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When Bosnia and Herzegovina began reforming labour law linked to EU integration, political tensions in the country simultaneously increased.
The issue of the minimum wage in particular created conflict – making trust between authorities, trade unions and civil society weak.
In May 2025, the Palme Center, together with the Forum Left Initiative (FLI), took the initiative to bring together key stakeholders in Sarajevo. During a four-day programme, politicians, trade union representatives and civil society organisations met to discuss labour law, social dialogue and labour market reforms.
The dialogue made it possible to discuss concrete solutions regarding the minimum wage, labour inspections and how the reforms could be implemented more fairly.
The initiative proved to be particularly important for the decision to raise the minimum wage to 1000 KM in 2025.
By creating a forum for open dialogue, the initiative helped to strengthen trust between the prevailing parties and create better conditions for fair labour market reforms.
Improved conditions for Albanian sanitary workersSanitary workers in Elbasan have long worked under poor conditions, with low wages and limited influence over their working conditions. Many of them belong to Roma and Egyptian minorities – and work in a sector that is often undervalued despite its crucial role in society.
Through organising and dialogue, workers, civil society organisations and trade union actors succeeded in improving conditions during 2025.
The organisation Youth Roma and Egyptian Movement (YREM) brought workers together to document the problems and formulate joint demands for fair wages and better compensation for night work. Ahead of May Day, YREM brought together Elbasan municipality, sanitary companies and trade unions to discuss the situation.
The dialogue led to concrete results – waste transport workers’ pay rose of 12.5 percent, along with a pledge of a 37.5 percent increase for day work and 50 percent for night work for street cleaners.
The agreement means better incomes for sanitary workers and marks an important step towards stronger social dialogue between workers, companies and local authorities.
Progressive summit puts Ukraine’s future on the agendaIn the midst of Russia’s full-scale war, the Palme Center’s partner SD Platform brought together European social democrats in Kyiv for the first EUkraine Summit – the largest gathering of progressive forces in Ukraine to date.
The summit marked an important step in the work to build a strong progressive movement – with the aim of forming a new political party.
The Palme Center co-organised the summit, and participated with a Swedish delegation.
By strengthening progressive forces, the collaboration helps to promote a political alternative, where reconstruction is not just about investment and infrastructure but also about democracy, social justice and human rights.
SD Platform is an important progressive voice in a political landscape long dominated by the centre and the right.
By bringing together civil society, trade unions, the public sector and academia, they are working towards a society built on freedom, justice and solidarity, and for a just reconstruction of Ukraine.
North Macedonian citizens’ demands become political commitmentsMany citizens in North Macedonia feel that solely contact with politicians rarely leads to real change. Ahead of the 2025 local elections, the Palme Center’s partner organisation, NGO Info-centre, therefore brought together over 1100 residents across six municipalities to formulate their priorities for their own local communities.
Through a structured process involving surveys, focus groups and public debates, citizens were given the opportunity to ask mayoral candidates directly how they intended to implement these demands. Post the election, the process was followed up with the newly elected mayors.
The result was a democratic breakthrough: in all six municipalities, the mayors signed formal cooperation agreements for the 2026–2029 term of office, in which they committed to working on the basis of the priorities formulated by the citizens themselves.
Strike gave Albanian oil workers a stronger voiceAlbanian oil workers at the Chinese company Bankers Petroleum has, over the year, mobilised for better conditions and respect for collective agreements.
Over 60 percent of members took part in the demonstrations and a three-week strike, whilst several workers also went on hunger strike.
The workers, organised in the Union of the Hydrocarbon Sector, protested against low wages, delayed payments and the failure to comply with collective agreements. When dialogue with the company failed to yield results, the mobilisation intensified, which quickly attracted national attention.
The increased pressure and intensification led to the Labour Inspectorate and the Ministry of Economy stepping in as mediators. The parties reached an initial agreement on a financial review of the company’s operations as a basis for addressing the demands.
The Palme Center contributed through international solidarity and advocacy work.
Although the process is still ongoing, the mobilisation has already strengthened the workers’ self-confidence, highlighted working conditions in the oil industry and contributed to a stronger social dialogue.
Civil society in Albania strengthen dialogue on labour lawWhen changes in Albanias labour law were adopted in 2024, the process drew strong criticism. The legislative changes were implemented without sufficient dialogue, which caused concern among employees and trade unions.
The Palme Center’s partner organisation Center for Labor Rights (CLR) drew attention to the shortcomings of this process through analyses, advocacy work and dialogue with responsible institutions. They also lodged a formal complaint with the country’s commisioner, who initiated an investigation of the legislative process.
The investigation showed that the requirements for consultation with affected actors had not been met. It was therefore recommended that the government strengthen the consultation process and involve the labour market to a greater extent through the national labour council.
As a result of CLR’s work, the responsible ministry is now committed to improving dialogue with civil society and trade unions in the event of future changes to labour legislation. This marks an important step towards more transparent decision-making processes and stronger empowerment for workers in Albania.
