Nezavisne novine: In the Federation of BiH there are currently 343.317 unemployed persons, has been said by Miralem Šarić, director of the Employment Agency of the FBiH.
He says that since the beginning of this year by the end of March, 26.185 persons have registered in the evidence of unemployed, among whom there are 15.586 of those who have lost their job because of the crisis.
Despite of those figures, he still suggests that we should not see everything in black. He mentioned some of the projects of hiring of young people, disabled, older than 40, which will be realized despite of burdening of Service by social giving.
Šarić is not aware that there are some war-veterans, who are in the bureaus for employment, and who work illegally, and that there are some signers, who earn by singing, but at the same time are being registered as unemployed.
NN: How many unemployed there were evident at the beginning of year, and how many there are now?
ŠARIĆ: In January, there were 342.174 persons, while in March the number of such persons was 343.317. Since the question of releasing of workers due to recession has been repeating a lot lately, we can say that the difference between unemployed in January and March this year is not drastic. Global economic crisis obviously did not pass by our country, however, besides the negative trends and diagrams on condition on work market, there are also some positive ones, which should be mentioned as well.
NN: Can you say how many people have lost their job?
ŠARIĆ: Since the beginning of this year until March, 26.185 persons have got registered in the evidence of unemployed in the FBiH, out of whom 15.586 of them by the end of their work relation. It should also be mentioned that in the same period from the evidence of unemployed in the FBiH, there have been 21.510 erased persons, out of which 10.883 were employed persons. I want to point out that a number of unemployed in March of this year in relation of February has got reduced by 85 persons. Those are the diagrams we are constantly showing as well, but unfortunately, they are not being heard well in public.
NN: When speaking of funds, how much has been stipulated for hiring in this year and is it enough?
ŠARIĆ: The Federal employment agency and cantonal employment services, as it has been known, are burdened by a lot of social giving. By having this in mind, our space related to creating developmental projects and implementing measures of active policy of hiring, is much shortened. We are trying, in accordance to our objective possibilities, to contribute fully to a better functioning of the work market in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
NN: In what way?
ŠARIĆ: In this year there is a stipulated realization of several projects, and one of them is co-financing of hiring of persons with disability and other harder hirable groups of unemployed, then co-financing of hiring of young persons without work experience, as well as the program of self-employing and hiring of returners.
NN: What other projects do you plan to realize?
ŠARIĆ: We should also mention the pilot project "Uspjet ću" (I will succeed), which implies personal specialization of 60 higher educated persons (trainers), in duration of four weeks, in order for them to successfully include themselves in the work market. By this project, there has been stipulated practical work of trainers with other hardly hirable persons in duration of six months in the frame of specially prepared seminars and workshops (active job search and informing). The plan is to encompass through professional workshops more than 5.000 unemployed persons, co-financing the program of qualifications, pre-qualifications and support to hiring of certain target groups.
NN: From one side, evident are the problems by paying of remunerations for unemployed war-veterans, and from the other side the departmental minister claims that there are war-veterans registered in bureaus, who work illegally, some of them even abroad. How many there are such cases and are there any sanctions applied?
ŠARIĆ: The Federal Employment Agency does not have that data. If you have such information, we ask you to deliver it to the cantonal employment services, so such cases can be verified and sanctions applied.
NN: Are there still those cases of some singers or painters at bureaus, while they earn a lot of money for their work?
ŠARIĆ: We do not have the information that persons, who earn a lot of money, are registered in bureaus. In the context of implementing the Program of re-registration of unemployed persons, which has been implemented last year, there has been intensified cooperation with competent institutions in order to establish more effective and efficient work and avoiding the misuse of status of unemployed person.
NN: With which institutions have you intensified cooperation?
ŠARIĆ: It mostly relates to improving the cooperation and exchange of data and information with the Tax Administration due to the need of verifying data on revenues, and some other institutions as well. This means that if the tax administrations of employment services receive a data that certain person has earned a monthly income higher than 25% of an average salary during last year, that person will be erased from the evidence of unemployed.
NN: How much do the bureaus take care of persons, who have been registered there for a long time and who truly do not have a job? Do they have a priority in hiring, because that is not really obvious in practice?
ŠARIĆ: In realization of measures of active hiring policy, which are being implemented by public hiring services in the FBiH, priority by hiring is being given to disabled persons. This has also been confirmed by the Law on Mediation in Hiring and Social Security of Unemployed Persons. However, we are trying through our measures, in accordance to the Strategy of hiring in the FBiH 2009-2013, to encompass some other target groups as well, as are the young people without work experience, people older than 40, returners and other hardly hirable groups. I have already mentioned the programs we are planning to implement in this year. They will mostly encompass hardly hirable categories of unemployed.
NN: In what way can bureaus help in hiring, except for the fact that they are just evidencing unemployed?
ŠARIĆ: How much can employment services be helpful at hiring speaks the data that in 2008, besides the obligations related to social giving, by the measures of active hiring policy we have succeeded to hire almost 5.200 of unemployed from the category of older than 40, returners, persons with disability, young people without work experience. I am sure we could achieve much more if the public employment services get positioned as public employment services in regional countries, and especially the countries of the EU, or when we would get ensured a normal functioning. Besides all the obligations related to social giving, we have planned in this year to direct a part of funds to the measures of active hiring policy in order to preserve the developmental function of public employment services, as an influential factor in the work market.
NN: How to stimulate the employers to hire people older than 40 or disabled persons?
ŠARIĆ: By realization of the Second project of support to hiring, which has been implemented by the Federal agency and cantonal employment services in cooperation with the Unit for implementation of projects of socio-economic support, training and pre-hiring (PIU SESER) of the Federal Ministry of Work and Social Policy. In the period from July 1st, 2005 to September 30, 2008, we have succeeded to hire around 7.000 persons older than 40, who have been registered at bureaus, as well as hardly hirable categories. Out of that, only in 2008, there have been employed 1.697 persons by employers, 443 have started their own business, and 52 have passed the training. However, general reduction of unemployment depends on general economy growth, so the success of our well created hiring programs largely depends on macro-economic moving.
NN: Can those, who have graduated by Bologna process, apply at the work market?
ŠARIĆ: I think that persons, who have graduated by Bologna process, should equally apply at the work market. Through participation in work market their status and position will be crystallized well.