What are the advantages of the Serbian market that should attract foreign investors? According to the website of the Development Agency, it is, among other things, a cheap but skilled workforce. However, the Prime Minister claims that Serbia is no longer a country of cheap labor, and when asked why the agency then says otherwise, the Prime Minister has no answer.
Sunday. There is no teaching at the Mechanical School in Pancevo, but the students are there, and they are welcomed by an important guest, who has an encouraging message for them – the future workforce.
“The CTF plant has been opened, a contract has been signed with another, big and important German investor Brose. Between the two investments alone, they give more than 2000 jobs. This mechanical school is becoming an increasingly important school for all of us”, said Brnabic. The Prime Minister adds that the foreign economy has recognized us as a good investment destination and that is why education is a Government priority. And when foreigners are interested in Serbia, one of the places where they can get information is the Serbian Development Agency.
On the agency’s website, one of the other benefits is labor cost. Reportedly, average salaries in Serbia are low enough for the business to be profitable, and the total cost to employers is half that of the Eastern European average. Asked how long cheap labor will be promoted as one of the main factors of Serbian competitiveness, the Prime Minister replies that Serbia is not anymore a country of cheap labor today.
Recent investments, but also announced, are mainly related to low-level technologies that employ low-paid workers, said Tanja Jakobi, executive director of the Policy Research Center.
“The assessment that Serbia is no longer a country of cheap labor is, I suppose, more in line with the Prime Minister’s wishes and with Serbia’s attempts to do something different and step into something better”, Jakobi says.
She adds that Serbia is trying to move to a knowledge-based economy, but apparently not all of them are coordinated, so on the website of the Development Agency we present ourselves as cheap workers. How do young people look at it?
“They are trying to avoid that market either by moving or by staying, but they are hiring in some places that are not actually here in Serbia”, explains Tanja Jakobi. Highlighting low-paid workers to motivate foreign investors is a completely wrong investment policy, which unions have warned for years, says Ranka Savic, president of the Association of Free and Independent Trade Unions.
“All that skilled and highly skilled workforce did not agree and did not want to agree to this policy. They said that we would not work brazenly, that is why they are leaving Serbia, going to the countries of the European Union and the world where their expertise, qualification and knowledge is much more appreciated than in our country”, said Savic.
It is crucial for officials to open as many factories as possible, regardless of whether they are economically justified. She concludes that huge sums are being given from the budget for these purposes, and the employee receives nothing in return.
