Novo mesto/Črnomelj, 04 July (STA) - Major companies in the south-eastern regions of Dolenjska and Bela Krajina, which have been struggling with staff shortages recently, welcomed the lifting of labour market restrictions on Croatian workers as of July.
The Novo Mesto-based Revoz, a car assembly plant owned by Renault-Nissan which employs 3,400 people, told the STA that free access to the Slovenian market for Croatians was a relief for the companies in need of staff.
Revoz plans no additional hiring at this point. The company already has some employees from Croatia and will look for candidates in the border region, if necessary.
The mobile homes maker Adria Dom, which employs 220 people in Kanižarica near Črnomelj, told the STA that because of its proximity to the Croatian border the company is open to hiring workers from Croatia.
It plans to expand production and headcount in September and will look for staff also in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Črnomelj-based exhaust maker Akrapovič also welcomed the opening of the labour market, expressing hope that it would find the profiles it has been unable to find in Slovenia, for example welders.
Akrapovič foremost expects the change will cut red tape. The company has already published calls for application in Croatia, works closely with the Employment Service and was presented at an employment fair in Croatia's border town of Karlovac last year.
Representatives of construction companies, meanwhile, expect no major changes. Edo Škufca of the Novo Mesto-based builder CGP and the head of Kolektor CPG, Kristjan Mugerli, said that Croatia too struggled with a deficiency of bricklayers and engineers and that the pay was not much lower than in Slovenia.
The pharmaceutical company Krka also welcomed the lifting of restrictions, expecting even more job applicants. "In case we will be hiring, we will include all appropriate candidates, including from Croatia, in our selection process."
Krka currently employs almost 4,700 people and plans to raise its headcount by 2% this year.
The automotive industry supplier TVP, employing 1,250 people, expects the liberalisation of the market to significantly shorten the employment procedures and allow for more flexibility.
So far, the company had no problems finding new staff and in the future it will also be open to Croatian workers, especially technical staff.
At the end of last year, 6,345 Croatian citizens were employed in Slovenia, a tenth of all workers from abroad. Some 1,200 of them worked in construction. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry predicts the total number will rise by only another 1,000-2,000 in three years.