The draft budget act for 2023 and the draft law on special solutions for the implementation of the budget act for 2023 were the subject of a meeting of the Social Dialogue Council, which took place on 7 September 2022. The government side was represented by: Piotr Patkowski – Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Finance, Dariusz Piontkowski – Secretary of State in the Ministry of Education and Science, Jacek Żalek – Secretary of State in the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, Jan Kanthak – Secretary of State in the Ministry of State Assets, Piotr Bromber – Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Health, Kamila Król – Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Development and Technology, Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński – Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Health  Ministry of Climate and Environment.

Deputy Minister P. Patkowski presented important macroeconomic data contained in the draft budget act for 2023. It assumes that real GDP will grow by 4.6% in 2022 and will grow by 1.7% in 2023. The unemployment rate is projected to be 5.0% at the end of 2022 and 5.4% at the end of 2023. He stressed that the planned level of state budget revenues in 2023 will be conditioned by the current economic situation and the adopted macroeconomic estimate. It is assumed that in 2023 tax revenues will increase by 17.4% in nominal terms. Then he pointed out that the draft adopted a forecast of state budget revenues in the amount of PLN 604.4 billion, expenses were planned in the amount of PLN 669.4 billion. and the budget deficit is to amount to no more than PLN 65 billion. In addition, the necessary funds have been secured for the continuation of the existing priority activities m.in: funds for key social programs related to family support, valorization of pension benefits from March 1, 2023 and the 13th pension, increase in financing of defense needs Polish, increase in expenditures on financing health care, increase in salaries in the state budget sphere at the level of 7.8%, increase in salaries for teachers at the level of 7.8%.

Then Deputy Minister P. Patkowski presented the most important changes proposed in the draft act on special solutions for the implementation of the Budget Act for 2023. It is proposed, m.in, to set the salaries of judges, prosecutors and other staff in 2023; freezing of social benefits, i.e. at the statutory level in force for 2020. In the case of the company’s social benefits fund, the basis for calculating the write-off will be the average monthly salary in the national economy in the second half of 2019. In addition, the proposed regulation introduces, m.in, provisions on debt management of the State Treasury and the functioning of the Social Insurance Fund. Provisions on the implementation of state budget expenditures and changes related m.in higher education, the Solidarity Fund or the Labour Fund have been included.

The social side, referring to the presented bills, drew attention m.in to the need to change the indicators in relation to the proposal for the minimum wage for 2023 as well as the increase in wages in the sphere of public finances. They raised the issue of teachers’ salaries as well as funds for health protection. In addition, attention was drawn to the issue of freezing the write-off to the Company Social Benefits Fund. Reference was made to reduced funds for active forms of counteracting unemployment. In addition, the issue of funds from the National Recovery Plan, the impact of refugees on the labor market and related expenses, and high tax revenues were raised. The issue of seniority pensions was also raised.

Source: https://www.gov.pl/web/dialog/posiedzenie-plenarne-rady-dialogu-spolecznego1

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.