Nepalese second in issued work permits; most complaints about wages and overtime

Currently, the most work permits in Croatia have been issued to workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by immigrants from Nepal who have surpassed workers from Serbia, and the most complaints to the Ombudsman related to non-payment or reduced wages, it was highlighted at the Croatian Safety Days in Opatija.

Foreign workers most often complain to the Ombudsman because they have not received their wages or have been paid less than agreed, as part of their wages was paid in cash or they were forced to work overtime without the right to daily and weekly rest, stated Deputy Ombudsman Dijana Kesonja at the Urban Safety Forum, which gathered numerous experts.

Foreign workers complain that they have not received assistance after work injuries, have to perform jobs that are not in their employment contracts, and on top of that, employers threaten them with dismissal and confiscation of their passports if they insist on their rights, said Kresonja.

She cited specific examples, such as one employer asking a waitress to clean his house and babysit after the season. One worker, on behalf of his ten colleagues, complained about poor accommodation, and the inspectorate discovered during a check that some were working for three employers.

An Indian was told by his employer that he had to hand over his passport if he wanted to get paid. An Uzbek was injured several times at work but never received assistance, and he did not report the case to the police because he feared the consequences.

– Society needs to prepare for foreign workers because they are different, which leads to verbal and physical attacks on them – warned Kesonja.

Research: Croatia attractive because it is in the EU

Foreign workers are attracted to Croatia by the sun and football, but most importantly by the fact that we are in the EU, said sociologist Marica Marinović Golubić from the Faculty of Croatian Studies, presenting research that included thirty foreign workers from Nepal, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

This research, conducted as part of the project ‘Contemporary Labor Migration – New Residents of the City of Zagreb’, showed that men and women come equally from the Philippines, many of whom are married and have children, with whom they communicate via mobile phones and send money for education.

More men than women come from Nepal. Nepalese women are young and unmarried, while the men are mostly married. Only men come from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. What they all have in common is that they fear whether their work permits will be renewed, said Marinović Golubić.

She explained that Croatia attracts immigrants primarily because it is an EU member and because Europe means a better and richer life for them, and citizenship of some EU countries is the most desirable citizenship in the world, even more desirable than US citizenship.

– The whole family joins together to send them to the EU, and this endeavor costs six to seven thousand euros. They go into debt at an annual interest rate of up to 36 percent, so they send most of their wages back to their families, who then repay that debt – said the sociologist.

The conclusion of the research is, she emphasized, that our society is becoming multi-ethnic and immigration-oriented because we are a wealthy West for immigrants, but the problem is that the recruitment and bringing of foreign workers is left solely to private individuals and intermediaries.

Agencies promise them huge salaries

Foreign workers come through agencies that cause problems because they promise them huge salaries, and when they arrive, they do not know what they will be doing, warned Goran Burišić from a Zagreb company that employs about 120 foreign workers who work for Wolt as delivery drivers.

In India, for example, they cannot apply for a visa at our embassy but must have an agent who takes money from them and applies for the visa. Some workers come to Croatia with plans to escape further into Western countries, which their agents who brought them to Croatia often encourage.

Burišić, who is a criminologist by profession, also warned that their delivery drivers were very exposed to attacks last year and this year.

– They are greeted and their orders are taken, and in Novi Zagreb, children aged 14 to 16 have thrown fruit, stones, and other objects at delivery drivers and knocked them off their scooters – he said.

Hrvoje Butković from the Institute for Development and International Relations also commented on the learning of the Croatian language, which we are significantly lagging behind in, and the number of planned hours is inadequate.

The sectors with the most work permits are construction, tourism, and hospitality. However, the goal is to encourage the arrival of highly qualified labor because Croatia’s highly qualified workforce has emigrated, and instead, we are receiving low-skilled workers, added Butković.