The annual quota of work permits for the employment of foreigners has been reduced by approximately 2,300 permits this year, a consequence of the crisis and a decrease in economic activity, it was stated after today’s meeting of the Economic-Social Council (GSV).
Last year, about 10,200 work permits for foreign workers were issued, while this year 7,859 permits have been approved. The reason for such a reduction, according to Ivica Mudrinić, a representative of the Croatian Employers’ Association, is the expectations of employers that economic activities will decline, primarily in construction and shipbuilding. Last year, 5,330 permits were approved in construction, while this year 2,510 were approved, with the majority for bricklayers and carpenters, each receiving a thousand. In shipbuilding, the last year’s number of 1,700 permits has now fallen to 1,148 permits, which also include subcontractors. Unions are against any import of foreign labor as we have the same profiles of occupations available at our Employment Service. However, it was explained to them that, for example, in shipbuilding, between 2009 and 2011, the construction of 44 ships was contracted in all five shipyards, thus foreign workers are needed. Due to the current state of the labor market, the new Vocational Education Law is important, whose proposal was unanimously supported by social partners, assessing it as an investment in Croatia’s future.
