Minister of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Marin Piletić visited Bjelovar-Bilogora County on Wednesday where, in the company of Mayor Zlatko Pavičić and County Prefect Marko Marušić, he toured the construction site of the future Center for the Elderly, but he also used this working visit to present to the public the key new developments related to the regulation of the growing number of foreign workers in Croatia.

Given the fact that the Croatian labor market has stabilized with the help of workers from abroad, of whom there are currently around one hundred and fifty thousand in our country, the relevant ministry has prepared amendments to the Foreigners Act that bring a significant novelty in the form of the obligation to learn the Croatian language.

As Minister Piletić explained, out of the total number of foreign workers only twelve thousand come from member states of the European Union, therefore the need for better integration of the other groups into Croatian society emerges as a logical step.

The draft law stipulates that all foreign nationals who spend one year working in Croatia will have to master the basics of the Croatian language because this is a prerequisite for better and easier communication with employers and for safer performance of work tasks.

Although the announcement of the legislative amendments attracted great media attention, the primary reason for the minister's arrival in this area was to inspect the progress of works on the construction of the new Center for the Elderly in Grubišno Polje, which represents one of eighteen such capital projects currently being implemented throughout the Republic of Croatia. It is a modern institution which, upon its completion, planned no later than 2026, will be able to provide accommodation and round-the-clock care for one hundred users, thereby significantly raising the standard of living of the elderly population in this part of Croatia.