The Central Labor Inspectorate and the Municipality of Pristina have continued to accuse each other of failure and non-acceptance of responsibility after the death of a 26-year-old man at a workplace. What is known so far is that the workplace was not inspected by the responsible bodies and according to occupational safety and health experts, this is unacceptable.
Egzona Mema
On the day when the tragic crane accident occurred, resulting in the death of a 26-year-old worker in Pristina, the Central Labor Inspectorate removed responsibility for not inspecting the workplace, arguing that the works were in an early stage.
In the second reaction, on Wednesday, the Inspectorate also blamed the Municipality of Pristina for not systematically notifying it about the issuance of permits.
But according to occupational health and safety expert Arian Ibishi, no excuse is valid. According to him, inspections should be in place from the day work begins.
"Despite the fact that the workshop is in its initial state, the Labor Inspectorate has a legal obligation to conduct an inspection to verify whether the company possesses a workshop organization plan, workshop fencing, and marking of the risks within it. Every day in the workshops we see cranes working without periodic technical control, without valid certification and without professional inspections," said Ibishi.
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The crane collapsed during its assembly.
In a second reaction, the Inspectorate said on Wednesday that if the investigations establish that there has been a violation of the legislation on Occupational Safety and Health, all legal measures will be taken. While regarding the supervision of workplaces, they said that it is the competence of the Municipal Inspectorate.
"Regarding the safety of third parties and the prevention of damage that may be caused to them, the Law on Construction, namely Article 35, stipulates that the responsibility for supervising the implementation of safety measures at construction sites lies with the construction inspectorates of the respective municipalities. The Central Labor Inspectorate is not systematically notified by the municipalities about the issuance of construction permits or the commencement of works at construction sites. Consequently, the planning of inspection supervision is based on continuous monitoring of the territory, citizen reports and other sources of information," the inspectorate's response states.
Similarly, the Municipality of Pristina has transferred responsibility to the Central Labor Inspectorate.
"The Central Labor Inspectorate is the institution responsible for verifying, among other things, whether the crane has undergone the necessary technical controls, whether it possesses the relevant documentation, whether the operator has the necessary authorizations, and whether the employer has implemented all legal standards for occupational safety and health," the Municipality's response states.
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Meanwhile, the worker who was injured in this accident is being treated and according to Shaqir Uka, head of the Intensive Care Unit, his condition is stable but requires constant monitoring.
Cases where employees lose their lives in the workplace are frequent in Kosovo.
