Agricultural producers and seasonal workers in 15 local governments across Serbia will be able to get acquainted first hand with the simplified procedure of engaging in seasonal jobs through the portal and mobile application, because Agro Info Caravan, organized by NALED, arrives in their city with the support of German Development Cooperation.
After the successfully implemented reform which introduced electronic registration of seasonal workers, promotion on the field is key to understanding the benefits of legal engagement, both for employers and workers, NALED announced.
– The final results of the reform are a satisfied economy and workers. Undeclared work in this area decreased by 37% during the first year alone. So far, about 44,000 seasonal workers have been registered, whose rights have been protected and budget revenues have been increased by 4 million euros. Starting from December 24, during nine days, we will present the procedure, advantages of electronic application and distribute promotional materials to all interested representatives of local authorities, producers and seasonal workers – says Tisa Causevic, head of the Food and Agriculture Unit at NALED.
Agro Info Caravan will visit Zrenjanin (24.12), Nis (25.12), Cacak and Kraljevo (28.12), Subotica and Backa Topola (29.12), Indjija and Sremska Mitrovica (05.01), Grocka (06.01), Svilajnac and Jagodina (11.01), Zajecar and Negotin (13.01) and Sombor and Vrbas (15.01). In order to respect epidemiological measures and safety, the presentation of the system will be held outdoors. Information on the exact date and location can be obtained from the local government.
Until 2019, hiring seasonal workers in agriculture implied a complex procedure that required the employer to set aside about five hours a month to hire one seasonal worker. Due to that, on an annual level, as many as 95% of seasonal workers in agriculture worked in the gray zone. Today, agricultural producers can, through the web portal www.sezonskiradnici.gov.rs and the first mobile application for state administration services, register seasonal workers in just 5 minutes, and in addition to companies, employers can also be owners of agricultural farms.
In addition to employers, the new system has provided a number of benefits for seasonal workers, who are able to exercise their rights to occupational health insurance, pension and disability insurance for each day of employment, as well as maintaining the status of unemployed and previously acquired the right to financial social assistance.
The initiative to simplify this process was launched by a group of agricultural companies from Srem, together with the National Alliance for Local Economic Development in 2015. After the exchange of experiences with the countries in the region, the initial concept of the reform was developed, which was implemented in cooperation with the Government of Serbia and with the support of the German Development Cooperation.
Many years of efforts have resulted in the Law on Simplified Employment in Seasonal Jobs in Certain Activities, which was adopted in June 2018. This created the conditions for the development of an electronic system for registering seasonal workers, which began operating in January next year, eKapija reports.
