Minister of Labor and Pension System Marko Pavić reported on Thursday about a significant number of unused quotas for importing labor from third countries, emphasizing that this indicates that government measures of active employment policy have enabled employers to largely meet their needs from the domestic labor force.
Pavić presented the state of quota utilization for importing labor at a press conference in Banski Dvori, stating that in the construction sector, where the greatest needs exist, out of 10,770 permits, 7,200 positions remain, and 965 are in process, meaning the quota has been utilized “less than a third”.
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In shipbuilding, out of 1,408 positions, 1,168 are still free, and 130 are in process. In tourism, the quota, primarily for importing auxiliary workers, is 4,660, with 3,746 positions free, while only 1,081 are in process.
– It is evident that with active employment policy measures and the proactive approach of the Government – where we surveyed 190,000 unemployed for the tourist season, of which 24,000 expressed a desire to work in the season – we have largely succeeded in meeting the needs related to the season, emphasized the Minister of Labor.
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In response to a journalist’s remark that the data is somewhat surprising given that employers daily complain about a lack of labor, Pavić replied that he expects that, with the start of the season, the quotas in the tourism sector will be utilized.
Regarding other quotas, he noted that the pools from which labor traditionally came to Croatia, namely neighboring countries, have already been utilized.
Therefore, he emphasized that he has also visited other countries, such as Ukraine, to help employers “open channels to other labor markets,” and a memorandum was signed with the Ukrainian employment agency.
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The utilization of quotas is monitored on a daily basis and will be adjusted, he said in response to a journalist’s question about whether these data will lead to a reduction next year.
– We monitor the utilization of quotas on a daily basis and will adjust them accordingly, but we will also enable employers to seek labor in third countries if they cannot find domestic labor, he said, emphasizing that the goal of the Government and its measures is primarily to activate the domestic labor force.
