The corona crisis has negatively affected all the world’s economies and they are now looking for the ways that might help them return to the old levels of production, as quickly and as safely as possible. In the neighboring Croatia, they are seriously considering the German model of “Kurzarbeit”, i.e. a reduced working week, which helped many work places there to survive.
In order to recover from the corona crisis, the economies are sticking to models that proved to be efficient in previous financial crises. One of them is the “short-time working”, helping workers keep their jobs and companies not lose quality staff and trained workforce who would be hard to find in the case of recovery. The idea is that companies keep on working and covering their workers’ wages four days a week, while the fifth day (which is a day-off) is covered by the government. During the previous crises about 1.5 million German workers (in 2008) and seven million (during the ongoing crisis) benefitted from it. However, according to the experts, a scheme like this wouldn’t be feasible in Serbia – no matter how good it may sound. “Some solutions that are possible in rich and developed European countries are not possible here because we still don’t have a level of economy enabling our government to provide so massive subsidies,” the President of the Employers’ Association of Serbia, Atanackovic, told us. He claims that similar recovery models are easy to apply in rich countries, such as Norway, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, but in Serbia which is much poorer, it is simply impossible. The European Union will use huge funds, going up to 1.5 billion euros, to help the economy of the Eurozone. A part of that money will be given to the neighboring Croatia as well and it will certainly help its economy. It is true that Balkan countries which do not make part of the Union yet will also receive some aid, but it will be ten times less than the one granted to Croatia as a member of the EU”.
On the other hand, the economist Aleksandar Stevanovic points out that “the government money does not fall from the trees and therefore one must bear in mind that not all the companies need an equal support. “The question” he says “is how to define the criteria entitling you to the assistance. Some need more help, some less and those who benefitted from the crisis don’t need it at all. It is indisputable that the government should continue to support business, but they should do it in accordance with their possibilities. The real question now is how to determine who exactly needs the help and who doesn’t”. explains Stevanović.
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