Based to the planned activities of the project “Increasing capacities and strengthening the role of regional CSOs for improving labour conditions and labour dialogue with public institutions”, on 27-th of September it was held the initial meeting, in Tirana.
The objective of the meeting was:
Identifying needs, shortcomings and problems of civil society organizations and media organizations, in their involvement and policy-making in the society; building partnerships in the process of decision-making, encouraging dialogue to enhance cooperation between regional organizations and public institutions for social inclusion and improve of working conditions; establishing cooperation and creating regional partnership between BALcanOSH network and civil society organizations (CSOs) in the IPA region; to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, skills and connections as well as increasing and expanding their influence in campaigns and advocacy in the strategic operational plans and policies at national and regional level; and raising public awareness of the importance of professional practices, social issues and civil organizations.
Were invited all social partners, CSOs, educational institutions, media organizations, representatives of relevant sectors and other involved stakeholders.
At the meeting attended following organizations:
Representatives from Ministry of Labour, Inspectorate of Labour, Mining Inspectorate, Central Inspectorate, Institute of Public Health, University of Tirana, Media organizations, Trade Unions, Employers Organizations, Vocational Training Centers, EITI Albania, TACSO Office in Tirana, different NGO’s, OSH experts, OSH Companies, Mr. Milan Petkovski,Project Manager and President of MOSHA and Fatmir Saracini, KOSHA.
After presentation of the project activities and BALcanOSH Network with partner from Albania – AOSHC, the participants discussed on the OSH situation in Albania, what are the current and emerging needs how will these issues affect the safety and health of workers and influence the implementation of OSH law.
They were interested in regional experience on OSH situation and partnerships in the process of decision-making regarding to OSH issues. It was highlighted by the participants that Cross-sector activities are very important because they describe characteristics and differences of cultures, between Balkan countries. The cross-sector cooperation helps on exchange of knowledge, skills, literature and connections because protection at work knows no boundaries as well speaks the same language. So implementation of regional projects helps on managing cultural diversity in occupational safety and health that benefit multicultural work teams.
The importance of the role of civil society and the media was highlighted in the meeting too. The Albanian civil society and Media sector have a important role to play in the achievement of the goals by contributing to the overall health and well-being of the workforce and society as a whole, as long as they provide access to construct social problems for large numbers of population.
The Media representatives discussed on issues related to the ways that Albanian media represents and sometimes misrepresents OSH problems, how media influence our attitudes and behaviors concerning the protection at work, the importance of media in awareness of the population on OSH issues etc. At the meeting was discussed about the important role of social media in OSH issues. The event was broadcast in news by two Albanian National Television ABC News and A1 Report.
Current and emerging problem in the OSH sector, is the lack of OSH experts and occupational doctors in Albania and the immediate need for the preparation and certification of them, and it was also requested support from the BALcanOSH.net in solving of this problem.
The participants agreed that this project should help regional partners to cooperate and to expand their activities in the future. This meeting showed to the partners a clear picture of the future work both in terms of project implementation as well as in the expansion of the OSH activities.
Finally the participants filled out a Questionnaire which will help in the development of the project in the future. Below are some photos from the Initial Meeting held in Tirana.
