TIRANA, June 14 /ATA/- Economic operators should be sensitized to their obligations to abide by the Labor Code and treat their employees in a fair manner regardless of their gender and other characteristics.
To that end, State Labor Inspectorate and Public Procurement Agency have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Arben Seferaj on behalf of State Labor Inspectorate and Reida Kashta on behalf of Public Procurement Agency.
In attendance of the signing ceremony were Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy, Erjon Luçi, and WB country representative in Tirana, Maryam Salim.
The World Bank Group and the French Development Agency are strongly committed to fostering corporate responsibility and are actively supporting the Albanian government in their efforts to promote nondiscrimination.
Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy, Erjon Luçi, thanked WB for supporting this initiative adding that one of its challenges is empowerment of women and girls, not merely gender equity.
“The regional side is one challenge associated with this initiative, however the other challenge is the target of this agreement: empowering women and girls by enabling them to reach their economic potential through provision of equal opportunities. Opportunity is not limited to gender issue, it includes all society, the marginalized stratum included, which is a key work when it comes to poverty reduction and increase of welfare,’ Luçi said, attaching importance to implementation of concrete measures.
Permanent WB Representative in Tirana, Maryam Salim, said: “In this way, the Albanian Government is sending a strong signal that to do business with the state, employers need to ensure that they are following the law and treating their workers equally.
In Albania, greater diversity in the labor market would bring enormous economic gains. For instance, women’s limited labor market participation costs them about 25 years of employment, on average, over the course of their lives against 16 years among comparable workers in the EU. If women had similar employment rates as men, Albania’s annual GDP could be as much as 17% higher.
Chief inspector Seferaj said that cooperation with Public Procurement Agency helps State Labor Inspectorate fulfill its mission for creation of decent work conditions for all.
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