As Novac writes on the 22nd of August, 2019, while many young and even older Croatian citizens continue to leave the country in search of a better economic situation abroad, troubled but beautiful Croatia is also a promised land for some.

Two such workers are Valentyna Tereshchenko, a 24-year-old Ukrainian from Cherkasy, and her friend Olha Valchuk, 23, also a Ukrainian citizen from Dnipro. The two girls arrived in the Dalmatian city of Zadar hungry for work and got a job at a local cafe.

''Your economic situation is better than ours back in Ukraine, so my friend and I decided to come and work in Croatia this summer. The first arrival was my mother Katarina, who got a job at a hotel near the city, and then her sister Anna, who decided to go to Zagreb.

We came here through an agency and I can tell you now that we didn't regret it. I've also worked in Malta, Greece and Cyprus, and although the salary was the best in Malta, after paying for the accommodation, I would have less than I do here in Zadar, so I can say without hesitation that your country ''sits the best'' with me. The job is good, the people are lovely, both the colleagues and the customers, and I really can't complain. And Zadar is beautiful. Admittedly, I must admit that I've had little time to visit it because I work in the afternoon and sleep in the mornings, but what I've seen, I really like, Valentyna told local paper Zadarski list.

There's a similar story to be heard from Olha.

''I'm satisfied, everything suits me and I'm very glad that I came here. The job is good, I have no qualms, and everything else is good, too. I don't get much time to go around town, but I saw the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun, and that, as I heard, is one of the most interesting things you have to offer. We work a lot so there's not so much free time, so our rhythm is: sleeping until late, going shopping, and then going to work. We cook at home and unlike Cyprus where it was difficult to find all the foods we're used to back in Ukraine, here, from what I've seen, you have a great choice of food,'' said Olha, or Olga in Croatian.

The two girls are proud to point out that they have learned a few Croatian words as well.

''We have many similar words, and as it's common for us in Ukraine that almost everyone speaks Russian, knowing multiple languages ​​makes it easier for us to communicate. In addition to our language, Valentyna and I speak both English and Turkish, which we perfected in Cyprus, so when we add Russian into the mix, then we have the tool for adapting in a foreign world is ready,'' the girls laugh.

Valentyna adds that Poland was the  promised land the youth of the country, given that the majority of them from Ukraine were going to work there, but for the two of them, Poland wasn't in their plans.

''Poland is a conservative country, and we're hearing about that more and more and we don't like it. In addition, there's a strong industry there and our friends there work mostly in factories, and we weren't interested in that. We like your company, which fortunately is still more liberal than it is in Poland. We are young and want to hang out with open young people, and feel free, so our choice is Croatia before Poland,'' concluded the girls.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more on Croatia's foreign workers and Croatian tourism.

A lot is written about the Croatian demographic crisis, and with the EU allowing all barriers to member states' respective labour markets to fall, the mass exodus of Croatian citizens and residents to other, wealthier, Western European countries is continuing to bite.

This year, the Croatian Government increased the annual quota for numerous types of work positions to allow for Croatian employers to hire third country nationals (non Croatian and non EU citizens) to come and be legally employed in Croatia. This managed to fill the gap somewhat in certain more demanding industries, such as construction, but as the brain drain continues, it is the domestic economy and local employers that are suffering.

One such firm to hire third country nationals is a firm working in the meat industry in Slavonia, and their workers from Nepal are satisfied with life in Croatia.

As Novac writes on the 18th of August, 2019, about a month ago, a firm working within the meat industry located in Slavonia in Eastern Croatia became richer for seventeen new workers who came to Petrijevci (Osijek-Baranja County) all the way from distant Nepal.

Back at the beginning of July this year, Meat industry (Mesna industrija) Ravlić d.o.o. hired some young butchers and butchers' helpers, who adapted very well and managed life in their brand new environment in Croatia despite more than obvious differences in general habits between the two countries, not to mention entire continents.

''Working here isn't difficult. It's very similar to what we were already doing back in our country, so we're pleased with the way we've been received here,'' said Thal Bahadur Gharti Chhetri, one of the incoming workers for Glas Slavonije.

''The biggest difference is how you prepare your food. Although we prefer pork and chicken, we prepare that in a different way,'' Thal Bahadur reveals, adding that they enjoy Croatian specialties on their lunch break, but that upon returning home, they prepare home-made food that reminds them of their own homeland.

At the moment, the biggest obstacle to them is, as expected, the Croatian language, from which they have learned how to say ''good day, thank you and goodbye'' in their month or so of living in Croatia. The group of Nepalese workers were given a one-year contract, but because of their lifestyle, working conditions and good pay, they would be prepared to stay longer than planned.

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The demographic crisis in Croatia is continuing to bite, and while chronic staff shortages remain the main plague of Croatian employers, many companies across the country are now turning to the ''import'' of third country nationals, such as Indians.

We have written quite extensively on the Croatian demographic crisis, the staff shortages and the repeated increase in the quota for foreign (non EU) labour by the Croatian Government. While this has mitigated problems to a degree this year, it isn't clear what the strategy will need to be next year. After all, it isn't just tourism workers that Croatia is lacking during the season, it is qualified labour from all sectors who are making their way abroad.

The Croatian love of red tape and paperwork is also throwing a spanner in the works despite the government's quota increase for foreign workers, as many Croatian employers who give jobs to those from outside the EU, even from as close by as neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, are waiting for an average of two months for their residence and work permits to be approved, and by that time - they're no longer required. Without the necessary papers given the green light by MUP, these third country nationals cannot be paid a wage.

You can read more on this secondary plight on Croatia's employers here.

As previously mentioned, it isn't just tourism workers who are desperately needed in Croatia, but skilled staff from all fields. Tomislav Debeljak of the shipbuilding giant Brodosplit, has found a way to make ends meet as far as staffing is concerned.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 8th of August, 2019, more than 2000 workers are currently employed at Brodosplit. The first group of workers from India will start working in Brodosplit in early September, Slobodna Dalmacija has learned. It is estimated that there will be about two hundred Indian workers at Brodosplit by the end of this year.

According to the currently available information, Brodosplit's Indian employees will have a monthly salary of around 950 euros.

Otherwise, workers in Brodosplit can earn up to 1,500 euros net per month, while subcontractors, which is the status the company's Indian workers will have, are paid around 12 to 16 euros per hour.

As stated, Brodosplit currently employs more than 2000 workers, and many of them are workers from all over the world working in cooperative companies, depending on the current needs for certain professions, so that the contracted jobs will be completed as well as possible. The addition of 200 Indian workers will surely make things easier on the company.

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As Novac/Barbara Ban writes on the 20th of June, 2019, the Union of Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia recently spoke in Pula in a rather critical manner about the Croatian Government's plans for the further increase in the quota for the import of foreign workforce for Croatian tourism, despite the fact that they are very much aware that there huge gaps in the Croatian labour market, especially in regard to seasonal workers.

The president of the aforementioned union, Marina Cvitić, believes that the Croatian Government should first aim to stop the mass departure of Croatian workers who are taking advantage of the EU's fundamental four freedoms (one of which is the free movement of labour/people), and heading abroad. They also believe that the government should take the appropriate measures to ensure that those who do return, return to much more favourable business opportunities and higher wages. Otherwise, at least according to that union, the whole sense of Croatian tourism is entirely lost.

It is extremely alarming that 500,000 active and able workers have now left the Republic of Croatia. This trend is continuing, with EU membership making it all so much easier, and the Croatian Government is doing very little to at least try stop the displacement of Croatian citizens, most of whom are of working age.

At the same time, Croatia turns to a greater increase in the import of foreign workers, and by foreign we're typically referring to non EU nationals, such as those from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, or even those from outside of the European continent, such as those from Pakistan, who would need to see a ''stay and work'' permit in order to gain employment, hence the raising of the quota.

''The owners of Croatian tourist companies, but not solely tourist companies, because we sold everything we did not destroy, are often foreigners, their employees are foreigners, their profits go off to foreign countries, the salaries go to foreign countries, the laws and regulations are placed upon Croatia by the European Union... The question now is whether or not we even need a country if we have less and less Croatian citizens; huge amounts of money is leaving Croatia, and normative acts are being introduced by the EU? For what?'' Cvitić asks.

He warned that the foreign labour force who came to work this summer in the field of Croatian tourism is not of the best quality and that Croatian workers are often angry because they feel that these imported workers have better conditions offered to them.

''Croatian workers are usually required to pay for their warm dinners, while those who are accommodated on the employer's premises get it free of charge, this includes three meals, accommodation, transport and return allowance, recreation... As a rule, they first hire them and then they work until the end of the season, that gives them higher wages. And so it's not surprising that incidents are occuring, nor is it surprising to see this situation heating up more and more, and it's just a matter of time before it explodes.

While most local people have a high degree of tolerance towards Croatian workers, this threshold is much lower for foreign workers. And if it so happens, and it happens very often, that this involves [foreign] workers who don't want to, or know how to work, but see all this as a possibility of enjoying a free summer holiday on the Adriatic, then there's no wonder why the [Croatian] workers' are unhappy,'' stated the head of this union.

He thinks the solution is to reduce VAT in Croatian tourism by ten percent. That will, he believes, create the necessary conditions for the introduction of higher wages, which could once again attract more Croatian workers to return to work in Croatian tourism.

''For this situation that really is alarming, both employers and the Government of the Republic of Croatia are equally in the wrong.

I therefore suggest that the Minister of Tourism, or the Government of the Republic of Croatia, go ahead and accept the challenge offered by employers. Namely, the president of the Croatian Association of Tourism, Veljko Ostojić, suggested lowering the VAT on tourism to ten percent, and employers will then increase their workers' salaries by thirty percent in a one-time increase and then raise them continuously between five and seven percent over the next three to five years. If that's the truth, such measures would certainly contribute to halting the emigration of Croatian workers, but also increase spending which would then fill the budget, which would ultimately not be a loss,'' added Cvitić.

Otherwise, the average salaries in Croatian tourism last year amounted to 5,175 kuna net per month, for the first three months, they stoof at 5,253, and they're still 18 percent lower than the Croatian average. Cvitić says that this year, large hotel companies have raised their workers' salaries, but that's still nowhere near enough.

''When we look at the department of food and service, then the average is even lower, ie, it was 4,175 kuna last year, and for the first three months of this year it was 4,254 kuna, which is 34 percent below the Croatian average,'' noted Cvitić.

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