Workers at the public enterprise Infrakos protested on Monday outside the railway station in Fushë Kosovë, demanding wage indexation. The union warned that if the enterprise’s board did not provide a concrete response, the protests could escalate into a general strike, KosovaPress reports.
Hysen Nikqi, head of the Infrakos union, said the gathering was organized because workers were dissatisfied with the failure to index wages. He said meetings with the enterprise’s management and its board, which represents the Government of Kosovo, had produced no concrete results.
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Nikqi said a meeting with Infrakos’s chief executive, held on July 4, had ended without success. Talks with the board had also failed to produce a solution to the workers’ demands.
He said demands for wage indexation had been raised repeatedly, but workers had been asked to wait without being given a deadline—a situation he said was unacceptable.
According to the union head, dissatisfaction deepened after the Government of Kosovo decided to raise the minimum wage. He explained that the measure had increased the wages of some workers, but had not reflected differences in pay, qualifications and responsibilities.
Nikqi said the minimum-wage decision had led to pay increases for around 147 workers, while about 50 others remained dissatisfied with their wages in relation to their job responsibilities. For this reason, he said wage indexation based on positions was essential.
The protest was planned to last one hour. During that time, according to Nikqi, train services on the Pristina–Peja line would also be suspended. He said the union would wait for a response from the board after the protest, and that if no concrete decision was made, it would take all legally permitted union action, up to and including a general strike throughout Kosovo.
According to Nikqi, around 200 Infrakos workers took part peacefully in the protest, aiming to send the board a clear warning about the need to make a decision.
Infrakos worker Halim Behrami said staff concerns were not limited to wages, but also included workplace safety.
Behrami said there were significant disparities between workers’ pay and responsibilities. He highlighted positions that require qualifications and carry substantial responsibility but, he said, are paid the same as less demanding jobs.
He said he is qualified and works as a switch operator for railway signals, but earns the same as a general railway worker. Behrami said that, given the nature of the work during 12-hour shifts, he feels as though “one foot is at work and one in prison.”
Representatives of the Trainkos union also joined the protest. Florim Gjyrevci said they had taken part to support Infrakos workers’ demands, which he described as justified.
Gjyrevci added that Trainkos workers had secured their right not to have their wages compressed, and said it made no sense that the same right had not been applied to their colleagues at Infrakos.
