The Protection of the Unemployed in Croatia

U Hrvatskoj postoji značajan problem strukturne nezaposlenosti. Stoga u fokusu budućih mjera, između ostaloga, značajno mjesto mora dobiti povećanje zapošljivosti tražitelja zaposlenja, posebno najugroženijih skupina na tržištu rada. Pritom se pod zapošljivošću pojedinca podrazumijeva njegova sposobnost da nađe svoje mjesto na tržištu rada, a obuhvaća najširi spektar aktivnosti – od stručnog osposobljavanja do stvaranja svijesti o stalnim promjenama na tržištu rada, izgrađivanja povjerenja u vlastite sposobnosti za prilagođavanje nastalim promjenama, potrebe za pokretljivošću i dr. Odgovornost za unapređivanje vlastite zapošljivosti nezaposlene osobe dijele s vladom i lokalnim vlastima. Pritom je uloga vlade da odredi pravila igre i pruži pomoć u organizaciji partnerstva na lokalnoj razini. Vlada također mora stvarati povoljno makroekonomsko orkuženje i podupirati socijalnu koheziju. U socioekonomskom smislu vrlo je značajno socijalnu pomoć zamijeniti radnim pristupom odnosno tzv. welfare pristup što je moguće više mijenjati workfare pristupom.When planning the employment policy in Croatia, it is necessary to move away from passive measures (financial support), but to put the stress instead on the active fight against unemployment, primarily by improving sustainable employability and by opening up new workplaces. Clearly, when doing this, it is essential to exploit our previous experiences, which means to consider critically the efficiency of the active policy of the labour market to date, and to direct funds where they will be most effective from both an economic and a social aspect. Besides massive unemployment, Croatia has a significant problem in structural unemployment. Therefore, the emphasis of future measures must also be placed on increasing the employability of those seeking work, particularly of the most affected groups on the labour market. The employability of an individual is his or her ability to find a place (niche) on the labour market, and this includes the broadest range of activities – from professional training to the development of the awareness of the continuous changes on the labour market, the building of confidence in the individual\u27s abilities to adapt to the emerging changes, the need to be flexible, etc. The unemployed share responsibility for improving their own employability with the government and the local authorities. The role of the government lies in establishing the rules of the game and in providing assistance in the organisation of partnerships at a local level. The government also has to create a favourable macroeconomic environment and support social cohesion. In a socio-economic sense, it is very important to replace the welfare approach with a workfare approach. In doing this, it is necessary to recognise excluded citizens as active citizens with rights and obligations, and not as passive receivers of services. This includes individual work with, and not for, people, with the objective of training them to manage their lives and to seize the opportunities that are offered to them. Modest experiences already exist in the form of public services, which can, with some modifications, be continued and further improved