Exodus of Croats continues.
Van drive to Ireland is 250 euros. Monthly price of a room in a house with four other men is 350 euros. For expenses until receiving the first salary you need a total of about a thousand euros. Departure is on Wednesday. This were the information received by seven Croatian truck drivers who on Saturday came to an interview for a job in Ireland. They had to almost immediately decide whether they can pack their whole lives in a maximum of two suitcases and go to Cork. It was part of a meeting with representatives of an agency urgently seeking 50 truck drivers to work in Ireland, reports Večernji List on April 2, 2017.
The country has become the “new Germany” for many young Croats who have already moved there. Although the financial terms offered are not fantastic, the agent said that it was a concrete and realistic offer without great and empty promises. Their starting hourly wage is 9.5 euros gross, with an increase after three to six months. “This was supposed to motivate us to leave, but I will not accept this,” said a man who in the end rather decided to go work in Germany.
After six months of work for the same company, if they prove to be good workers, they will receive a contract for permanent employment and a net salary of about 2,000 euros a month. Representative of the agency Matej Šišmanović said that they have contracts with several big companies which are urgently looking for workers. Therefore, they immediately organize the interview in Zagreb on Saturday.
He added that they would organize additional such recruitment drives for other jobs with Irish employers. “When you land in Dublin, we come and pick you up and drive you to the house. You need two days for documents and one for certificate,” said the agent to the seven professional truck drivers who were later asked whether they could leave on Wednesday to Ireland.
Some of them decided to go, because their employers in Croatia did not pay them salary contributions, others were underpaid, and one driver recently resigned from a company… For almost 190 hours of work per month in Croatia, one of the drivers was receiving on average around 5,000 kuna. He told the agents in decent English that he was ready to go to Ireland if that meant that he would be able to live a decent life.
“A decent life for my wife and child is the only reason why I am here today and why I am thinking about going,” said the driver, who will officially send his reply to the potential Irish employers on Monday.
The drivers were interested in how much kindergarten cost in Ireland, what are the prices of food and life in general, because they are justifiably afraid to go abroad. In any case, whoever of them does go to Ireland on Wednesday, they will not be the first Croats working for the company.
