ZAGREB, Feb 2 (Hina) - A more flexible labour market benefits economic development and employment, Croatian Employment Bureau (HZZ) head Sanja Crnkovic-Pozaic said.
ZAGREB, Feb 2 (Hina) - A more flexible labour market benefits
economic development and employment, Croatian Employment Bureau
(HZZ) head Sanja Crnkovic-Pozaic said. #L#
Shorter periods of notice and lower severance pays, as envisaged by
changes to the Labour Act, affect the position of those who have
lost their job, however, employers' high costs hampering
structural changes and slowing down the creation of new jobs is not
in their interest either, Crnkovic-Pozaic said.
In an interview with Hina, the HZZ head stated that most people
would chose a more dynamic labour market and easier and faster
employment in case they lose their job rather than enjoy a seeming
legal protection from their employer and slim employment
opportunities.
Commenting on union claims that employers would in the future
extend workers' temporary contracts for a period of three years,
after which they would lay them off, as this is what changes to the
law enable, Crnkovic-Pozaic said that employers had behaved that
way before as well and the workers' legal protection was only
apparent.
Data show that people employed via the HZZ were mostly given only
temporary work contracts because the employer wanted to avoid the
risk of having to terminate a permanent work contract and pay
related costs.
Many Croatian employers still do not recognise the importance of
qualified workers for successful business and think that workers
are easily replaceable, they do not invest in people and make short-
term estimates, Crnkovic-Pozaic said.
Of 8,891 people who found employment last December, as many as 76%
concluded temporary work contracts. Of 17,000 people who
registered with the HZZ in December, around 9,000 lost their jobs
when their temporary contracts expired.
"Changes to the Labour Act will not make the situation worse,"
Crnkovic-Pozaic believes, stating that employers are
accommodating towards people who have temporary work contracts.
Under the changes, in case of dismissal a person with a temporary
work contract would have the right to severance pay and period of
notice as workers with permanent work contracts.
Of vital importance for the protection of workers' rights are
inspections and a more active union involvement with regard to the
protection of the most vulnerable categories of workers and control
by employers' associations over their members.
Changes to the Labour Act are important but they are not vital for
employment. The law which is too generous cannot protect workers
adequately if its implementation is not controlled, the HZZ head
stated.
"An increase in employment and duration of employment is influenced
mostly by the creation of new jobs, which is not possible without
economic development," she said.
Crnkovic-Pozaic said that unemployment allowances could be
increased next year following the introduction of stricter
unemployment criteria, which would eliminate from the HZZ register
people who were not really unemployed and make it possible to
increase the allowances of other unemployed people.
The lowest monthly unemployment allowance totals 500 kuna and the
highest 900 kuna. The unemployed have the right to receive the
allowance for nine months at the most, but this restriction does not
refer to protected categories.
The minimum unemployment allowance is definitely insufficient
although it meets international standards according to which
unemployment allowances should amount to 20% of the average net
salary. In Slovenia, it is possible to live on unemployment
allowance, Crnkovic-Pozaic said.
(hina) rml sb