Trade Union: Kosovo Will Lose 150,000 Workers to Visa Liberalization

Pristina (BETAPHOTO/ANDRIJA IGIC)

The president of the Independent Trade Union of the private sector of Kosovo, Jusuf Azemi, stated on Jan. 4 that Kosovo would lose 150,000 workers this year because of the liberalization of the visa regime.

Azemi said that the visa regime liberalization would also affect the private sector, adding that owners of various companies would have a particular kind of test in the first half of this year, i.e. a last chance to secure better working conditions before the workforce leaves Kosovo.

“A lack of workforce is already visible and I expect more people to leave Kosovo in the second half of the year, providing that they find better jobs. Company owners will have the first six months of this year as a kind of test – they can at least offer the terms that meet the Labor Act and the collective contract,” Azemi told the media in Pristina.

As of Jan. 1, 2024, citizens of Kosovo may travel without a visa to 27 countries of the Schengen zone. The visa liberalization enables the citizens of Kosovo who have biometric passports to stay in any of the 27 Schengen zone countries for up to 90 days within a period of six months.