Deputy PM: 20,000 Public Sector Workers Need to Move to Private Sector

Croatia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds says that at least 20,000 of the country’s public service workers need to move to private sector jobs.

“The budget deficit of 17 billion was the result of the government pulling out everything from the closet that was hidden, and because there are costs that can not be avoided, such as those related to the European Union and interest. There will be no more lying, we pulled everything out, while the previous government hid the debts,” said Branko Grcic at a the ‘Big Plans’ conference.

Grcic says that there are far too many people in Croatia employed in the public sector and reforms in public administration are fast approaching. “In the education sector there are around 8,000 people employed as cleaners. How many of them then in the health sector? The ratio of public and private will change, but it takes time,” said Grcic, adding that around 20,000 workers in the public sector need to move to the private sector. With the unemployment rate at a record high in Croatia, it will be easier said than done.