Press Release

The ILO working with Albanian authorities to ensure safe return to work following lockdown measures

13 October 2020

- Important guidelines on safe return to work now available in Albanian language

Safe and healthy workplaces are essential for the containment of the spread of COVID – 19, for protecting workers’ and employers’ health and lives and for ensuring business continuity and therefore protecting employment and income, especially for the most vulnerable ones. In this context, the effective implementation and monitoring of the Red Protocols defined by the Government of Albania as well as the ILO Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) standards in the workplace in COVID times, has been at the focus of the interventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Albania following COVID outbreak.

Caption: Meeting with local stakeholders

Photo: © ILO Albania

The ILO in collaboration with the Albanian Occupational and Safety Center (AOSHC) and the State Labour Inspectorate (SLI) are conducting several training sessions with labor inspectors and COVID-19 Task Force in Durres and Elbasan, to capacitate the labour inspectors to effectively advise the business owners and administrators (from footwear and garment industry) on the importance of complying by the specific rules and regulations to prevent and mitigate the risks of COVID spread. The trainings are also highlighting the need for social dialogue at the company level for effectively and efficiently addressing the issue of COVID-19 in the world of work.

The ILO has made available in Albanian and distributed locally 5 guidelines focusing on safe return to work and general workplace safety measures related to Covid-19.

ILO Standards and COVID-19 [ENGLISH] [ALBANIAN]
Policy brief on a safe and healthy return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic [ENGLISH] [ALBANIAN]
Ten action points for a safe return to work [ENGLISH] [ALBANIAN]
Guide for employers on COVID-19 prevention [ENGLISH] [ALBANIAN]
Sector-specific guidance and tools for COVID-19 prevention and control [ENGLISH] [ALBANIAN]

The 2nd phase of this ILO OSH intervention at the workplace will be supported by SIDA and will focus on concrete support to garment companies (heavily dominated by women workers) in establishing the COVID -19 ILO standards at the workplace through a constructive social dialogue in the benefitting companies.

Zhulieta Harasani

ILO

National Coordinator for Albania

harasani@ilo.org +355 698407008

With over 25 years of experience managing development programs, Mrs. Zhulieta Harasani is the National Coordinator of the International Labor Organization (ILO) to Albania since 2016. Prior to joining the ILO, Zhulieta served as the UNESCO National Professional Officer in Albania and Director General of Strategic Planning of National Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture of Albania. Earlier in her career she was Co-director of the Education Division at the Albanian Education Development Mega Program (AEDP) and Inspector of the Department of High Education at the Ministry of Education and Science of Albania. She started her career as a university professor at the Agricultural University in Tirana in 1992-1993 and then at the Polytechnic University of Tirana (TU) from 2003-2008. She holds a master’s in business administration (MBA) from Nebraska University (USA) and Tirana University Faculties of Economics (2001) and completed an MA in Education Sciences from Tirana University (2003). She also studied education and law at Tirana University (2000).