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Trade union leaders have turned into businessmen: Why we need vetting for unions in Albania too

2026-05-01 21:39:59Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Trade union leaders have turned into businessmen: Why we need vetting for unions
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By Fiks Fare / “May 1”, International Workers' Day, protest or celebration! In Albania, it is an official holiday, a day off for the state administration. Meanwhile, all over the world, this date coincides with rallies and protests. Not political, but by the Unions!

What do our unions do? Do they hold protests, rallies, hunger strikes, react to incidents, deaths at work, dismissals of employees, rapes, and non-payment of salaries?

"These people are clinically dead. Politics has brought them closer together. There is no longer any breath of unionism," says Fatmir Mërkoçi, one of the founders of the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania.

Initially, after the '90s, the BSPSH was founded. Currently, it is headed by Gëzim Kalaja. Surprisingly, this trade union leader has aligned himself with the Democratic Party. He has even decorated Sali Berisha as a "symbol of trade unionism in Albania".

The decoration was awarded in May 2013, before the parliamentary elections. “With the motivation of the creation of the BSPSH, I give the medal as a 'symbol of trade unionism' to Prime Minister Sali Berisha,” Kalaja would declare.

"This is the first time, and we are aiming for a Guinness record, that a union has decorated the prime minister. Unions should always be in opposition to the government," says Mrkoçi.

But the story behind this decoration is related to the properties of the Unions. For example, the former Workers' Camp in Pogradec has been turned into a business, which coincidentally is called "Kalaja", the surname of the union leader. The building is owned by the Miners' Union, while the 12,500 m2 plot of land, worth 131 million lek, has also recently been registered.

"These people have used the properties for their own interests. They have registered and put their names on businesses," continues Mrkoçi. There are two unions in this small country of ours and the wonder is that one is right-wing and the other is left-wing. As if they are political parties! They say they are supported by workers' contributions. But, we do not know how much the workers pay for their troubles.

"If the BSPSH is with the Democratic Party, on the other hand we have the Confederation, aligned with the government, of the left," says Fatmir Mërkoçi. The Confederation of Albanian Trade Unions, headed by Kol Nikolla, was created as an extension of the Union of Albanian Professions, a movement before the '90s. Again, this Confederation also inherited property throughout Albania.

But are they the voice of the workers? Are the former workers' rest homes still functioning?

"No, they only protect and are extensions of political parties. After the '90s, politics understood the power and aligned both sides of politics," adds Mrkoçi.

Fiks Fare does not accuse them of stealing the properties, as they were donated to them by the then president to manage! However, subsequent management has led to alienation, sales, long leases, degradation of the buildings, etc.

But who should control and investigate these Unions?

One of the founders of the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania, Fatmir Mërkoçi, says that a Vetting is needed! "They should be investigated by the High State Audit and the prosecution. There have been criminal charges, but it is not known what has been done. The properties have been alienated, they have taken them under management, but they have mismanaged them," concludes Mërkoçi.

But what do these unions currently do? Do they protect workers? Do they hold protests, strikes, or have they come out in defense of workers? And if they do, how do they solve their problems, some left and some right?

Fiks Fare went to both union headquarters to ask them if they would organize any protests, gatherings, strikes, or if they had any demands for the government, representing a full 200,000 workers.

First, we go to the new building of the Confederation of Trade Unions. We interview the organizational secretary of the KSSH, Hajdar Sinan. We ask him what protest, rally or organization he will carry out on May 1. He says that they will hold a protest in front of the prime minister's office, and they have confirmed that there will be several hundred people.

The Fiks Fare group also goes to the headquarters of the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania, in the former geology buildings near Kavaja Street. Sami Kariqi, the Vice President, says that they have 80 thousand employees under their administration. Fiksi asks him if they have any demands for the government, will they hold a protest, rally or strike on May 1, while he adds that “we are organizing a meeting on May 16”. “We see this date as the victory of trade unionism, after the end of the miners' strike in Valias” claims Kariqi.

But how do these unions define themselves, left or right?

Fiksi asked the President of the Union of Independent Trade Unions, Gëzim Kalanë. He says that the BSPSH is right-wing, was created on the same day as the DP and naturally has political affiliation. He says that he is with the DP, right-wing. Regarding Berisha's decoration as a "symbol of trade unionism", he says that he deserves it and if the opportunity comes again, he will give it to him again.

Fiksi asks him how he named the hotel in Pogradec, "Kalaja", as he says that it is not his property. He tells the Fiks Fare group that he does not own the property, that his heirs have taken it. However, the documents that the editorial team of the investigative show has researched show the opposite, since in 2025, the Miners' Union, headed by Gëzim Kalanë himself, revalued that property, which had been converted into a bar, restaurant and hotel, even registering the land around the entire building.

During the interview, Kalaja gets angry, gets up from his chair and knocks over several other chairs. He asks Fiks Fare's group that the interview is over and asks them to leave. Fiks tells him that, with these answers, he is not a unionist, but looks like a politician and a businessman.

But if Gëzim Kalaja was described as right-wing, how does Hajdar Sinani, the organizing secretary of the Confederation, describe the union he belongs to?!

"We are leftists," Sinani claims, as he best demonstrates the state of unions in Albania, their strength and lack of accountability, given that they have under administration a multitude of properties throughout the country, which they have sold, alienated, destroyed and turned into businesses for themselves and their families.

Both of them were very nervous! Fiks Fare did not accuse them of theft, but simply asked them to convey the voice of the workers they represent!


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