Access to justice in labour disputes ILO

Main results per each outcome are as below: Support to Legislation reviewing for the streamlining of the ALDR in Albania A new Ministerial Instruction for the mediation and conciliation structures and relevant procedures has been adopted. The state Mediation network and the National Conciliation office and its 12 regional offices have been recomposed. Policy recommendations for improving access to labor justice through ALDR Tripartite agreement has been achieved for expanding free of charge ADR services to individual labor disputes and tripartite Working Group established to prepare legal package for providing state free of charge ADR services to collective and individual disputes. Tailored training programmes /tools/materials and publications for ALDR On mediation/conciliation skills for labor disputes, coaching and assessment of skills for mediators, application of International labor Standards, education for prevention and resolution of disputes in workplace for future workers, training on consensus seeking, practical guide preparation for Professional Conciliation of Collective labor disputes, practical manual for the mediators and conciliators, and another manual for employers and workers on "Resolving labor disputes in the work place". Training manual for judges and law practitioners in International and Domestic Labor Law. Supporting guide on education for prevention and resolution of disputes in the workplace for future workers and employers. In 20 pilot enterprises 75% of them have adopted the informal conflict resolution rules and procedures recommended, and 52% adopted Bipartite Committees (employersworkers) for grievances and disputes, and 30% improved the existing procedures. Capacity building The project has benefited through capacity building activities about 10 000 people including workers, employers, students, teachers, layers, mediators and conciliators and Ministry of Finance and Economy staff. The majority of them have been women due to the choice of the project to work primarily with vulnerable workers. The project has also raised awareness through 2 TV animated spots, 3 TV shows, radio spots, 2 leaflets, 7 social media posts, 4 posters, 6 in person sensitization events, 6 online articles and news chronicles, etc. The project succeeded to build the capacity of government institutions in charge of Labour Market Governance and industrial relations and of the social partners to: a) increase recourse to conciliation, mediation or voluntary arbitration for peaceful settlement of labour disputes b) engage more actively in collective bargaining and use collective agreements and workplace procedures in order to handle grievances in the workplace c) be able to devise and implement informed policies in the area of prevention and amicable settlement of labour disputes and industrial relations d) improve access to justice of vulnerable workers (youth, women, informal, low skilled). The project contributed and supported the Albanian constituents in achieving the objectives of the National Action Plans for European Integration 20192021, 20202022 and the National Action Plan for European Integration 20222024. The project intervened at multiple levels national, regional and enterprise, judicial, public mediation and conciliation, high schools and VET schools, involving a combination of mutually reinforcing activities and outputs. The project faced difficulties for over 18 months. Starting late in 2019 due to the earthquake that hit Albania, the pandemic further delayed the implementation of the project's work plan throughout 20202021. Despite these challenges, the project adapted to the Covid19 context by redesigning and adjusting project implementation modalities and timelines to meet the needs and circumstances of its constituents, while remaining aligned with the project's overarching objectives. The project has had several positive impacts. Firstly, it has enhanced the existing public mediation and conciliation services by improving the procedural legal framework. This has resulted in shorter completion periods for both mediation and conciliation phases and a clearer and streamlined procedural framework. All local and national level mediation and conciliation structures have been revitalized and equipped with specialized skills and tools. This has enabled them to effectively assist disputing parties in peacefully settling their disputes, thereby contributing to the enhancement of social peace. Furthermore, a tripartite agreement has been established to expand the free of charge ALDR system to cover also disputes of individual workers beside collective disputes. On the other side, the project contributed to an increased awareness among current and future workers and employers on the benefits, as well as on the mechanism and tools for preventing and peacefully resolving labour disputes. As a direct outcome of the increased awareness of the benefits of ALDR and available mechanisms, there has been a higher number of mediation requests channeled through the public ALDR system. Moreover, there has been a greater utilization of international labour standards by judges for resolving labour disputes.

Grievances and disputes are an inevitable part of the employment relationship, particularly in times of drastic changes in work organization, economic hardship and job deficits. With the view to ensuring social peace and harmonious and productive labour relations in the workplace, all European governments have established institutionalized or ad hoc mechanisms for peaceful, extra-judicial settlement of labour disputes with two main objectives: to prevent collective labour disputes escalating into industrial actions, and to speed up access to justice through relieving overburdened judiciary. One of the most effective means for implementing such policy is an independent, impartial and free of charge and expeditious mechanism for the prevention and alternative resolution of labour disputes through out of court conciliation, mediation and voluntary arbitration. At the same time, it is also a powerful tool for promoting collective bargaining due to its potential of assisting the negotiating parties to reach an agreement. This intervention's  goal is to assist the Albanian stakeholders to increase access to justice through improved effectiveness of and recourse to alternative resolution of labour disputes, as well as enhanced judicial practice on the application of fundamental rights and principles at work. Due to its potential of offering a fast, fair, free of charge settlement and allowing the parties to find a mutually acceptable solution to their problem, out of court resolution is a viable alternative to litigation in court for both collective and individual labour disputes. Thus the intervention's overall objective is: a fair, fast and inclusive access to justice for all workers in relation to labor disputes, including vulnerable categories lik youth, old, informal, women, low skilled. The intervention  will build the capacity of the government, and the social partners to: a) increase recourse to conciliation, mediation or voluntary arbitration for peaceful settlement of labour disputes; b) engage more actively in collective bargaining and use collective agreements and workplace procedures in order to handle grievances in the workplace; c) be able to devise and implement informed policies in the area of prevention and amicable settlement of labour disputes and industrial relations;d) improve access to justice of vulnerable workers (youth, women, informal, low-skilled). The project is expected to reach out to more than 50,000 workers, to increase the settlement rate of extra-judicial labour mediation and conciliation to 80 per cent of the cases referred to the system, to promote a culture of social dialogue and constructive compromise and to enhance the capacity of stakeholders (workers, employers and their organizations, labour mediators and conciliators, and national judges ruling over labour litigations) to apply and enforce fundamental principles and rights at work. In terms of outcomes what is expected from this intervention is: Outcome 1: Increased effectiveness of labour disputes mediation and conciliation services Outcome 2: Increased use of alternative resolution of labour disputes by workers, employers and their organizationsOutcome 3: Increased application of international labour standards by national judges dealing with labour litigations Outcome 4: Dispute prevention policies developed and introduced at enterprise levelOutcome 5: Improved negotiations and dispute prevention skills of would be workers and employers from the vocational schools