Serbia could exceed Croatian model by introducing electronic vouchers for seasonal workers in agriculture. It could, in the short term, diminish the effects of so-called grey economy and channel it into the legal economy. It could be applied to some 100,000 seasonal workers, which is the estimated number in this sector, according to data from the last available survey made by national employment service.
The voucher system in Croatia has been functioning successfully for four years, as showed by a study visit to Croatian institutions and economy organised by NALED. “Regulations in Serbia do not take into account the specificity of seasonal jobs, so that employers are expected to go through the registration process for hundreds of workers usually to periods of one month, although due to weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances it is not known if and how much these workers will work. For these reasons, 60% of employees in agriculture are working illegally. The voucher system would drastically simplify the procedure – it is enough that the employee obtains the booklet in which the employer at the beginning of each working day glues voucher bought from the state and this way employer pre-pays all the contributions. At the end of the season booklet is carried to the pension fund” – says Branislav Nedimović, Vice President of NALED Managing Board and the Mayor of Sremska Mitrovica.
