The Agency for Labor and Employment of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has facilitated the employment of over 7.300 medical professionals with secondary education in Germany since 2013.
However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as it is estimated that many more with higher education have also left.
The Agency for Labor and Employment of BiH confirmed that they facilitated the employment of 118 BiH citizens in Germany in the first five months of this year.
“All employment we facilitate is for people with completed secondary medical school, either general or pediatric care,” said the Agency for Labor and Employment of BiH.
Union representatives from BiH say they are not surprised and consider these figures alarming, and they are also concerned that Germany is receiving a finished product that BiH educates. They add that BiH workers have proven to be excellent, which Germany takes full advantage of.
Zijad Latifovic, president of the Independent Professional Union of Health Workers in the Federation of BiH (FBiH), stated that BiH simultaneously lacks personnel with secondary education.
He emphasizes that BiH workers going to Germany receive numerous benefits not available in BiH.
“First and foremost, there are different working conditions, which include having the necessary equipment and tools for working with patients, and not being blamed for missing resources. In Germany, no one blames the nurse, the doctor, or the director of the institution for the lack of medicines, devices, or, for example, long waiting lists,” said Latifovic.
Secondly, he notes, BiH salaries cannot compete with those in Western Europe, as they are significantly lower.
“Thirdly, they have a secure future there, with opportunities for professional development and advancement,” Latifovic highlights.
Elvedin Vatres, president of the Professional Union of Nurses and Technicians of Canton Sarajevo (CS), who is also a technician, says he has been in the profession for over 30 years, and when he hears the number of medical professionals leaving, he wonders “what is happening.”
“And then you come to realize that it is not just about financial aspects, but more about working conditions and the treatment of nurses, who are always heroes in white when needed, but are forgotten in an instant when the situation changes,” Vatres emphasized.
He says his colleagues, when it comes down to it, most often decide to leave because of the working conditions.
“A nurse is born first, and then learns and gets educated. What hurts me the most? That no one pays attention to those who are leaving. You see, our people are very smart and capable, and then you are more valued in a foreign country, and naturally, you tend to go there,” Vatres added.
Mirko Serbedzija, president of the Union of Nurses and Technicians of the Republika Srpska (RS), says that if wages for this cadre are not increased by the New Year, there will be no more arguments to convince them to stay.
“For the past 10 years, we have constantly warned that there will be an exodus of these workers. What is worrying is that we now boast in health institutions about getting good retraining because we do not have enough qualified workforce that has regularly completed medical school,” Serbedzija said.
