October the 5th, 2024 – The recent influx of third country nationals into Croatia has evoked different views. Generally, they’re well accepted and appreciated, as was said about Filipino workers in Croatia.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Roksandic writes, a summit on the topic of employment of Filipino workers in Croatia was held in the premises of the Croatian Association of Employers recently.
The occasion of the summit was the visit of the representatives of the Republic of the Philippines for the purpose of signing the Memorandum on Cooperation in the field of the labour market between the ministries responsible for labour in the Philippines and in Croatia.
The goal of the Memorandum is to improve cooperation between the two countries regarding the employment of Filipino workers in Croatia. That will be done through the establishment of a joint protocol for the recruitment of workers, the exchange of relevant information and good practices, and the development of programmes for the training and integration of said workers.
The summit was attended by Ivan Vidiš, State Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Her Excellency Evangelina Lourdes A. Bernas, Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines based in Vienna, as well as other important representatives of these countries.
“Filipino workers in Croatia are very well accepted and highly respected. They primarily work in the tourism and hospitality sector, in which they’ve proven to be very good,” said Honorary Consul of the Republic of the Philippines, Davor Štern.
Štern added that in the beginning, Croatia was primarily a transit country for Filipino workers heading elsewhere, but as more and more time passes, more of them realise that Croatia is a place to remain.
“They’ve been well received here. Their employers and co-workers value them very much and communicate well with them. So there’s no problem at all with the thousands of Filipino nationals working in Croatia,” emphasised Ṣ̌tern.
Currently, there are slightly less than 10,000 Filipino workers in Croatia. The president of the Croatian Association of Employers (HUP), Irena Weber, noted that communication has taken place in order to speed up the process of issuing permits for Filipino citizens here.
“Given that the Croatian economy is growing at a strong rate and we have the largest number of employees in history, the need for labour is enormous. One of the most numerous are workers from the Philippines, who have proven to be exceptionally good,” said Weber.
State Secretary Ivan Vidiṣ̌ also mentioned the changes in the Law on Foreigners and the extension of work permits to three years. He also discussed the state’s efforts to make the labour market as organised and high-quality as possible, and the system of importing workers as safe as possible.
“Filipino workers in Croatia are interested in staying here. When their work permit periods are extended, I believe that it will give them time integrate better. In addition, it’s important for us that they’re informed about all their rights and obligations before their arrival and that we continue to protect Filipino workers from the small number of employers who want to exploit them”, said Vidiṣ̌.
The summit was also attended by the Philippine Minister of Migrant Workers, Hans Leo Cacdac, who believes that the Croatian market is attractive for Filipino workers.
“We want to make sure Filipino workers in Croatia are safe and ensure that illegalities don’t occur, such as the charging of expenses to workers that the employer should pay and the illegal bringing in of Filipino workers,” said Cacdac.
