JARE, WELL DONE!

Gajić owns two band saws, woodworking machines, one of which he rented to a business partner from Italy who, due to business problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, had to lay off ten workers while retaining five. However, those who were laid off were not unemployed for even a day.

LOZNICA - The coronavirus has brought challenges everywhere, even affecting the operations of private entrepreneurs who, in an unprecedented situation, need to survive, retain workers, and ensure they are paid, which is anything but easy.

While many are puzzled about how to retain workers, Milorad Gajić, the owner of the company 'Jare Prom' from Lipnički Šor near Loznica, is not only not considering layoffs but has actually hired new employees.

Gajić has two band saws for wood processing, one of which he leased to his business partner from Italy who, due to the pandemic, could not retain all his workers.

• We worked together for ten years, but the Italian, due to the situation with the virus, could not keep all the workers.

Of those ten, I immediately employed seven at my company 'Jare Prom', and I will hire the remaining three as soon as their annual leave is over, so they were not unemployed for even a minute.

The situation is complicated, but you can't just lay off people who have been working here for ten years and leave them without a salary, on the streets, especially when they have families and are certainly having a tough time now – says Gajić.

The entrepreneur, who has been in the business for nearly three decades, is involved in wood processing and cutting and exports to former republics. He has now taken out a loan to be able to operate, saying he doesn't need to make a profit in this situation, just to operate liquely until the coronavirus passes.

• Before this situation, I had eight workers, now there are more, and we continue on. These are people from the local area, from Lipnički Šor, but also from neighboring areas, Straža and Lešnica. I have goods, but everything is difficult now.

We keep working, hoping the situation will normalize soon, and then it will be easier for all of us - says the businessman who, as he stated, immediately registered all newly hired workers so they will continue to receive their salaries and support their families during these difficult times.