PITANJE STRANE RADNE SNAGE U INDUSTRIJI BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE (1918–1941)

Abstract

Based on available sources and literature, the paper analyzes the issue of foreign labor in the industry of Bosnia and Herzegovina between the two world wars. The appearance of foreign workers are tied tothe Austro-Hungarian period (1878-1918), when a large industrial sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina was erected with the help of foreign investments. The issue of foreign labor was updated after the end of The First World War and the entry of Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the newly formed Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The new state administration immediately approached the persecution of foreign labor and the legal restriction on its arrival, regardless of the consequences for the industry. It quickly turned out that the advance measures were wrong and had negative effects, as foreigners occupied jobs in an industry that required proper professional qualifications, and which domestic workers could not fill due to lack of education. During the interwar period, the labor market permanently and noticeably lacked a qualified workforce, and the number of unemployed unqualified workers in all branches of industry and crafts grew steadily. Some liberalization for the arrival of a foreign workforce that the state later facilitated was of little use to employers, due to the procedures and costs associated with them, and the slow pace and corruption in the state administration. Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, foreign workers, qualified workers, emigration.