What was the theme of the Social Dialogue Council meeting in May 2021?
On 20 May 2021, a plenary meeting of the Social Dialogue Council was held with the Participation of the Prime Minister, Mr Mateusz Morawiecki. The meeting was chaired by Mr Jarosław Gowin, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers, Minister of Development, Labour and Technology.
The meeting was devoted to discussing issues related to the „Polish” programme and the resolutions of the Social Dialogue Council.
In the first part of the meeting, Mr Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister of poland, presented reflections on the Polish Ład programme and declared his willingness to cooperate and dialogue with the social side. He talked about changing the logic of thinking about the state to improve the quality of public services, rebuild the middle class and increase social justice. He announced tax changes to improve the situation of the lowest earners, seek deregulation and minimise the possibility of avoidable tax.
The trade union party expressed concern about the lack of provisions in the Polish Laada concerning education and uniformed services subordinate to MSWiA and MS. Trade unionists raised the issue of bridging pensions and expressed dissatisfaction with the level of social dialogue. Trade unions welcomed measures to reduce the use of civil and legal contracts in industrial relations, reform the tax wedge, increase health spending and professional activation of pensioners.
The social side stated that, in the absence of any legal acts intended to implement the polish order, it was not possible to submit substantive comments on the document.
Employers’ organisations have highlighted the significant increase in the burden on small businesses and the failure to adapt the education programme to economic needs. Employers have outlined the need for transparent consultations on laws in the Council and for the marking of money from contributions that would be directed to the Health Service. Employers’ unions expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of a change in the tax wedge for entrepreneurs and the low level of deregulation. Employers’ organisations called for increased stability of the law and strengthening the Polish economy in a way that would not be so severe for entrepreneurs. Employers responded positively to the desire to fully component civil and legal contracts, the desire to rebuild the middle class and the lack of the need for a permit to build houses of up to 70 sqm, using the notification procedure.
Adam Abramowicz, The SME Ombudsman, pointed to unfavourable tax regulations for the SME sector, which will limit the possibility of developing small and medium-sized enterprises. He welcomed the permit for the construction of houses of up to 70 sqm. without the need for a building permit and welcomed the changes to the tax-free amounts. He recalled the proposals of the Council acting on the Ombudsman for SMEs, which were not used in the creation of the Polish Order.
In the second part of the meeting, Mr Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister of the Republic, responding to the issues raised by the social partners, said that the changes to the tax-free amount would contribute to an increase in net wages and provide an incentive to work. He predicted a reduction in the grey economy and an increase in the number of jobs. He welcomed the labelling of health funds, wage increases in the state budget sector and pledged efforts to improve the quality of dialogue. He pointed to the potential impact on developers by issuing a decision to allow the construction of larger-capacity homes using the application procedure. He expressed hope for a more competitive housing pricing policy by developers. He pointed to the need to improve the functioning of the CIT.
Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.
