The Croatian Youth Network and civil society organisations issued an open letter on Tuesday following the statement by Finance Minister Slavko Linic that more than 24,000 public-sector employees working on fixed-term contracts would be laid off, warning that it would be mainly young people who would be made redundant.
The letter cited indicators according to which Croatia was one of the European countries with the highest unemployment rate among young people. It noted that many of the people who had found employment in the public sector in the last two years were hired for projects funded by the European Union.
At the time of public spending cuts, EU funds can be the only source of income for activities which maintain the present level of services or which raise them to a higher level. It is an opportunity for public servants to receive additional training and for new organisational units to support the activities of the private and civil sector, the letter said.
