President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) Luka Burilovic on Wednesday welcomed a government decision to allow the issuance of more work permits for foreigners in the tourism and construction sectors, saying that "the voice of entrepreneurs has been heard and the voice of reason has prevailed." The government on Wednesday increased the quota for foreign workers by an additional 2,000 in the tourism and hospitality sector and by 1,000 in construction.
Both sectors can issue an additional 1,000 work permits for foreigners if however there are no available workers in the said fields registered with the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ).
"The increased quota was necessary in order to help employers. The only other alternative was to shut down or to allow the quality to deteriorate which would have been disastrous in the midst of the season...we've put out the fire and can continue working on a new law for foreigners which will gradually abolish quotas," Burilovic said in a press release.
According to Burilovic, it remains to be seen what the situation in the construction sector will look like in September when construction works recommence and whether it will be necessary to further increase the quota.
"This is additional confirmation that the quota system isn't functioning and we will eventually be in the situation when we will have to demand additional work permits every so often," Burilovic said.
He supports the idea of stricter conditions at the employment centre for those unemployed people who refuse to take a job several times.
"Naturally, we need to first look to our own labour force but if that isn't possible then entrepreneurs cannot and should not have to wait," he added. (Hina)
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