Business

Filipinos and Bangladeshis Arriving as Workers in Croatia

By 21 June 2019

ZAGREB, June 21, 2019 - The leader of the Philippine Association of Service Exporters (PASEI), Elsa U. Villa, has told the Zagreb-based Jutarnji List daily that they have explored the labour market and found out that Croatia is in need of workers, while the Philippines can satisfy that need.

At the start of this year we were informed that Croatia needed some 2,000 workers, and the needs have been rising since then, Villa was quoted as saying in an article published on Friday.

She said that the association could ensure the hiring of workers of various professions and occupations.

In this context, she said that the Filipinos would be ready to work in the tourism and hospitality industry as well as in agriculture and construction.

She explained that the minimum acceptable monthly salary for a lower-educated Filipino may be 450 euro plus the coverage of the accommodation and food costs.

Filipino job-seekers with a higher education expect the monthly salaries from 700 euro and up.

The procedure for issuance of work permits runs smoothly, however, the problem occurs with the issuance of visas since Croatia has no embassy in Manila, she said.

Croatia is ready to import Bangladeshi workers, according to information released after talks on this matter between the Bangladeshi Ambassador to the Netherlands, Sheikh Mohammed Belal, and Assistant Croatian Labour Minister Dražen Opalić.

The Bangladeshi embassy in The Hague has stated that after the talks held in Zagreb, Opalić announced that Croatia would soon forward to Bangladesh a draft memorandum of understanding on this topic, the Zagreb-based Večernji List reported on Friday.

The talks revolved about doctors, nurses, IT specialists, as well as workers in the tourism and construction industries being on demand in Croatia.

The labour and pension system ministry confirmed for the Vecernji List information about the meeting between the assistant minister and the ambassador.

The ministry permanently follows the situation on the labour market to address the challenges considering the demand for labour force, however Minister Marko Pavić underscores that that government's priority is to ensure the hiring of the domestic labour force, the ministry told the daily.

More news about employment in Croatia can be found in the Business section.

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