Labour shortages have become an acute problem in the youngest member state of the EU. After the country’s accession to the EU in 2013 workers got free access to better paid jobs in western Europe which caused a brain-drain. Another cause for the shortage lies in the (too) early retirements. These were used as a means to buy social peace after the breakup of Yugoslavia and the privatization of many state-owned companies. Now employers recruit more foreign workers to fill vacancies. These come from the countries of the former Yugoslavia, but the suggestion is to look for workers in India, Pakistan and the Philippines. The trade union movement opposes this easy attraction of foreign workers and suggests to pay higher wages in better, longterm contracts.
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For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org.
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