Access to justice in labour disputes  ILO - Acces to justice in labour disputes ILO - additional funds for democracy Access to justice in labour disputes ILO ILO has applied to Sida for funding of 11,3 million SEK to carry out the " Access to Justice in Labor Disputes through Mediation and Conciliation/ Support to building an effective system for Labor Dispute Resolution in Albania” project, during the period September 2019- August 2022. 

The intervention aims at assisting the Albanian stakeholders to increase access to justice through improved effectiveness of and recourse to alternative resolution of labor disputes, as well as enhanced judicial practice on the application of fundamental rights and principles at work. 
 
The  intervention plans to achieve the following outcomes: 1) Increased effectiveness of labor disputes mediation and conciliation services; 2) Increased use of alternative resolution of labor disputes by workers, employers and their organizations; 3) Increased application of international labor standards by national judges dealing with labor litigations; 4) Dispute prevention policies developed and introduced at enterprise level; 5) Improved negotiations and dispute prevention skills of would be workers and employers from the vocational schools.

The project is expected to reach out to more than 50,000 workers, to increase the settlement rate of extra-judicial labor mediation and conciliation to 80 per cent of the cases referred to the system, to promote a culture of social dialogue and constructive compromise and to enhance the capacity of stakeholders (workers, employers and their organizations, labor mediators and conciliators, and national judges’ ruling over labor litigations) to apply and enforce fundamental principles and rights at work.

The intervention’s total budget is 11,3 million SEK, covered by the Sida contribution. ILO har ansökt till Sida om finansiering på 11,3 miljoner SEK för genomförande av ”Access to Justice in Labor Disputes through Mediation and Conciliation/ Support to building an effective system for Labor Dispute Resolution in Albania” [Tillgång till rättvisa i arbetsrättsliga tvister genom medling och förlikning/Stöd till uppbyggnad av ett effektivt system för tvistlösning som avser arbetsrättsliga tvister i Albanien, ö.a.]-projektet, under perioden september 2019-augusti 2022.
Interventionen syftar till att biträda albanska intressenter i att öka tillgången till rättvisa genom förbättrad effektivitet av- samt möjligheten till alternativa lösningar av arbetsrättsliga tvister såväl som stärkt rättstillämpning vad gäller tillämpningen av grundläggande rättigheter och principer på arbetsplatsen.
Interventionen planerar att åstadkomma följande resultat: 1) ökad effektivitet såvitt avser medlings- och förlikningstjänster som avser arbetsrättsliga tvister; 2) ökad användning av alternativ lösning av arbetsrättsliga tvister av arbetstagare, arbetsgivare och deras organisationer; 3) ökad tillämpning av internationella arbetsstandarder av inhemska domare som hanterar arbetsrättsliga processer; 4) policys som syftar till att förebygga tvister som framtagits och presenterats på företagsnivå; 5) framtida arbetstagare och arbetsgivare från yrkesinriktade skolors förbättrade förhandlingsförmåga samt förmåga att förebygga tvister.
Projektet förväntas nå ut till mer än 500 000 arbetstagare, öka antalet förlikningar som avser utomrättslig medling och förlikning av arbetsrättsliga tvister till 80 procent av de fall som hänskjutits till systemet, främja en kultur som genomsyras av social dialog och konstruktiva kompromisser och stärka intressenternas förmåga (arbetstagare, arbetsgivare och deras organisationer, medlare och skiljemän som hanterar arbetsrättsliga tvister, samt inhemska domares avgöranden i arbetsrättsliga processer) att tillämpa samt stärka grundläggande principer och rättigheter på arbetsplatsen.
Interventionens sammanlagda budget är 11,3 miljoner SEK, som täcks av Sidas insats. Grievances and disputes are an inevitable part of the employment relationship, particularly in times of drastic changes in work organization, economic hardship and job deficits. With the view to ensuring social peace and harmonious and productive labour relations in the workplace, all European governments have established institutionalized or ad hoc mechanisms for peaceful, extra-judicial settlement of labour disputes with two main objectives: to prevent collective labour disputes escalating into industrial actions, and to speed up access to justice through relieving overburdened judiciary.
One of the most effective means for implementing such policy is an independent, impartial and free of charge and expeditious mechanism for the prevention and alternative resolution of labour disputes through out of court conciliation, mediation and voluntary arbitration. At the same time, it is also a powerful tool for promoting collective bargaining due to its potential of assisting the negotiating parties to reach an agreement.
This intervention's  goal is to assist the Albanian stakeholders to increase access to justice through improved effectiveness of and recourse to alternative resolution of labour disputes, as well as enhanced judicial practice on the application of fundamental rights and principles at work. Due to its potential of offering a fast, fair, free of charge settlement and allowing the parties to find a mutually acceptable solution to their problem, out of court resolution is a viable alternative to litigation in court for both collective and individual labour disputes.
Thus the intervention's overall objective is: a fair, fast and inclusive access to justice for all workers in relation to labor disputes, including vulnerable categories lik youth, old, informal, women, low skilled. The intervention  will build the capacity of the government, and the social partners to:
a) increase recourse to conciliation, mediation or voluntary arbitration for peaceful settlement of labour disputes; b) engage more actively in collective bargaining and use collective agreements and workplace procedures in order to handle grievances in the workplace; c) be able to devise and implement informed policies in the area of prevention and amicable settlement of labour disputes and industrial relations;d) improve access to justice of vulnerable workers (youth, women, informal, low-skilled).
The project is expected to reach out to more than 50,000 workers, to increase the settlement rate of extra-judicial labour mediation and conciliation to 80 per cent of the cases referred to the system, to promote a culture of social dialogue and constructive compromise and to enhance the capacity of stakeholders (workers, employers and their organizations, labour mediators and conciliators, and national judges ruling over labour litigations) to apply and enforce fundamental principles and rights at work.
In terms of outcomes what is expected from this intervention is:
Outcome 1: Increased effectiveness of labour disputes mediation and conciliation services Outcome 2: Increased use of alternative resolution of labour disputes by workers, employers and their organizationsOutcome 3: Increased application of international labour standards by national judges dealing with labour litigations Outcome 4: Dispute prevention policies developed and introduced at enterprise levelOutcome 5: Improved negotiations and dispute prevention skills of would be workers and employers from the vocational schools