ZAGREB, 15 March 2022 - It's time for Croatian politics to stop ignoring the profession, social workers said in a message on Tuesday on the occasion of World Social Work Day, with this year's theme being "Co-building a New Eco-Social World: Leaving No One Behind."

"We are seeking ways for our voice to have the same significance as the voice of politics because politics is deaf to our profession," the president of the Croatian Association of Social Workers Štefica Karačić said.

Today's central gathering of social workers in Croatia was held under the motto "Social work in Croatia: New prospects," because in light of the natural disasters and pandemic which are a challenge to social work, the profession is at the beginning of reforms to the social welfare system which they do not agree with and believe the reforms are heading in the wrong direction.

Karačić: The concept of the changes adds more red tape to welfare services

Karačić added that the gathering was an opportunity to once again try and establish dialogue with the competent ministry, adding that structural changes should be the result of a synergy of all those this sector is related to.

The biggest problem with the new reform is that the entire concept of changes will just add more red tape to welfare services and benefits, which means further distancing from beneficiaries, less accessibility, and a reduced role of social workers who are in immediate contact with beneficiaries.

The president of the Croatian Chamber of Social Workers  Antun Ilijaš said that Croatia has 2,500 social workers who care for more than 500,000 beneficiaries, which is a large number. Yet social services are only mentioned in public a few times a year and only when something goes wrong.

Asked to comment on the messages and criticism heard at the gathering, Marija Pletikosa, state secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, said that the profession was not being ignored and the ministry was working on strengthening the profession's dignity.

Pletikosa said that the reforms would relieve social workers of some administrative tasks because the aim is for them to do only what is their profession, to respect protocols and to standardise procedures at all welfare centres. She believes that the majority of social workers are satisfied with the changes.

During the gathering of about a hundred social workers, they stood and applauded social workers in Ukraine, as well as in Russia, who, despite all the dangers, have to remain dedicated to the fundamental principles of the profession, advocating peace and protecting every human being.