Slovakia and Serbia will cooperate more intensively in detecting illegal employment, as Labour, Social Affairs and Family Minister Ján Richter and his Serbian counterpart Zoran Dordević inked a protocol on cooperation to this effect in Bratislava on Monday. The document is aimed at suppressing the illegal employment of foreign workers in both countries. According to the latest statistics, there are currently around 10,800 Serbian citizens working in Slovakia, of which 8,500 are authorised to work on the basis of a so-called information card, while 2,300 work on a permit issued by individual labour offices. Most Serbs are employed in the automotive and electrical engineering industries in western Slovakia.
"Given the economic situation and current state of the labour market, we'll be in need of skilled labour. We're interested in providing suitable working conditions for citizens of Serbia, as well as social security in terms of accommodation," said Labour Minister Richter at a joint press conference. Richter went on to say that illegal work has been detected at 24 companies, with 12 other firms still being checked in this regard. However, it is mainly various intermediary firms and agencies based in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary that are behind illegal employment. Nonetheless, if it is found out that a Serbian worker has been employed illegally, he or she will be expelled from the country and no further proceedings are taken against the agency.
In line with a social security agreement between Slovakia and Serbia, as soon as an employee from Serbia comes to Slovakia, he or she is entitled to the same statutory guarantees stemming from the Slovak Labour Code as Slovak citizens. According to Ján Richter, it is to prevent social dumping and cheap labour.
