Failure to provide annual leave pay reported at a shoe factory in Kumanovo

Breach of workers’ rights at a shoe manufacturing factory in Kumanovo was reported to the Helsinki Committee. According to claims in the report, the employer failed to provide annual leave pay to its employees for 2016. According to the Law on Labour Relations and the General Collective Labour Agreement for the private sector of real economy, employers have an obligation to pay their employees annual leave pay in the amount of 40% of the base salary.

Failure to provide annual leave pay is one of the most frequent breaches female workers in textile, leather and shoe industries have faced in 2017.

With reference to this case, the Helsinki Committee will request additional supervision by the State Labour Inspectorate in terms of reexamination of the findings in the report, and will continue to monitor the case, expecting a decision of the State Labour Inspectorate and whether it will be respected and acted upon by the employer.