Plenković: Higher defense spending is not at the expense of health, social services and education

A session of the Economic and Social Council (GSV) was held today. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković reviewed the achievements of social dialogue to date, the further development of the labor market and entrepreneurial environment, as well as the future of financing with money from the European Union.

“We were faced with a false narrative that managed to take root. Numerous false theses that have been floating in the ether for months and years, including the one that European funds will evaporate, and all this at a time when the European Commission came out with the largest EU budget proposal in history so far of two trillion euros, which are now on the agenda and it is certain that the funds will not disappear, but will be there, there will be some for Croatia as well, but the structure of the budget is different,” emphasized Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

“Through the amendments to the Aliens Act, as the President announced, we have a tendency to reduce the number of new residence and work permits, and to increase the number of permits for the extension of those workers who are already in Croatia, who are working, who have received a permit for one year and can now receive it for three years. With these proposed amendments, we also include a minimum level of knowledge of the Croatian language,” said Marin Piletić, Minister of Labor, the Pension System, Family and Social Policy.

Plenković: Higher defense spending will not be at the expense of health, social services and education

“Increased defense spending will not be at the expense of education, social services, health, justice and other things,” he said. He cited the figure of 81,000 unemployed, assessing this as a very small number, and the figure of more than 1,750,000 employed, "which means that in the past two years we have created 100,000 completely new jobs, which is not small for a country like Croatia".

“The number of unemployed has decreased by 131,000 since the beginning of our mandate,” the Prime Minister boasted, recalling that at the beginning there were more than 232,000.

“This means that the labor market is vibrant, that active employment policy measures are yielding results also due to the activities of the Croatian economy,” he emphasized.

“The average net salary is 1,456 euros, the gross minimum wage is 1,050 euros, and our ambition is to reach an average salary of 1,600 euros by the end of the mandate,” reminded Plenković. He also announced changes to the laws for next year that will improve the labor market, including changes to the Aliens Act, the Labor Act, and the Act on Suppression of Undeclared Work.

We are trying to pursue a policy that contributes to the strength of Croatia

“I think we are on the right track,” assessed the Prime Minister, adding that work will also be done on strengthening the legal system and productivity, demographic revitalization, digitalization and education.

“We are trying to pursue a comprehensive policy that contributes to the strength of Croatia as a responsible member of the EU,” said Plenković.

Minister of Labor Marin Piletić recalled what was done in the past year and announced that next year the growth of salaries and pensions and investments will continue, using all available sources.

He also reported that the new president of the GSV, the current vice president from the Croatian Confederation of Employers and Employees Ivan Mišetić, has been appointed, and the vice presidents are Piletić and, on behalf of the union, Dražen Jović.

Vice president of the GSV Mišetić said that, given the planned growth and expected exit from the world of work, we will need more and more labor.

“Over the next five years, more than 100,000 workers will be needed, who will only be able to come from outside because there are none here,” he assessed.

“Trade unions cannot focus only on the cost of labor and inflation growth, but also on the overall standard of living of employees in the public and state sectors and all Croatian citizens,” said GSV vice president Sanja Šprem.

“Constant wage growth is of key importance, but it is futile if greed and arrogance in price increases "eat it up". One thing is inflation growth, and another is going to the store,” she warned.

Source: HRT