosniak and Turkish employees
have college degrees and work for the Airport as managers.
Employment contracts for Serb employees are
issued in the Serbian language. All other employees from minority communities,
including Turks and Bosniaks, receive their employment contracts in Albanian.
Vacancy announcements are published in daily newspapers and on the Airport’s
website in Albanian, Serbian, and English languages. The hiring process
(written test and interview) are conducted in the English language. Employees’
meetings are exclusively in the English language. Internal documentation, such
as Rules and Procedures and other documents, is in English, Albanian, and
Serbian languages. All information at the airport, intercom system, and
bulletin boards, is in English, Albanian, and Serbian languages. Two
translators for Serbian and Albanian languages work for the Airport.
The website and the airport logo are in
English.
Since the official language of the Prishtinë/Priština International Airport
is English, even the meetings in which all the present individuals are
Albanian, are conducted in English because that is the rule.
B.Z. Prishtinë/
HLC Interview
The airport works on
the implementation of all laws. That is why we also work on the implementation
of the Law on the Use of Languages and the Anti-discrimination Law.
F.Xh.,
Prishtinë/Priština International Airport Administrative Director
HLC Interview,
5. Kosovo Railways Public Company
The Kosovo Railways
Company has a total
of 346 employees; 43 employees are members of minority communities (12%): 41
Serbs, one Ashkalia, and one Bosniak. All Serb employees work in Leposavić/Leposaviq
Municipality. The Bosniak and Ashkalia employees work in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo
Polje. Two Serb employees have college degrees, 33 Serb employees have
high-school diplomas, and two Serbs are qualified workers. The Bosniak employee
has completed high-school education. The Ashkalia employee is a qualified
worker.
The head office of the Kosovo Railways Company is located in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo
Polje. Serb and Bosniak employees receive employment contracts in the Serbian
language. All information, names of departments and names of employees written
at the company’s head office and railway stations are exclusively in the Albanian
language. Tickets are in both Albanian and Serbian languages. The company does
not have a service for translations. This means that none of the public and
internal documents are translated from Albanian into Serbian. There are no
translations of meeting minutes.
The website is in Albanian, Serbian, and
English languages. The website is regularly updated. All job vacancies are
announced on the website and in daily newspapers in all three languages. The
logo and the name of the company written at the entrance to the Kosovo Railways main building in
Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje/ are also written in Serbian, English, and Albanian
languages.
We do not have any
information about pre-war employees. Serbs took all the information with them.
We asked for the documentation, however, we have not yet received any response.
We have some documents in our files and we have helped former employees several
times when they asked us to provide them with certain documentation.
B.G. Kosovo Railways Human Resources
Department Clerk
HLC Interview,
6. Kosovotrans
Public company Kosovotrans was founded by the joining of two companies, Union of Bus Stations in Prishtinë/Priština and
Union of Bus Stations in Kosovo. A total
of 912 employees work for Kosovotrans;
53 employees are members of minority communities (5.8%): 19 Roma, 11 Ashkalia,
10 from the Turkish community, 10 from the category Muslims, and three Gorani. Two Ashkalia and two Roma employees work
in Prishtinë/Priština; three more Roma employees work in Podujevë/Podujevo;
three Muslims, two Roma and two Ashkalia employees work in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica/;
five Roma and three Ashkalia employees work in Gjakovë/Đakovica, and two
Roma employees work in Rahovec/Orahovac.
All employment contracts for employees, who
come from minority communities, are written in the Albanian language. All
information in the company’s main office in Prishtinë/Priština and at the bus
stations, along with the names of departments and names of employees, and bus
tickets are in Albanian. There is still no translation service in Kosovotrans, thus the translation of
public and internal documents is not provided. All meetings are held in
Albanian language.
Kosovotrans does not have a website. The logo
and the name of the company are exclusively written in the Albanian language.
This company has not called their former workers to return to work.
7.
Public Companies Termokos Prištine/Prishtinë and Town
Central Heating Gjakovë/Đakovice
The public utility company Termokos provides heating for the citizens of Prishtinë/Priština
and Town Central Heating for Gjakovë/Đakovica.
143 persons are employed by Termokos;
five employees are from minority communities: three Bosniaks, and two Gorani.
Bosniak and Gorani employees work in Prishtinë/Priština. All five of them have
completed high-school education. However, they have additional qualifications
needed for the work in this company.[23]
30 persons are employed by Town Central
Heating for Gjakovë/Đakovica; one employee is from minority
communities, and he is an Egyptian: he has a college degree and worked for the
company before the war.[24]
All employment contracts for workers from
minority communities are made in Albanian. All information, names of
departments and names of employees, is in the Albanian language. The company
does not have a translation service, which is why all documents are in
Albanian. Company meetings are also held in Albanian.
Termokos and Town Central Heating do
not have websites. The logo and the name of companies on the entrance to companies’
main office buildings are written only in Albanian. Termokos and Town Central
Heating have not called their former workers to return to work after June
1999.
8.
Water Supply and Sewage Public Companies
SHUKOS is an association of regional companies responsible for water supply and sewage in Kosovo. The company was founded by UNMIK Decree no. 1999/22.[25] The following companies are part of SHUKOS: Prishtinë/Priština Water Supply, Mitrovicë/Mitrovica Water Supply, Hidrodrini – Peja/Peć, Hidrosistem – Radoniq/Radonić, Južni hidroregion – Prizren/Prizren, Bifurkacioni - Ferizaj/Uroševac, and Hidromorava from Gjilan/Gnjilane. SHUKOS unites its member companies, promotes their joint interests and provides member companies with advice relating to their work. SHUKOS member companies are not responsible for water supply and sewage systems in northern and southern Kosovo Serb enclaves. There is also no cooperation with companies from Serb enclaves.
A total number of 1283 employees work for SHUKOS: 484 employees in Prishtinë/Priština, 170 in Prizren/Prizren, 174 in Peja/Peć, 219 in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, 136 in Gjakovë/Đakovica, and 100 employees in Ferizaj/Uroševac.
All the water supply and sewage companies issue
employment contracts to minority employees in Albanian except for Prishtinë/Priština Water Supply company
and Hidromorava company from Gjilan/Gnjilane
where employment contracts for Serb employees are in Serbian. Serb employees in
Prishtinë/Priština Water Supply company
also receive leave request authorizations in Serbian.
The following companies have established
translation service offices: Prishtinë/Priština
Water Supply, Radoniq/Radonić-Đakovica/Gjakovë Water Supply, and Bifurkacioni – Ferizaj/Uroševac. There is one translator in each of the
aforementioned offices. They translate documents from Albanian into English and
vice versa. Public and internal company documentation, information in company
centers, names of employees and names of departments are in Albanian. The
exception is the water bill issued by Prishtinë/Priština
Water Supply, which is partially in
Serbian (the bill heading is in Serbian). The names of these public companies
are also written only in Albanian, except for Mitrovicë/Mitrovica Water Supply. The name of this company, at the
entrance to the building, is written in three languages. Employees communicate
with end-users in the language in which they are addressed.
Companies located in
the northern part of Kosovo, three companies, plus one responsible for the
Štrpce region, are not in our area of responsibility because these companies
refuse to have any kind of cooperation with us. This represents a great obstacle
in drafting plans related to consumption of water in Kosovo because we receive
no information from these companies at all.
N.
V., Director of SHUKOS Association
HLC Interview,
8.1. Regional Public
Companies for Water Supply and Sewage
The Prishtinë/Priština
Water Supply
company is responsible for the municipalities of Podujevë/Podujevo, Fushë
Kosovë/Kosovo Polje, Lipjan/Lipljan, Gllogovc/Glogovac, Obiliq/Obilić, Shtime/Štimlje,
and Prishtinë/Priština. The company’s head office is in Prishtinë/Priština.
Some 484 employees work for Prishtinë/Priština
Water Supply: 31 of them are from minority communities (6.4%); 26 Serbs,
two Bosniaks and one of each from the Roma, Turkish and Muslim communities. Only one employee, a Muslim, started working
for the company after June 1999. All the other employees from the minority
communities worked for the company before the war.
Out of the 26 Serb employees, 18 have completed
high-school education; two employees have completed elementary education; while
one of them has no formal qualifications. Five other Serb employees have
completed high school education and some additional courses required for the
position. Serb employees work in Serb enclaves: 22 of them work in
Badovac/Badofc near Gračanica/Graçanicë, two of them work in Kuzmin/Kuzmin
in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje municipality, and two more work in Lipjan/Lipljan.
All other employees from minority communities work in the company’s head office
in Prishtinë/Priština. One Bosniak employee holds a high-school diploma while
the other has a college degree. The employee from the Muslim group holds a college degree. The Roma and Turkish employees
have completed high-school education.[26]
The regional Mitrovicë/Mitrovica Water Supply company is responsible for the municipalities of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica,
Skenderaj/Srbica, and Vushtrri/Vučitrn. Its head office is in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica.
Some 215 employees work for the company: 11 employees are members of minority
communities (5.1%); five employees are from the Muslim group, three employees are Turkish, while three are members
of the Ashkalia community. All employees from minority communities work in
Mitrovicë/Mitrovica. They all worked for the company before the war. One of the
Muslim employees has completed high-school education; three are qualified
workers while one is semi-qualified. All employees from the Turkish community
are qualified workers, while all Ashkalia employees are semi-qualified workers.[27]
The regional water supply company Južni Hidroregion - Prizren/Prizren is
responsible for the municipalities of Suharekë/Suva Reka, Malishevë/Mališevo,
and Dragash/Dragaš/. Its head office is in Prizren/Prizren. Some 175 employees
work for this company; 63 employees are from minority communities: 43 Muslim,
15 Turkish, and five Roma employees. One German citizen also works for the
company. Muslims work in the
municipalities of Prizren/Prizren and Dragash/Dragaš. Turkish, Roma, and the
German employees work in Prizren/Prizren. Most employees from minority
communities have completed high-school education. Only two employees from
minority communities have vocational qualifications. Most of the minority
employees worked for the company before the war.[28]
Employment contracts
and all other official documents are in Albanian. However, upon request, we
also issue documents in other official languages, for example a Muslim employee
from Dragash asked for his contract to be issued in Bosnian. We have 15 Turkish
employees and none of them has asked to have their contracts or any other
documents issued in Turkish.
A.K. Secretary in Južni Hidroregion Water Supply Company
HLC
Interview,
Hidrodrini water supply company’s head office
is in Peja/Peć. This company is responsible for the municipalities of Peja/Peć,
Klinë/Klina, Istog/Istok and Deçan/Dečani. A total number of 174 employees
work for this company; 14 employees are members of minority communities (8%):
10 Bosniaks, three Roma, and one Serb. All Bosniak employees and the Serb
employee hold high-school diplomas, while the Roma employees have completed
elementary education.
r
The water supply company Radoniq/Radonić – Gjakovë/Đakovica is responsible for
water supply and sewage systems in the municipalities of Gjakovë/Đakovica,
Rahovec/Orahovac. The company is also responsible for one part of the city of
The head office of Hidromorava water supply company is in Gjilan/Gnjilane. The company
is responsible for the water supply and sewage systems in the municipalities of
Kamenicë/Kamenica, Viti/Vitina, and Gjilan/Gnjilane. Some 135 employees work
for the company; nine employees are members of minority communities (6.7%):
seven Serbs and two Turks. One Serb employee has a college degree, while the
rest of the Serb employees have either completed high school or elementary
education. One Turkish employee, who also worked for the company before the war,
has a high-school diploma, while the other Turkish employee, who started
working for the company after June 1999, has completed elementary education.
Employment contracts
and all other documents issued to employees from the Serb community are in
Serbian. Verbal communication with them is also conducted in Serbian. Employees
from the Turkish community have not asked for their employment contracts and
other documents to be in their mother tongue.
N. K. Clerk in Hidromorava
Company Human Resources Department
HLC Interview,
Public water supply and sewage company Bifurkacioni – Ferizaj/Uroševac is
responsible for the territories of Ferizaj/Uroševac and Kaçanik/Kačanik. Its
head office is in Ferizaj/Uroševac. Some 105 employees work for the company;
six employees are from minority communities (5.7%). All the minority employees
are from Ashkalia community. They all work in Ferizaj/Uroševac. One of them has
completed high-school education while the rest of them have completed
elementary education. Three of the Ashkalia employees worked for the company
before the war while the rest of them started working after June 1999.
9.
City Sanitation Public Companies
In Kosovo, private sanitation companies are
responsible for the maintenance of city cleanliness and the maintenance of
parks and cemeteries. Employment contracts in these companies are issued to
minority employees in their mother tongues. In some cases, e.g. Bosniak
employees in the Pastrimi public company
in Prishtinë/Priština, specifically asked for their contracts to be in
Albanian. Communication between colleagues takes place freely in all languages.
Clerks speak to customers in languages in which customers address them. All
documentation, information in head offices of sanitation companies, names of
employees and names of department services are only in Albanian. A translation
service, which employs one translator who translates documents from Albanian
into English and vice versa., could be found only in the Pastrimi Public Company.
9.1. Regional Public Companies for City Sanitation
The Pastrimi public company Prishtinë/Priština
is responsible for city maintenance and sanitation in the municipalities of
Podujevë/Podujevo/, Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje, Obiliq/Obilić, Lipjan/Ljipljan,
Gllogovc/Glogovac, and Prishtinë/Priština. The company’s head office is in
Prishtinë/Priština. This company succeeded the Komunalac company, which functioned until June 1999. Pastrimi was founded by the joining of
three public companies: Hortikultura,
which was responsible for the maintenance of parks and other green areas, Higijena, which worked on city
sanitation, and Pijaca, responsible
for market place fees, sanitation issues at market places, and market place
administration.
Some 434 employees work for Pastrimi; nine employees are members of
minority communities (2%): four Serbs, four Roma and one Bosniak. All Serbs
work in Gračanica/Graçanicë. Two of them had worked for Komunalac before the war. One was a bill
collector while the other one was a manager. Concerning the other two Serb
employees, one works as a driver while the other one is a labourer. They
started working for the company after the war. One Bosniak employee works at
the Pastrimi head office in Prishtinë/Priština.
This employee has a high-school diploma. All Roma employees are labourers; two
of them work in the
After the UNMIK administration was established
in June 1999, Pastrimi issued the
first public announcement to Serb employees, in the Koha Ditorë daily newspaper, calling them to return to their
workplaces in July 1999. The company did this a second time in September 1999.
The announcement was posted on the Pastrimi
bulletin board. Both announcements were written in Albanian.
After the war, we
called upon all the workers, through the media, that is, daily newspaper Koha
Ditore, to return to work on
H. M. Secretary in Public Company Pastrimi
HLC
Interview,
The Uniteti
public company is responsible for the municipalities of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica,
Skenderaj/Srbica, and Vushtrri/Vučitrn. Its head office is in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica.
A total of 177 employees work for this company; two employees are members of
minority communities (1.1%): one Bosniak and one Ashkalia. Both of them worked
for the company before the war. Both have completed high-school education and work
in the
The Higijena
public company is responsible for city maintenance and sanitation issues in the
municipalities of Gjilan/Gnjilane, Kamenicë/Kamenica, and Viti/Vitina. Its head
office is in Gjilan/Gnjilane. A total of 140 employees work for Higijena; 16 employees are from minority
communities (10% of the total number of employees): 14 Serbs, one Roma, and one
from the Turkish community. Six Serbs work in Gjilan/Gnjilane, four Serbs work
in Viti/Vitina, and four Serbs work in Kamenicë/Kamenica. The Roma and Turkish
employees work in Gjilan/Gnjilane. All employees from minority communities hold
high-school diplomas; several of them have completed only elementary education.
The Javna
Higijena public company maintains the cities of Peja/Peć, Deçan/Dečani,
Klinë/Klina and Istog/Istok. The company’s head office is in Peja/Peć.
Some 130 employees work for the company; 23 employees are members of minority
communities (17% of the total number of employees): eight Bosniaks, nine Roma,
and six Serbs. All Bosniak employees work in Peja/Peć. Roma employees work
in the municipalities of Peja/Peć and Istog/Istok while the Serb employees
work in Klinë/Klina and Istog/Istok. Almost all the employees from minority
communities hold high-school diplomas; just one employee has only completed
elementary education.
Eko Region is a public company responsible for
the municipalities of Prizren/Prizren, Malishevë/Mališevo, Dragash/Dragaš, Rahovec/Orahovac,
and Suharekë/Suva Reka. Some 242 employees work for the company; 71 employees
are from minority communities (29%): 40 Bosniaks, 29 Roma, and two from the Turkish
community. Five Bosniaks work in the
The Cabrat/Čabrat
public company is responsible for the maintenance of the city of
Recommendations:
Related
to Anti-discrimination Law:
·
The Kosovo Government should determine the
percentage of minority representatives, who ought to be employed by public
companies, based on the percentage of minorities in the overall Kosovo
population, without endangering the functioning of public companies for the
benefit of all Kosovo citizens.
·
The percentage of minority employees employed by
public companies should reflect the ethnic structure of the region in which the
company operates. In the cases of Priština/Prishtinë, and the airport, however, the percentage of minority employees employed by public
companies should reflect the ethnic structure of Kosovo as a whole.
·
When determining of percentage of minority employees
who ought to work for public companies, the Kosovo Government should also take
into consideration employees’ education status and citizens’ special needs.
·
Representatives of minority communities should be
employed in the management positions on the basis of their expertise,
education, and the need for the professional functioning of public companies
for the benefit for all Kosovo citizens.
·
Public companies should define their human resources
strategy, which would take into account the hiring of employees from minority
communities and their professional development in order to provide conditions
for their integration into Kosovo society.
Related
to the Law on the Use of Languages:
·
All Kosovo public companies must fully respect
provisions of the Law on the Use of Languages.
·
Public companies should translate their company’s
Rules and Procedures, employment contracts and all other public and internal
documentation into all official languages in Kosovo.
·
Public companies located in municipalities where
other languages also have the status of official languages, besides the regular
Kosovo official languages, should translate the companies’ Rules and
Procedures, employment contracts and all other public and internal
documentation into all official languages in that municipality.
·
In municipalities where Bosnian and Turkish
languages are official languages, all Kosovo institutions and private companies
should fulfil their obligations by law to provide employees from Bosnian and
Turkish communities with documentation in their languages.
·
Employment contracts should be written in the employees’
mother tongues.
·
Public companies should issue bills in all official
Kosovo languages.
·
All public companies should have a translation
service so that all documents can be translated into the official Kosovo and
municipality languages.
·
Public companies should make budgetary allocations
for the hiring of a sufficient number of translators in order to provide
adequate information and timely documentation in all languages.
·
During the making of documents requested by
citizens, public company clerks should respect the standardized grammar and
orthography rules of the languages in which documents are issued.