Foreigners Act amendments spark heated debate in Sabor

The final draft of amendments to the Foreigners Act sparked heated debate in parliament on Wednesday.

Although official figures show a decline in the number of foreign workers, MPs from Most accused the government of “population replacement.”

“You’ve imported population replacement: 450,000 new work permits in five years, and a total of 750,000 permits for foreign workers,” said Most MP Miro Bulj.

“The problem is not the man who comes here to make an honest living. The problem is when you turn that man into a tool to lower the cost of labor and tell Croatian workers that if they don’t accept lower wages, someone else will,” said Most MP Božo Petrov.

The ruling majority said its migration policy is well balanced.

“The government is managing the labor market in Croatia. Employment has never been higher and unemployment has never been lower, while both median and average wages are rising month by month,” responded HDZ MP Marin Piletić.

Hrvoje Zekanović of HDS, a member of the governing majority, accused Most MPs of hypocrisy.

“My dear friends from Most, your homes are being built by workers from Uzbekistan, your cleaners are Nepalese, and your nannies are Filipino. Shame on you,” he said.

The opposition on the left said the policy is harmful to Croatian workers.

“For people forced to go abroad because jobs in their field pay no more than the minimum wage, this is not a technical issue. It is a matter of survival,” said SDP MP Mišo Krstićević.

“We continue to reject a labor market model that lowers the price of labor and exploits both domestic and foreign workers,” said Možemo! MP Jelena Miloš.

The proposed law has already drawn attention for introducing a Croatian language requirement as a condition for extending residence and work permits.

“This law was not drafted in haste. It aims to manage the labor market and reflects the new reality with clear rules for employers, stronger worker protections, tighter conditions for hiring foreign workers, and a stronger emphasis on integration, especially language learning,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Davor Božinović.