April the 12th, 2023 - The Croatian Tourism and Services Union (STUH) is calling for foreign seasonal workers to join it this year, and there's a very important logistical reason as to why.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, after the model of cooperation with foreign workers from a couple of years ago proved to be very successful on the example of seasonal employees from Macedonia, the Croatian Tourism and Services Union (STUH) has now launched a campaign for the first time ahead of this summer's tourist season, inviting all foreign seasonal workers to join the union and thus protect their rights.

On the one hand, this is an opportunity for the Croatian Tourism and Services Union to strengthen its overall membership, which was lost due to the emigration of workers from Croatia abroad, and to find new models of action in this increasingly unpredictable labour market, and on the other hand, it can bring additional security to foreign seasonal workers when it comes to their labour rights in this country.

Lower membership fees

The president of the Croatian Tourism and Services Union, Eduard Andric, expects that over time, a significant interest of these foreign workers from third countries, which therefore have no EU protection to fall back on, will gradually develop.

"The share of foreign seasonal workers in the Croatian hospitality and tourism industry is increasingly taking a significant place on the labour market due to the great need for workers in the aforementioned sectors. This year, a large number of workers are expected to come from third countries which aren't members of the European Union, and we see that this is not a temporary trend, but a new reality to which we need to adapt, and ensure the maximum levels of respect for these workers' rights.

It's also true that the number of members of our union is falling because people are moving away from Croatia, and this is an opportunity for us to find new members,'' says Andric, recalling the example of STUH's cooperation with the tourism union of Macedonia, which started two years ago and proved to be very successful, as touched on above.

In addition to workers being registered with the union during their time working here during the tourist season, thanks to this kind of cooperation, employers get professional workers who are selected by the unions based on their explicitly expressed needs.

"In fact, numerous employment agencies have appeared on the market that don't care so much about the quality of their workers, they usually bring in anyone who applies and then employers have the problem of not getting the workers they actually need," says Andric. In addition, as the Croatian Tourism and Services Union explains on its website, a large number of seasonal workers, especially workers from countries that are not members of the European Union, are entirely unaware of their labour and other rights. Most often, these workers are the most vulnerable category of workers, according to the European Commission (EC).

At the same time, the EU Directive on foreign seasonal workers, which binds the Republic of Croatia and whose provisions are included in the Law on Foreigners, in most of its provisions provides for the totally equal treatment of seasonal workers and EU/EEA citizens, with certain restrictions related to the legal length of stay in Croatia. The union is strong here when it comes to the proper infrastructure, because it has a branched network of commissioners in the field and alsp boasts its own lawyers.

"In accordance with the provisions of the Foreigners Act, the Labour Act, the national sectoral collective agreement for the hospitality industry, as well as a large number of collective agreements concluded with most employers in large hotel companies, The Croatian Tourism and Services Union provides free legal assistance to all workers in the hospitality industry and tourism who are members of the union, this includes foreign seasonal workers if they become members, all with the aim of the uniform application of legal regulations to all workers present in Croatia, their legal security and their better adaptation to the country," they explain from STUH. Andric notes that the membership fee for foreign workers is lower, given that they are only there for the tourist season.

They noted that their members have the right to access help when concluding an employment contract with a new employer, control of their rights from the Collective Agreement and the company's bylaws, or the national collective agreement, free legal protection at all times, including free representation in court if needed.

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February 2, 2023 - Employers from the hospitality and tourism industry have started looking for employees to support the tourist season and work in Croatia for the summer of 2023.

As Poslovni writes, among the employers who represent businesses and are looking for employees are almost all the largest hotel companies, several marinas, agencies, associations, and others.

After Osijek and Bjelovar, Days of Work in Tourism began in Zagreb, taking place in the Congress Center at the Zagreb Fairgrounds.

Among the employers who represent businesses and are looking for employees are almost all the largest hotel companies, several marinas, agencies, associations, and others. There are around 60 exhibitors, and the most sought-after professions include waiters, cooks, maids, cleaners, animators, and dancers.

This year, about 10,000 people want to work in Croatia during the summer season, reveals Ante Lončar, director of the Croatian Employment Service (CES). He adds that estimates of the lack of workers in tourism are around this number, and currently, around 1,600 jobs in tourism are advertised on the CES website.

Goran Vlačić, representative of Valamar Riviera, said they are looking for about a thousand workers for various jobs in all of Valamar's destinations from Istria to Dubrovnik. "Since we expect a better season than last year, it is possible that we will need more of them, but we don't know exactly how many just yet," said Vlačić.

There is also a shortage of workers in the capital city. Zlatko Puntijar, vice-president of the Zagreb Hospitality Association, complained that Zagreb currently lacks about five thousand workers in tourism and hospitality.

And while employers point out that Days of Work in Tourism is an excellent place to find workers, workers complain about the offer. "The same jobs are always offered, most of them in the auxiliary ranks, and even lower-paid ones, while skippers, divers, and similar jobs related to the nautical field are rarely or never sought after," reports Hina.

Last year, there were about 46,000 requests from employers for employment in tourism, but it is still difficult to estimate how it will be in 2023, said the director of the CES, an institution that, along with the ministries of tourism and sports and labor, is the organizer of the event.

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May the 7th, 2022 - The continuing issues faced by the Croatian labour force (or lack of it, to be more precise) could be solved by altering a current law and increasing the limit on how much students are allowed to earn without them, or usually their parents, facing tax issues.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, irritated employers have rightly pointed out that the income threshold after which the right to tax relief is lost for students is much too low, and that raising it would encourage students to not only seek out employment, but to be willing to work more. Therefore, they've suggested that the threshold be raised to 30,000 kuna, with different treatment if the taxpayer (their parent) has more children. This could solve the problems faced by the Croatian labour market, particularly when it comes to seasonal and tourism employment.

According to tportal, this initiative from the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) is also being strongly supported by the president of the Croatian Tourism Association, Veljko Ostojic, who very formly believes that the greater engagement of students in seasonal jobs in the tourism sector would reduce the need for the import of foreign labour, and the administrative issues and ridiculous waiting times for work permits that come with that.

''We've proposed to the Government that the non-taxable income limit for dependent members be raised to 30,000 kuna. We believe that in this way, a significant number of people would be activated on the Croatian labour market,'' Ostojic said.

Student work is otherwise regulated by the Student Affairs Act, and the current law on that has been in force since November 2018.

Students are employed through authorised intermediaries, which can be student centres or higher education institutions that have a centre for student standards, provided that they have received approval from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education to conduct mediation activities. The law also regulates the minimum hourly wage, which is calculated by dividing the amount of the minimum gross salary by 160. The hourly wage is adjusted once a year, and for 2022 it amounts to 29.30 kuna.

Altering this and increasing the amount students are free to earn without facing issues from the tax man would not only put a gradual stop to importing non-resident staff, but put the Croatian labour market in a far better position when it comes to the height of the summer season, when good staff are increasingly difficult to come by for would-be employers.

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June the 5th, 2021 - Croatian labour force issues weren't ''born'' with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and all of the economic woes it has caused, but the ongoing public health crisis certainly hasn't helped with this burning issue. Along with the epidemiological situation, this is another huge threat to the tourism industry in this country.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, with the lack of foreign workers currently available, the mother of all problems for chefs has opened up, and in anticipation of a good summer season for this profession, wage offers are ranging from 10,000 kuna to top chefs who could earn about 3,000 to 5,000 euros.

Every place along the Adriatic coast lacks about 50 chefs, claims Pero Savanovic, a well-known and award-winning chef with 30 years of experience and a frequent member of the jury at international gastronomic competitions.

He has now taken over the position of head chef at Matrioska, ​​a restaurant in the Baska Voda Hotel group, but as he has run top restaurants all along the coast, and is active in Chefs Club Croatia and Chef kuha doma, he estimates that almost every hotel is experiencing a staff shortage of around 20 to 30 people, part of whom are on the chef’s team.

This, he says, can be confirmed by employment agencies: They offer staff from the region, and the least of all from Croatia, so that according to Savanovic, only auxiliary chefs are being hired from the Croatian market in a share of only 2 or 3 percent. The situation is similar with other occupations related to tourism - waiters, beach workers, gardeners….

Numerous catering and hospitality facilities are failing to find professional and quality workers amid this Croatian labour force issue, and for those who get their hands on staff through agencies, such as young chefs, they mention the problem of a low level of knowledge and will.

"The Croatian labour force issue and the shortage of staff is a serious threat to tourism. The problem that has been going on for several years because has erupted and become worse since the pandemic began as the industry had to change. When they saw that they would be out of work for a while, they turned to less risky jobs,'' explains Savanovic.

"Yes, we have a problem, even after a large number of people have retrained," confirms another well-known local chef, a member of the jury of the reality TV show Three, Two, One - Cook. Ivan Pazanin adds that Croatia experienced a huge issue in this regard ever since the pandemic struck the country.

"We need to hold tight for the next few months and after the summer we need to make an analysis and come up with an action programme. We had a gastronomic boom and now the market is experiencing that with all the good and bad consequences that come with it,'' says Pazanin, who opened a Dalmatian street food bar in the very heart of Split, inside Diocletian's Palace.

"I'm very satisfied: I came up with the concept in accordance with my preferences and now it turns out that the market has accepted it very well," says Pazanin.

The problem with chefs is also more pronounced in Zagreb's restaurants than it ever was before the pandemic. According to the head of the operations office at the RougeMarin Restaurant, Matej Kobad, the restrictive anti-epidemic measures have taken their toll, and a lot of damage has been caused by the lockdowns and closure of those facilities.

“Not only did earnings drop, people lost their jobs, but a lot of chefs and waiters switched to other industries,” he says, confirming that there are great difficulties in finding chefs, with an emphasis on auxiliary ones. Despite that, says Kobas, in anticipation of a very good summer season, they prepared a new investment and through a lease they expanded RougeMarin Park to an additional 2000 m2, where, in cooperation with the fashion.hr agency, they're developing the concept of festival events. Outdoor events are the future, as the pandemic has changed consumer habits.

This situation with Croatian labour force market has led to more and more employers in this industry importing Filipino, Indian and Nepalese workers.

For example, in Camp Bunja on the island of Brac, they had offers from four agencies for such workers. Finally, people from India were employed, with an apostille of impunity certified by an Indian and Croatian notary. It took about a week and a half, because India was in lockdown. As is well known to anyone who has attempted to engage in anything remotely administrative in Croatia, the issuing of work permits for third country nationals can take up to two months.

They now have a chef in the camp, but what if someone cancels, director Lana Ivicek wonders, revealing that they have had two such cases in the last month. First, they hired a Montenegrin chef, but while he was waiting for his papers, he found another job instead.

Then a young man from Argentina applied, and in the end a chef from Bosnia and Herzegovina was hired, for whom they are still completing the legal procedure. Ivicek says that the camp has 50 accommodation units with a bistro capacity of 60 guests. Occupancy is now at the level of 30%, but they expect 100% in the height of the season, so Ivicek believes that the procedure for hiring foreigners should be facilitated and accelerated so as to try to patch up the continued issues with the Croatian labour force.

Gordan Skoric from Danas radim believes that the reform of the Permanent Seasonal Institute is necessary, which supports the initiative to shorten the concept from six months to at least five, so that those interested in seasonal jobs can meet the criteria.

"If you're a permanent seasonal worker and have a full year of income, it's considered that you're a permanently employed person, but the season has been significantly shortened. If the conditions are set at five months, companies could hire permanent seasonal workers, and wouldn't then have to lay them off. In previous years, they'd have hired them at the end of April, counting on the season to start, which worked to some extent, but last year the season was reduced to three months,'' he explains. On the other hand, the profession is concerned about the future of the Croatian gastronomic scene.

Savanovic believes that Croatia will become focused on the import of cheap labour, and therefore poor quality will be the end result.

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