As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, after four years of living in Ireland, Ante Svoren, his wife and his children returned home to beautiful Lika three years ago. The family’s reason for leaving, but also for returning, was not economic.
“We didn’t go to Ireland or come home for financial reasons like most people do, we went to see something new, to learn something new, to gain some new knowledge,” says Ante Svoren, the owner of the Sinac pizzeria.
Over in Ireland, Ante Svoren worked as a pizza master with a starting salary of €500 per week, given that Irish employers are extremely appreciative of their workers and make sure to show that where it means the most – in their pockets.
“In this country, people seem to believe that their boss is some sort of god, and the worker is a slave. The first time I went there, I went to work, finished work, and my manager shook my hand firmly and said thank you,” recalled Ante Svoren. After proving his ability to work, his salary rose to a thousand euros per month and he became the co-owner of several pizzerias.
“It’s a little different for them than it is here, when they see that you’re trying hard, they give you an incentive to keep hold of you,” Ante Svoren told HRT.
In Ireland, rent is the highest cost and luxuries such as alcohol or cigarettes also add up. Everything else is cheaper than in Croatia. The costs imposed on employers here, he says, are much too high.
“Too much is taken out of a person’s salary for their healthcare, for their retirement, a guy will say I have a salary of eight or nine thousand kuna, I’ll pay people into their bank accounts, and they end up with five thousand kuna. Over in Ireland, what you’ve earned, you almost get everything, so it’s much better in that regard,” added Ante Svoren.
Now, home in Lika, they have turned a new page business-wise and started an extremely successful catering and hospitality business on the property belonging to his wife’s parents, right next to the Gacka spring and the mill, where they employ eight people and encourage local family farmers to buy local products from them.
For more, check out Made in Croatia.
