Source: Kamatica
Employers testify that almost all economic industries are “holstering” with labor force. Employees seem to have taken the helm from their bosses and now they decide whether or not they want to work for those conditions, for that pay, and ultimately, for that employer.
And no sector of the economy is spared, only those who have more and those who have less problems finding qualified labor. The transport and logistics industry in Serbia belongs to the first group.
“The lack of qualified labor in the road transport sector is alarming. A large number of pensioners work as professional drivers, and the import of labor from India and Sri Lanka is becoming more intense,” warns Goran Aleksić, director of the Road Transport Business Association Srbijatransport, for EURACTIV.
As our interlocutor points out, the road transport sector needs about 120,000 professional drivers.
“The fact that of all licensed drivers, a number of them work other jobs and do not perform the activities of professional drivers, and a significant number of drivers work abroad for employers in EU countries. Estimates are that Serbia lacks over 20,000 professional drivers, which is almost 18 percent and represents one a big problem for functional, efficient and safe public road transport,” says Aleksić.
Although one of the most important reasons for this situation is the salary and working conditions factor, the demographic crisis has a large share in the whole problem. As the results of the 2022 population census showed, there are officially about 400,000 fewer of us, and the unofficial number is, it is suspected, even higher.
And it doesn’t just happen to us. The entire West has a demographic crisis, ie reduced growth of its own population and an aging population.
“The fact is that in Serbia, over 30 percent of licensed drivers are over 50 years old, which is over 50,000 drivers, while less than 10 percent of professional drivers are under 30 years of age. It is an alarming fact that the lack of professional drivers in Europe and the surrounding area is much higher than in Serbia, even though wages there are higher than in Serbia”, says our interlocutor, but also adds that, regardless, those countries are taking concrete measures in the interest of their own economy to overcome the problem of the lack of professional drivers.
By 2030, over 50 percent of drivers will be missing
“All this indicates that now in the Republic of Serbia it is necessary to undertake a series of concrete and urgent systemic measures in the interest of functional mobility and sustainability of public transport. If concrete measures are not taken now, urgently, the problems of labor shortage will grow exponentially due to the biological outflow of workers and the departure of qualified labor force to work outside Serbia, which will result in blocking the logistic flows of the economy and the mobility of society, because by 2030, Serbia will lack more than 50 percent of the professional drivers needed in road transport,” he estimates.
“According to the data, about 80 percent of goods and passengers are transported by road transport in Serbia. The interest of transport companies is the growth of the economy, and in this sense, transport should be seen as a support for development and one of the instruments of competitiveness of the economy, agriculture, trade and industry of the Republic of Serbia”.
Aleksić emphasizes the importance of this industry and how the lack of labor can actually affect product prices.
“In the logistics chains of the flow of goods and supply of citizens, road transport has multiple effects on product prices and timely delivery”.
And how did labor shortages in transportation come about?
As explained by Miloš Turinski from the employment platform Infostud, it has to do with the abolition of military service. As he explained to EURACTIV, since mandatory military service was abolished more than ten years ago, citizens decide to apply for professional categories less and less, primarily because it is an expensive initial investment.
“Such a lack of drivers was not the case 11 years ago due to mandatory military service. In the past, people applied to the army for the categories required to drive trucks and buses. As military service was abolished, people stopped applying and having truck licenses. Just laying it out as such is a big investment and requires an initial investment that many people don’t have.”
That is why, Turinski points out, we have come to the new Law on Traffic Safety, which, in his opinion, has several good points.
“For example, the age limit for taking the test has been lowered, for trucks it is from 21 to 18, and for buses it remains at 21. The plus is that drivers will have to have safety certificates, which will greatly contribute to our safety, we mean who drives us .However, the question of the price for the licenses still remains,” says Turinski.
What are the earnings?
And salaries, as in every sector of the economy, and especially in conditions of growing and persistent inflation, when our wages are worth less and less, are the main factor. For the logistics industry, especially transport, it is true that they are at a premium, due to the nature of the work being done.
“Wages of employees in road transport have a significantly higher growth trend than other wages in Serbia, which is, for example, the case in EU countries. In addition to the increase in the price of wages of employees, there is an evident growth and a great influence of the increase in energy prices, which puts the transport economy of Serbia in a very complex position in in terms of competitiveness and economic sustainability of business,” says Aleksić.
Turinski is somewhat more specific, who emphasizes that the salary framework depends on the work performed, on whether the road traffic is within the borders of Serbia, or whether there are cross-border tours.
“The average number of job advertisements in the transport industry is 66, and the decisive factor is the amount of salary. You can earn up to five times more abroad. Our employers, no matter how hard they try to be as competitive as possible, are still unattainable for some figures. In our country, the average salary ranges from 80,000 to 100,000 dinars. Sometimes there are ads that offer up to 250,000 salaries, but it’s driving outside the country, which is considered hard.”
Yes, the amount of salary is a decisive factor, but, Turisnki points out, the volume of work is also of great importance.
“This is a job that can be stressful, long and tiring, there are trips for several days at a time, separation from family, waiting at borders, etc. Some people don’t like traveling abroad because of all that, so they choose to work within our country.” , says.
How to help transport?
There are ways for this industry, however, not to be among those that are in big trouble due to the small number of interested workforce.
As Turinski from Infostud points out, it could help if the state introduces free programs.
“What we lack are free programs that will be invested in a certain number of future drivers, at least for the initial needs of passing and acquiring the necessary categories. In this way, Serbia will have workers in this sector, at least initially for its own needs.”
According to Aleksić, Srbijatransport, the association headed by him, has for several years been advocating for the correction of fiscal policy and the harmonization of excise duties and taxes on Eurodiesel fuel for licensed public carriers that carry out the commercial activity of public transport of goods and passengers, in accordance and at the level EU Directive 2003/96, to the amount of 39.00 dinars/liter of Eurodiesel fuel, which essentially creates the conditions for the economic sustainability of business operations and the competitiveness of economic entities in public road transport.
“It is necessary to implement mobility projects for public passenger transport and to organize the communal activity of public passenger transport on regional principles in accordance with good practice in the EU. It is necessary to pay special attention and undertake a number of measures in the direction of digitizing transport, applying new technologies and creating conditions for better, higher quality and more functional business organization, as one of the conditions for more rational and efficient use of available resources and capacities”.
Also, according to Aleksić, the construction of transport infrastructure is only a prerequisite for a more efficient and functional public transport system, as one of the important conditions for a better business environment and quality of life for citizens.
“All these measures will ensure economic and create business conditions for more efficient and better work and business of road transport, which creates conditions for further and even more significant growth in the wages of employees in the sector. In addition to this, high-quality training and education of employees is of great importance, as well as attracting young people to work as professional drivers or other necessary occupations in road transport”.
Aleksić also touches on the cost of training in driving schools, which is currently very high.
“The cost of training is very high, so it is necessary to evaluate the system of initial training for professional drivers. Young drivers are necessary for this society and the transport industry, and in this sense we expect that the Government of the Republic of Serbia will introduce a subsidy program for initial training for all candidates for professional drivers who are younger than 30 years old,” concludes our interlocutor.
What are the statistics?
According to data from the Infostud website, so far this year, more than 2,000 advertisements and 2,700 advertisements for the field of transport have been published in the field of logistics alone. Looking through special job positions, drivers, dispatchers, logistics officers, procurement officers, logistics managers and couriers were the most sought after, the data is from the employment platform.
“As for drivers, 2,400 ads were announced for them. Here we have a situation where if we talk about the specific number of applications, it is quite low and amounts to 66, which means that on average so many people applied per one ad, which is very little “, assesses Turinski.
As he reveals to us, there is a shortage of some 15,000 – 20,000 professional drivers on the territory of Serbia, while last year we lacked about 12,000, which indicates a great growth.
Turinski assesses that import is a good option to some extent, but it cannot satisfy all our needs.
“We have a situation with the City Transport Company, which has brought in 30 workers, but they lack 300 drivers. These are some minimal changes that are not enough. I always say about the workers that it is necessary, they mostly fill certain gaps in attempts to solve the problem, and problems should be solved systemically”.