KOSOVO
Kosovo became independent in 2008, but the country is still not recognized by all states. According to COUNTRYAAH, there are 44 countries in Europe. And Kosovo is not one of them. Unemployment is high and the trade union movement is weak.
Country Facts
State condition: Republic, but not recognized by all states
Surface: 10 887 km2
Capital: Pristina
Language: 90 percent of the population speaks Albanian, in addition Serbs etc. are spoken
Labor market and economy:
In February 2008, the Kosovo government declared independence from Serbia. However, Serbia does not recognize the state of Kosovo but considers that the area still consists of an autonomous province within Serbia. The Swedish government has decided to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. The government in Kosovo has had to rebuild the country from the beginning, including the regulations that govern the labor market. An Achilles’ heel for the country is the high unemployment and low employment rate. The total unemployment rate in the country is currently around 25 percent and for young people just over 60 percent. Furthermore, a very high proportion of employees are self-employed or self-employed. A prerequisite for economic growth is that more people come to work. The statutory minimum wage is currently EUR 130 for workers under the age of 35 and EUR 170 for workers over the age of 35.
SERBIA
The economic crisis in Serbia is deep and unemployment is high. Extensive privatizations and divestments of former state-owned companies have only marginally increased foreign investment. The trade union movement is divided into an old structure and a newly formed one that has been at the forefront of the country’s democratization.
Country Facts
State condition: Republic
Surface: 88,000 km2
Capital: Belgrade
Language: Serbian, Albanian and Hungarian are also spoken
Labor market and economy:
Serbia’s economy is bottomed out and shattered by war and widespread corruption. Even if the foreign sanctions have ceased, it will take a long time to regain the same prosperity that existed in the area during the 1980’s.
Another reason for the country’s economic problems is that half a million young and highly educated people fled Serbia under Slobodan Milosevic’s rule, leading to an extensive drainage of intellectual capacity. Today, there is also a large group of internally displaced people in the country, Serbs expelled from the province of Kosovo.
RUSSIA
Russia is the largest country in Europe. The country has undergone a fundamental democratization, while President Putin is being criticized for using more and more methods to govern the country. The largest trade union movement is a reformed continuation of the old “communist” trade union structure.
Country Facts
State condition: Republic
Surface: 17,075,000 km2
Capital: Moscow
Language: Russian is the dominant language and administrative language, in addition there are many minority languages
Labor market and economy:
During the Soviet era, the Russian economy was dominated by heavy industry. In the wake of privatizations and efficiencies, the number of employees in the industry has fallen. Instead, various forms of service industries have grown. Over the past decade, unemployment has been around 6 percent. This corresponds to about 5 million people. In fact, the unemployment rate is probably higher. Unemployment benefits are low and many do not think it is an idea to register as unemployed.
Inflation in the country is high, which has eroded the value of wages. Large groups of workers have therefore received reduced real wages. Another change is that the proportion of fixed-term jobs has increased dramatically. There has also been an increase in various forms of part-time work. Several employers, including in the automotive industry, have introduced systems with fixed-term employment and holiday periods without pay. This in turn has led to increased tensions in the labor market. In the construction and cleaning industry, among others, there is a growing group of migrant workers, most of whom come from various neighboring countries.