Towards Fairer Labour Mobility: Strengthening Protection for Foreign Workers in Albania
A changing labour market needs systems that allow workers to move safely and fairly, while helping businesses access the skills they need. Building these systems strengthens Albania's economic resilience and brings its labour-market practices closer to European standards.
As more foreign workers become part of Albania’s labour market, the question is not only how people enter the country for work, but also what happens once they arrive. Fair recruitment, clear rules and decent working conditions are essential to ensuring that labour mobility creates opportunities for workers while helping businesses access the skills they need and Albania build a more resilient labour market.
Against this backdrop, the Albanian government, supported by GIZ Albania, engaged in bilateral exchanges with Indonesia and Vietnam, leading to the signing of two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on labour mobility. The agreements mark an important step towards creating clearer pathways for foreign workers to enter Albania for employment and strengthening the protections they receive once they arrive. They establish a basis for cooperation on regular labour mobility, skills matching and transparent recruitment.
The agreements were signed by Albania’s Minister of Economy and Innovation Delina Ibrahimaj, Indonesia’s Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers Abdul Kadir Karding and Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyễn Mạnh Khương.
The agreements are one step in a longer process of cooperation between GIZ and the Albanian government. GIZ will continue to support the government as the agreements move from paper to practice, helping establish the processes needed to make labour mobility safer, more transparent and better connected to labour-market needs.
The State Labour Inspectorate and the National Agency for Employment and Skills will be key state partners in this process, working together with the Ministry of Economy and Innovation.
At the same time, an important part of this work is taking place within Albania’s own legal framework. GIZ is supporting the Ministry of Economy and Innovation in the amendment of Albania’s Labour Code, helping embed the principles developed through this work into national legislation. The reform aims to strengthen equality safeguards, introduce gender-responsive measures and establish fair recruitment standards, helping ensure that foreign workers are treated equally and protected by the same fundamental labour standards as other workers in Albania.
Together, these efforts strengthen the foundations for labour mobility that benefits workers, responds to labour-market needs and builds stronger cooperation between countries of origin and destination.
For Albania, fair labour mobility is not only about protecting foreign workers; it is also about helping businesses find the skills they need and ensuring that international recruitment contributes to a well-functioning labour market. Together, these efforts strengthen the foundations for a labour market that is fairer for workers, more responsive to the needs of businesses and better aligned with European standards.
This work reflects the broader mandate of the Shaping development-oriented migration programme (MEG): supporting gender-responsive migration policies, strengthening institutions and promoting fair and transparent labour migration while protecting migrants in vulnerable situations. It also contributes to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), the United Nations framework for international cooperation on migration, particularly its focus on reducing vulnerabilities in migration.
MEG is implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).