Over 10 years ago, when I first came here I worked as a government contractor in IT. For about five years I worked in nearly every institution in this county. MUP, police and SOA are the main ones where I haven’t been. (Added later – when I thought about it there is also HZZO, Mirovinsko, Porezna, FINA and HZZ. However, in the ones I havent worked I know at least 1 significant worker. At one stage 3 of the now mentioned I knew the director.)
All I can say is that I have seen too much, and its probably best I don’t say too much. However, I will like to talk about hiring of government workers.
In the normal western world people usually are hired by best fit experience, personality etc.(you do get some hires through connections). However, in Croatia the best are usually avoided unless they happen to be in the party or connected to someone. If they aren’t connected or in the party then the best usually get a job that noone wanted or one that noone except themselves was qualified for.
Another problem is that jobs don’t exist and then someone is to be found that fits that vacancy. No, instead some politically connected person needs a job, then they just CREATE that job for them. This means that the best person probably wasn’t chosen.
Why does HDZ do this? Shouldn’t they like a soccer team have the best players so that they get the best results?
No, because its all about control. Especially in small towns where the ratio of government work is high compared to private sector work, employment is used as a form of control.
HDZ often hires people who arent the best for a job as they then psychologically control them. Often these people know they don’t deserve the job so they psychogically think HDZ gave them the job. Come election time HDZ OWNS these voters.
I had a guy working with us for awhile and he basically said it, “I didn’t learn in school so I have to find a job through connections. As for you, you learnt so you don’t have to.” Thats basically the way it goes, reward those that don’t deserve it and they will be more loyal than those that do. A person that deserves the job won’t think HDZ gave them a job, they will just think the government employed them.
This hiring practice actually magnifies itself as we move up the HDZ hierarchy. Managers who come across someone that is better than them won’t hire them for fear they will take their job. HDZ also has the practice of promoting people who arent the best so they will be more loyal. As these people move up the hierarchy they pull up the less threating people with them.
So is it any wonder why we always get corrupt ministers? Also HDZ corruption starts from the bottom. A corrupt person that moves up the hierarchy pulls up the corrupt people with them or corrupts those below them so that noone will dob them in.
So with this NEGATIVE SELECTION you end up with a hierarchy of incompetence and corruption.
I remember the main contract we had when I was in IT was with the Ministry of Public Administration (Državana Uprava) which now falls under County administration, workers there were preselected. However my ex boss requested that 3 were preselected so that we could at least choose which was the best candidate of the 3.
The reason I brought this topic up is because it leads into another couple of following ones, so just in case for those that don’t know how it is with government employment.
Don’t get me wrong there are good HDZ workers, however, in my experience the above is probably the more common.
Also often these preselected people end up being OK workers once they learn the job. However, I have found they have an attitude problem as they feel like they are untouchable as they have connections and they feel they don’t have to prove themselves through work.
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