Terms of Reference

External Collaborator for Preparation of an Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Profile for Kosovo

1. Background

Kosovo is facing challenges of low level of application of basic labour and OSH standards by employers and workers and frequent cases of serious injuries in the workplace and occupational diseases. The consequences of poor workplace practice and lack of enforcement of OSH rules are multidimensional and require an increased commitment to be placed upon the ministry of labour, labour inspectorate, employers and trade unions in order to promote OSH and compliance with labour laws.

Within the framework of UNOPS project “Promoting Decent Work through Strengthening OSH Management and Social Dialogue in Kosovo,” funded by Swedish International Development Agency, the ILO will provide expertise to promote occupational safety and health (OSH) and a well-functioning labour inspectorate through:

• Aligning Kosovar OSH legislation with relevant ILO Conventions and EU Directives;
• Aligning Kosovar legislation on labour inspection with relevant ILO standards and EU practices;
• Setting up and supporting the implementation of a National OSH policy, systems and programmes, and
• Improved ability of Ministry of Labour to enhance working conditions, in particular OSH.

The new coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly developed into an unprecedented health and economic crisis. In May 2020, after almost two months of lockdown, governments gradually started to lift the quarantine measures. In October 2020, many countries in Central and Eastern Europe have recorded the highest number of daily cases and deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. The recent surge of infection cases in Europe raises great concern. When assessing the OSH conditions, a special attention should be paid to the impact of Covid-19 on safety and health at work.

2. Objectives

The purpose of the contract is to develop an OSH Profile for Kosovo.

An OSH Profile is an essential document in the application of systematic approach in OSH. It provides an overview and most up-to-date information on the existing OSH situation and is used as a diagnostic document to assess gaps in the OSH system and identify priority areas for action in OSH. The OSH Profile is a valuable source of information for policy-makers, government officials, workers, employers and OSH practitioners to follow and monitor OSH developments and is used as a basis for formulating the OSH Programme (strategic action plans in OSH). The procedures and requirements to develop OSH Profile and Programme are described in ILO Promotional Framework for OSH Convention (No.187, 2006) and its affiliated Recommendation (No. 197, 2006).

The Profile is required as a common reference, grounded in the realities of the stakeholders involved. It will be used for identifying strong and weak points and gaps and then for identifying the priority issues on which the OSH Programme will be built.

3. Contents of the OSH Profile

The contents of the OSH Profiles to be developed shall meet the requirements of ILO Promotional Framework for OSH Convention (No187, 2006) and its affiliated Recommendation (No 197, 2006) and shall include the following information covering the period of 2012-2016. The suggested sections for the OSH profile are indicated below. In any case, the content of the OSH profile must include the elements stated in article 14 of ILO Recommendation No. 197 mentioned above.

As noted above, a special chapter in included in analyzing the impact of Covid-19 and measures to be taken to ensure safe return to work.

4. Methodology

The Contractor will carry out its work following ILO guidance on the preparation of the OSH Profile, potential information sources and the process for collecting information attached to these ToRs. [1]

In particular, the Contractor will:

• Conduct a Desk review of the latest information on OSH for Kosovo (the latest OSH Profile was written in 2007). This includes review of documentation, registers and databases;
• Consult with the experts within the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and State Labour Inspectorate;
• Conduct interviews using a series of formal questions with all competent OSH authorities, social partners and research institutions to gather the most updated and comprehensive information as possible;
• Conduct a survey, submitting a questionnaire, to be developed for this purpose, to all relevant organizations and stakeholders if deemed necessary;
• The OSH profile shall be produced by the Contractor in English.
• Present the draft updated OSH profile to the ILO for reviews and comments;
• Edit the document to reflect the ILO comments;
• Present draft updated OSH profile for validation at the workshop
• Prepare the report of the validation workshop.
• Finalize the OSH profile based on the comments and recommendations at validation workshop and ensure consistency between the two texts.

5. Deliverables

The Contractor will deliver the following outputs to the full satisfaction of the ILO:

• A report on the OSH profile of Kosovo in English, validated and finalized by incorporating comments.

The expected length of the report is approximately 60-80 pages (not including tables and graphs).

The document shall be submitted in MS Word format.

6. Time Frame

The starting date of the contract is 25.11. 2020.

The ending date of the contract is 28.02. 2021.

Intermediate outputs | Tentative Time Schedule | Number of days
Tentative workplan, agenda of interviews and surveys | November 2020 | 5
Draft updated OSH profile for ILO review and comments | December 2020, January 2021 | 15
Final draft OSH profile | February 2021 | 5
Final OSH profile after validation workshop | February 2021 | 5

7. Reporting Line

The External Collaborator will work under the overall supervision of the Director of ILO DWT/CO Budapest and the technical supervision of the Senior Social Protection Specialist of ILO DWT/CO Budapest and the Specialist in Labour Administration, Labour Inspection and OSH of ILO LABADMIN/OSH.

Throughout the course of this assignment, the External Collaborator will report to Senior Social Protection Specialist of ILO DWT/CO Budapest.

If it is necessary to modify the tasks of work or exceed the time allocated, the External Collaborator must discuss the circumstances with Senior Social Protection Specialist of ILO DWT/CO Budapest and obtain prior written approval.

8. Fees and Payment Schedule

Payment will be made as follows upon satisfactory performance of tasks foreseen that is to be confirmed by the ILO:

Payment schedule

Option A:

Upon submission of the final draft incorporating comments

Option B:

50% upon submission of the initial draft

50% upon submission of the final report incorporating comments in validation workshop

All bank charges levied by the ILO’s bank are paid by the ILO while the Consultant covers all other bank charges.

9. Qualifications

The Contractor needed for this consultancy should possess the following qualifications:

• At least five years’ experience in conducting analysis/research;
• Experience in drafting/preparing assessment reports and strategic plans;
• Familiarity on labour laws and occupational safety and health standards;
• Ability to design, organize and facilitate workshops, consultations, meetings, fora and focus group discussions;
• Familiarity working with government, and workers’ and employers’ organizations, an asset;
• Background working with the ILO or any other UN agency, donor agency and international NGOs are considered as assets;
• Excellent command of English (both written and spoken) and local languages as working language.

10. Application

Interested candidates should submit the following documents to [email protected] no later than November 20, 2020 at 17:00.

Up-to-date Curriculum Vitae in English
A draft proposal of max two pages demonstrating the ability to draft the OSH profile.
A detailed financial offer in EUR not including VAT.

⇒ More information.