On 14 December 2016, Group for Legal and Political Studies organized a Roundtable Discussion on the topic: “Race for Employment in the Public Sector? What lies behind it?”, at Hotel Swiss Diamond. The aim of this event was to discuss wage determination in public and private sector in Kosovo and Albania. At the beginning of the discussion, GLPS presented a Policy Report entitled: “The Race for Public Sector Employment in Kosovo and Albania: What lies behind it?” This Report is an empirical study which analyzes the wage gap in public and private sector in Kosovo and Albania. Moreover, it assesses whether the higher wages in public sector are attributable to the differences in the individual’s characteristics or differences in the remuneration endowments or wage discrimination.  Panelists agreed that the public sector in Kosovo and Albania accounts for a considerable share of total employment and as such could largely influence the labour market, more precisely the wage setting and other employment practices. Furthermore, they discussed the fact that if the government offers a higher remuneration to its employees compared to the private sector, the former may absorb the highly skilled workers. Among others, the panel discussed about the factors that could attract highly skilled individuals towards public sector, the effect it could have in quality of services offered by both sectors and potential implications that this could have both on domestic and foreign investments. To access the Policy Report, please click here.

Panelists:

1. Mr. Haxhi Arifi – Head of the Union of Independent Trade Unions in Kosovo;
2. Ms. Esmeralda Shehaj – Associated Professor at the University of Tirana;
3. Ms. Nora Latifi Jashari – Executive Director at Institute GAP;
4. Mr. Burim Ejupi – Executive Director at INDEP;
5. Ms. Arbëresha Loxha – Research Fellow at Group for Legal and Political Studies.

Venue: Hotel Swiss Diamond, Prishtina.