The month-long strike of Spaç miners, accompanied by accusations of violations and pressure on union activity, forced the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Delina Ibrahimaj, to report to the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Public Media.
While MPs openly sided with the miners, Minister Ibrahimaj chose a neutral role, emphasizing only institutional mediation, a stance that left key questions about the state's responsibilities in this protracted conflict in the balance.
Minister Ibrahimaj presented a general overview of the situation to the committee. She said that the Turkish concessionaire "Tete Albania" and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania (KSSH) had been asked to return the strikers to work in order to prevent the financial situation for both parties from worsening.
"The company's representatives expressed their willingness to meet with the miners and agreed to immediately return 45 miners to work, while the rest (22) would be assessed on a case-by-case basis," the minister told about the last meeting held in Spaç, where the miners refused to participate.
"All former employees and KSSH were notified in advance, as the meeting in the absence of a collective agreement should have been between the employees, the ministry and the company," Minister Ibrahimaj continued.
The Chairperson of the Commission, Jorida Tabaku, emphasized from the beginning that the right to work is a constitutional right that is not negotiable. For this reason, she considered the miners' strike as a legitimate right.
"What happened with the layoff of 67 miners at the Spaç mine is in violation not only of the constitution, the laws of this country, but also of every normal, moral and ethical principle of a business that operates with a permit and license in Albania," Tabaku said.
The Minister, in reporting the situation, also focused on the information provided by the Labor Inspectorate, stating that the conflict is related to "disagreement with the union's representative documentation and the procedures for initiating negotiations for declaring a strike."
“The strike began without prior notice,” Minister Ibrahimaj continued, according to which this required further assessment as activity in the mine continues to be partially interrupted, with technical delays and at risk to safety.
On this issue, MPs came together, both from the opposition and the ruling party, siding with the miners as a case that concerns national wealth.
Democratic Party MP Elda Hoti said that ministry representatives have threatened miners by telling them to return to work, "Otherwise they will be left without bread."
She further asked the minister if she was aware of the working conditions and reports that miners were forced to sign statements waiving all rights.
The Minister stated that she was unaware of them and that she would seek concrete information about their authenticity.
MP Erion Braçe stated that the Turkish concessionaire should not have been allowed to violate the Constitution, as miners' union membership was not allowed.
"If the owner wants to have his own union, he should do it somewhere else, it is the will of the workers to choose the union. You have the Confederation in the works council, who is the company that questions it?! When he says he doesn't know you and doesn't want a union, what negotiations are you going to do?! The Constitution is not negotiated with the owner of a company!" Brace emphasized.
But then the socialist deputy insisted that the miners return to work and further negotiate collective contracts, bringing to attention the fact that the miners in the copper mine in Spaç worked 26 days a month, more than the law requires.
The question of whether there have been inspections in this company was answered by the head of the Labor Inspectorate, Eljo Muçaj, who said that "no violations were found."
"Tete Albania has been inspected 10 times, there is only one complaint for overtime in 2023. Tete has been fined twice in 2024, with 400 thousand lek each, the accidents have not had life-threatening consequences," Muçaj expressed.
He further stated that the subcontractor was also fined for an accident in December 2024, while the conditions in the mine "they are normal" and "The salaries are 20-30% higher than the salaries in this industry."
At this point, Socialist MP Ardit Bido highlighted the differentiation between Albanian and Turkish employees in terms of salaries.
"In this payroll we have in front of us, an Albanian geological engineer is paid 272 thousand lek, while a Turkish one is paid 459 thousand lek," Bido showed.
Meanwhile, the same issue was raised by Democratic MP Gazment Bardhi.
"There are frightening differences between Albanian and Turkish workers. Those who are Turkish workers receive two to three times more for the same job," said White.
During the report, Minister Ibrahimaj did not dwell on the miners' concerns nor on their demands during this period, such as union organization, signing a collective agreement, better working conditions, safety and better wages.
Today, despite the weather conditions, the miners continue to be on strike, which began on October 13, while the protest and work boycott had begun five days earlier, on October 8.
Despite negotiations and meetings at the reconciliation office and the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, there is still no agreement on resolving the situation.
The origin and organization of the Spaç miners
On October 8 and 9 About 70 miners from Spaç boycotted work and gathered in protest in front of the premises of the copper mine and the "Tete Albania" company for better conditions, safety and the signing of a collective contract, recognizing their union formed on August 16, 2025.
The KSSH approached the company to begin discussing negotiations for signing the contract.
On October 7th, the company wrote to the KSSH stating that there is a lack of documentation.
According to her, the new union had not submitted legally valid documentation and that KSSH had not presented the list of members or the decision to establish it.
On October 8, KSSH notified the company "Tete Albania" of the launch of an indefinite general strike on October 13.
The company addressed the KSSH with a letter on October 9, emphasizing the illegality of the strike.
"KSSH has not proven that the members of the confederation are employees of their company, therefore it has no right or title to hold negotiations on their behalf," it was stated in the company's letter to the KSSH.
On October 10th A mediation meeting was held between KSSH and “Tete Albania” at the Regional Directorate of the National Agency for Employment and Skills in Lezha. The meeting did not result in any agreement.
"The mediator finds that there is currently no spirit of cooperation between the parties; the parties are not willing to continue negotiations within the framework of the mediation process", it was said in the minutes kept by this regional directorate.
On October 13th The miners launched a general strike and eight days later, on October 21, representatives held a mediation meeting at the Ministry of Economy.
The miners demanded the return to work of 17 of their colleagues who were laid off in recent weeks and the signing of a collective agreement, but these demands, as well as 8 other points, were ignored by company representatives, who continued to consider the strike illegal and the representative union "without legal mandate".
This meeting was also fruitless.
On October 30, The miners moved the strike and protest to the Parliament, where they repeated their demands, calling for them to be heard in the Parliament as well.
On the same day, they held a meeting with the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Delina Ibrahimaj. After the situation was presented by the representatives of the miners and the Confederation of Trade Unions, the minister requested evidence of the legal arguments for the defense of the claims that the confederation had.
On November 4, 2025, The Ministry of Economy and Innovation held a meeting with the Turkish company "Tete Albania".
On November 7, 2025 Another meeting was announced in Spaç, where representatives of the Labor Inspectorate and the Ministry of Economy and Innovation were also present. The meeting did not take place because the miners refused to participate without representatives of the Confederation of Trade Unions.
Read also:
- Spaç miners protest for working conditions and rights
- Strike in Spaç: Company calls it illegal, 16 miners fired
- From Spaçi to Tirana: Miners demand dignity before the Parliament
- A month on strike; Spaç miners continue resistance
Erisa Kryeziu has completed higher studies in Journalism and Communication and Master of Science in Public Relations at the University of Tirana. She has been a journalist and project manager at Citizens.al for five years, where she reports on social issues and human rights, especially on issues of rights at work, in education, gender equality, marginalized groups, people with disabilities such as and for environmental issues. At the same time, she works as a project coordinator with a focus on youth and media education. User of new reporting techniques such as "Mobile Journalism" and citizen engagement tools in reporting (ECR-Engage Citizens Journalism).
