Municipal companies in Zadar have been unable to fill field roles for months, while there is high interest in administrative positions within the city administration. The largest municipal enterprise, Vodovod, has recently issued three decisions of non-selection for open positions.
Vodovad had sought a plumber, a mechanic, and an electrician for the branches in Nin, Vir, Privlaka, and Vrsi, but no candidates applied for any of the three vacancies. Consequently, the company must re-open the tenders for these roles.
The problem is chronic at Čistoća. Director Ivan John Krstičević stated that they are repeatedly re-issuing tenders for landfill operators, caretakers of the recycling centre, and waste collectors, as they struggle to find staff, with some employees having already left. "If things do not improve, we will have to constantly re-tender," Krstičević told Antenna Zadar.
A similar situation is seen at Eko Zadar, which received only one application for the latest tender. The candidate met the requirements and was immediately hired, but workers had previously left the company, unable to cope with the conditions at the waste management centre in Donji Biljani, particularly the unpleasant odours in the facilities.
The picture is quite different in the city administration: 16 applications were received for the post of assistant in the Department for Municipal Property Management, led by director Tomislav Korona.
The companies hope that salary increases will improve response rates. At Čistoća, wages have already been raised, while at Vodovod, the new job classification is expected to be completed by the end of the summer, pending approval by the trade union, the works council, and the supervisory board.
