Western Balkan Organizations Want Labor, Social Rights to be Included in the Berlin Process

Construction Workers (BETAPHOTO/MILE GVOZDENOVIC/MG)

Twenty Western Balkan civil society organizations (CSOs) published a joint letter on Oct. 11, requesting that labor and social rights be included in the Berlin Process and debates on the region’s single market, the Center for Political Emancipations reported.

The organizations urged local governments, regional bodies and the European Union (EU) to give priority to labor and social rights in the process of economic integration in the future, especially in the context of the Western Balkans Common Regional Market. “We believe that including labor and social rights in the process is not only a moral imperative, but also a key basis for long-term prosperity and stability in the region,” the CSOs said in the letter.

They also said that incorporating those rights in the Common Regional Market framework, based on the international standards of dignified work, could secure fair and just working conditions for all individuals, regardless of their employment status. As the organizations put it, it would provide a safe and healthy working environment, a living wage, equal opportunities and the freedom of organization and collective negotiations.