The reduction of the administration also depends on negotiations with the unions, which are very rigid, and we cannot really boast about successes in negotiations. On the other hand, unions in state and public services accuse the Government of reducing salaries and other benefits, which is simply not true, said Finance Minister Slavko Linić today in Varaždin, commenting on the data that the state administration was reduced by only 159 people in the past year.
In response to journalists’ questions after a meeting in Varaždin regarding the proposed law on property tax, Linić emphasized that a much bigger problem than the number of employees in state and public services is their age structure.
He warned that we do not have enough qualified personnel to adequately represent Croatia in the bodies of the European Union. We need staff who know the regulations of the European Union, foreign languages, and this currently represents a significant problem, believes Linić.
Regarding the Ministry of Finance itself, Linić pointed out that they adhered to the set plan for 2012 and that there are no overruns because costs have been ‘cut’ from the position of overtime hours and contracts for work.
In the Ministry of Finance, we have remained only in terms of the number of employees. On the other hand, there is a visible increase in efficiency in tax collection and all other state claims. There are also complete changes related to relations with the economy, changes in active participation in the consolidation of the private sector, as well as in the method of tax collection, concluded Linić.
