German Companies Against Limiting of Number of Workers from the Balkans

German companies have expressed dissatisfaction over their government's decision to limit the inflow of labor force from the Western Balkans to 25,000 a year.

They say that the decree on the Western Balkans, which has been in effect since January 2016, has opened possibilities for employment of people from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia in Germany and at the same time reduced illegal immigration. They add that it is a successful model of the German migration policy, Handelsblatt writes.

The daily further says that “additional labor force has not only benefited companies, but also German social insurance funds”.

The share of the unemployed and welfare recipients among those arriving to Germany based on the decree on the Western Balkans is the lowest compared to all other migrant groups. Citizens from the Western Balkans also have more stable employment and salaries.

More than a half of them (54%) work as experts, that is, qualified workers, whereas 42% work as so-called auxiliary workers.

Handelsblatt points out that “there are especially many employees from the Western Balkans in Germany in the construction industry, which strongly advocated the extension of the decree”.

The Central Association of the German Building Industry (ZDB) estimates that around 50,000 construction workers from the Western Balkans are working on German construction sites, including rebar fixers, which are hard to find in Germany.

German government

Central Association of the German Building Industry

ZDB

labor force from the Western Balkans

labor force

decree on the Western Balkans

job opportunities in Germany

illegal immigration

experts

qualified workers

auxiliary workers

construction sites

rebar fixers