23% of civil society organization employees do not see themselves in the sector after five years and despite prejudice, their salaries range from 40 to 80 thousand lek.
These are some of the data from the publication "Working Conditions in the Civil Society Sector in Albania", which was presented during a roundtable discussion organized by the Young Professionals Network.
Data from a questionnaire with over 50 interviews with employees of this sector were analyzed by two experts, Inva Koçiaj, lecturer at the Faculty of Law, and Edison Hoxha from the Center for Labor Rights.
"Overworked and on fixed-term contracts"
80% of the workforce of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are girls and women, with key positions including project coordinators, managerial roles, etc.
Only 33% of respondents claimed to have an open-ended contract, while 58% of them are on fixed-term contracts.
"Often, due to a lack of human resources, an employee is forced to perform several functions at the same time; exceeding regular hours and job descriptions," said Inva Koçiaj, adding that job insecurity brings emotional burden.
According to the survey, 77% of those interviewed indicate that they are overloaded at work, while 12% of them work more than eight hours a day.
Improving the legal framework, fiscal incentives and strengthening the implementation of the Labor Code for civil society are among the main suggestions of this publication.
Edison Hoxha brought the example of good European practices, where CSOs are supported by the payment of social security by the state, or even the minimum wage.
"Why not offer the premises that are seized from organized crime, which are public premises, to civil society, where possible?" Hoxha asked.
"We have started talking about ourselves"
Rigers Xhemollari said that he has often been in meetings where civil society has conducted analyses on rights at work for different sectors, but not for itself.
"It is an achievement that we have started to talk about ourselves! Despite the fact that the sector is going through a trauma due to the reduction of funds, I do not see a negative environment where the individual can develop in society," added Xhemollari.
Ira Topalli from the National Civil Society Council brought the example of how CSOs were treated during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The state told us you have funds, you have donors, there is no support for you," Topalli emphasized.
Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination Robert Gajda said that he has handled complaints that have come from this sector, mainly regarding termination of employment before the fixed-term contract expired.
"I'm glad that there are so many young people engaged, but there are so many temporary contracts. There's probably not a great insistence on the continuity of the project product, not the project itself," said Gajda.
He emphasized that the sector should not see the state as a donor to organizations, as the state has its own administration.
"To guarantee rights, organizations must be models, they cannot give in, because it turns into their own digital rights; if you fight for rights, you cannot be the first to violate them," concluded the Commissioner.
He completed his master's studies in the department of Journalism and Communication Sciences at the University of Tirana. She has been reporting for more than four years in Citizens.al on issues of culture, urban development, feminism, etc. She is also a contributor to other local and foreign online media, and has worked in the editing of various materials. She is the author of the podcast "Pezull" on Citizens.al and is engaged as a coordinator of projects related to the empowerment of young journalists and migration issues.
