16.03.2018

 

More working women equals higher economic growth – by 2025, the state budget could gain even more than PLN 50 billion of GDP and almost PLN 20 billion of public levies, according to the latest Deloitte report “Hidden potential of the Polish labour market. Women professionally inactive”, prepared on behalf of Coca-Cola as part of the Labour Market Forum of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers. The report was presented on March 16^th this year at a conference in the Sejm of the Republic of Poland with the participation of representatives of the Parliament, non-governmental organisations and farmer’s wives associations. According to Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz, women are the hidden potential of the Polish economy.

“Entrepreneurship is a woman and is deeply rooted in the Polish genotype. It is worth not being afraid to enter the labour market, regardless of whether we are at the beginning of our professional career or at the height of our development,” says Jadwiga Emilewicz, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology. “Today there is a place on the labour market for each and every single one of us women, because our competences are unique and absolutely difficult to overestimate. It is important to make good use of our time. We hope that the Constitution for Business provides solutions that will allow women to develop even more, and those who are wondering whether it is worth being active professionally will be encouraged to enter the labour market,” adds Emilewicz.

Nearly 4 million Polish women aged 20-64 who are economically inactive constitute the real potential of the Polish economy. As it turns out, family and house duties are the main reason for both cessation of employment and non-employment – they concerns up to 7 out of 10 women. The need to look after one’s child as a barrier to starting work was indicated by 41% of surveyed women. Next came the following: taking care of one’s home – 27%; no job offers in the area – 24%; no contacts – 16%; health – also 16%; as well as education and age – both 11%.

Sustainable development of the Polish economy requires investments in human capital. Currently, among the largest challenges for the labour market, unused human resources, including women, take a significant place. The professionally active Polish women still constitute 62% of the entire feminine population. It means that 4 out of 10 of us do not take up a job and do not even look for one. However, we believe that you can return to work. Coca-Cola as an employer is trying to engage globally in the professional activation of women. Together with the Foundation of Success Written in Lipstick, we launched one of the largest activation programs in Poland – “Sukces to Ja” (“I Am Success”). Over one and a half years, we were able to train 10,000 women. We know how large, still unused potential lies hidden in the female part of society,” says Anna Solarek, director of communication and external contacts at Coca-Cola Poland Services.

The study by Deloitte shows that there is a wide variation in the perception of the role of women and men in professional and family life, depending on the region. There are also different reasons for inactivity declared by women depending on their place of residence and their age. For example, in Silesia, Lower Silesia, and Opole Province, the most important reason for professional deactivation of women is taking care of their children – similar to other parts of the country. However, what distinguishes these regions is the fact that the percentage of women indicating childcare as the most important reason is here the lowest and amounts to 38%. In comparison with the south of Poland, i.e. in Lublin Province, Lesser Poland, and Subcarpathia this percentage amounts to 41%, in the north-west – 45%, and in Kuyavia-Pomerania, Podlasie Province, and Warmia-Masuria – 46%.

The third most common reason for deactivation is the lack of job offers in the area where women are asked, as indicated by 19-31% of women. This is the biggest problem for women living in the south of Poland, in the following provinces: Lublin Province, Lesser Poland, Subcarpathia, and Świętokrzyskie Mountains. For Silesian women, as important as the condition of the local labour market is their own health – 19% complain about it. On the flipside, health problems are least important for residents of northern Poland. Residents of south-eastern provinces more often complain about lack of professional contacts – 20% mention it as a barrier to finding a job. In the same region, the level of education is also a problem – 15%, as well and lack of certificates and licences – 14%.

What could encourage Polish women to take up a job are flexible working hours, indicated by more than half of the respondents. Most women spend as much time as 37 hours on household chores a week, which is why working from home would be an equally helpful solution for them. Working part-time is also becoming attractive due to rising wages – over a quarter of women are looking forward it. Then there are such solutions as increasing the accessibility to nurseries and kindergartens – 20%, help from other family members – 13%, and more free days per week – 12%. Importantly, women who are outside the labour market do not stop believing in themselves. Over half of them think that they would find a job the moment they started looking for it. Women are ready to take up a job, because as many as 72% of them would accept a job that would require learning new skills.

“As the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, we have for a long time emphasised the importance and necessity of activation of women on the labour market. The establishment of the Union’s Labour Market Forum has a specific educational objective, also in the area of promoting female entrepreneurship. This unused potential can become the driving force behind changes in the Polish economy. As an organisation representing entrepreneurs, we see the need for changes to take place on the labour market for women, not only in terms of flexible working hours or part-time work, but also in the ability to perform tasks remotely. It is extremely important from our point of view to support women in setting up their own businesses with active cooperation of local governments,” said Katarzyna Włodarczyk-Niemyjska, Director of the Law and Legislation Department of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers.

The professional activity of women is not only an important issue from the perspective of their development, building of their self-esteem, and ensuring continuity of opportunities on the labour market, but also a real positive impulse for the Polish economy. The professional activity of women and their equality on the labour market are key elements of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, implemented by 193 countries that are members of the United Nations, including Poland. The increase in the professional activity index of both women and men (aged 20-64) from today’s 68% up to 71% in 2020 and 73% in 2030 is also one of the goals of the Strategy for Responsible Development adopted in 2017 by the Council of Ministers.

Full and unabridged report “Hidden potential of the Polish labour market. Women inactive professionally”

16.03.2018

 

The Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers and the Warsaw Enterprise Institute as part of the project under the title “Agenda Poland” present their joint proposal for systemic reforms of the state. This time, they focus on issues related to justice, which have been one of the hottest topics in the Polish public debate for more than a year.

The report “Measurable Justice – proposal of judiciary reform” supplements and explains the proposal for changes in the judiciary included in the draft Constitution of the Republic of Poland by Professor Robert Gwiazdowski. “Our changes are not cosmetics, but they do not focus on the dimension of changes related to personnel, which was the main feature of the recent changes introduced by the Law and Justice government,” says Maciej Letkiewicz, co-author of the report.

The report postulates, among others, liquidation of the Constitutional Tribunal, the State Tribunal, the Supreme Administrative Court, and the National Council of the Judiciary. “The existence of many institutions, including those which have become source of a heated political conflict, is not indispensable in a democratic state of law. All common courts and the Supreme Court in individual cases ought to protect the Constitution, so there is no need for a special constitutional court. Administrative matters can be adjudicated by common courts. The case of the Tribunal of State is similar, and for years this has been a de facto dead institution. An analogous fate should await the National Council of the Judiciary and the exclusive competence to appoint judges should be obtained by the President,” adds Kamil Rybikowski, expert on behalf of WEI.

The authors of the study propose that the only special court to remain should be the Supreme Court, composed of 44 judges elected for life by the President. The first Supreme Court would be elected in a general election. Elected would also be the judges of peace, who would settle in the smallest civil cases and misdemeanour cases. The reason for their appointment would be to offload common courts. Common courts would have to restructured and reorganised, and they would also become two-step bodies. Today’s division into district, regional and appeal courts would be replaced by a division into Courts of first instance and Courts of Second Instance.

The report also provides for many facilitations for participants in court proceedings. A far-reaching simplification of the company registration process by transferring it to the administration and managing it through on-line platforms, enabling a notary to obtain a payment order to ensure a much greater effectiveness of debt enforcement or the introduction of an electronic delivery system, is proposed. The authors emphasise that court procedures must be aimed at increasing the speed and efficiency of court proceedings. “The most common objection to the Polish judiciary is the excessive length of proceedings. We offer a number of solutions that will measurably improve this state of affairs. Even the most desirable personnel changes, without systemic changes, will not improve the quality of the judiciary,” stated Tomasz Wróblewski at the end of the conference.

 

16.03.2018 Agenda Poland: Measurable justice. Judicial reform project

5.03.2018

 

The Supreme Administrative Court confirmed that the principle of universal succession refers to licences to run pharmacies, and pharmacy licences acquired through capital acquisitions are by law transferred to the purchaser. Thus, the Court confirmed the rights of entrepreneurs who over the last several years had been buying pharmacies, also from the State Treasury. The judgment undermines the interpretation pursued by the pharmaceutical inspection and the pharmaceutical corporation, which in recent years have acted against entrepreneurs, trying to change the meaning of the provisions on 1%, after a dozen or so years of their validity, without changing the regulations.


At the hearing on February 27^th, 2018, the Supreme Administrative Court dismissed the cassation appeal of the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate against the verdict of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw of February 27^th, 2017 in Case VI SA/Wa 559/16. The Inspectorate’s cassation complaint was dismissed and the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court (II GSK 2510/17) is a breakthrough as it ends the interpretive chaos surrounding the principle of universal succession on the grounds of licence to operate a pharmacy.


In 2004, the legislator introduced to Art. 99 par. 3 of the Pharmaceutical Law, the provision according to which the licence to operate a pharmacy “is not issued if the entity applying for a licence carries out in the voivodeship more than 1% of generally accessible pharmacies”. For more than a decade, it was consistently assumed that the one percent rule applies, as is clear from the quoted provision, only in cases in which the entrepreneur requests a new licence to run a pharmacy. It does not mean, however, a general ban on having more than 1% of pharmacies, for example, through capital acquisitions.


For a decade, many state institutions in official documents stated that there was no ban on having more than 1 percent of pharmacies in a voivodeship. These institutions included, among others, the Ministry of Health, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, and the Ministry of Treasury, which basing of these provisions sold the state-owned Cefarm pharmacies and their pharmacy chains for over PLN 0.5 billion to private entrepreneurs.


Moreover, the amending drafts that were proceeded that were to introduce such a ban (the ban eventually did not come into force). In the justification of those amendments, it was clearly indicated that the then (and current) provision applies only to the stage of issuing a licence.


“Suddenly, at the end of 2014, the pharmaceutical inspection, under the pressure of the authorities of the pharmacy self-government, concluded that from the wording “licence is not issued if” results in an absolute ban on anyone having more than 1% in the number of pharmacies in a voivodeship. As a result, an administrative procedure was started to undermine and revoke existing licences, including a procedure for refusing to change licences in the case of capital mergers,” said Tomasz Duraj of the law firm DurajReck.


In the case covered by the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, the entrepreneur, after the acquisition of another company, applied to the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate for a change of the permit to run a pharmacy. The entrepreneur referred to the principle of universal succession, according to which the acquiring company enters into the entire rights and obligations of the acquired company as of the merger date. The Inspectorate refused to change the licence to operate a pharmacy, claiming that the entrepreneur exceeded the permissible threshold of 1% of pharmacies owned in the voivodeship. The CPI stated that in such a situation Art. 99 par. 3 of Pharmaceutical Law. In the Inspectorates opinion, this article constitutes an exception to the principle of universal succession specified in the Code of Commercial Companies, and therefore, the licence did not pass to the entrepreneur.


The case was transferred to the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw. Admittedly, the VAC dismissed the entrepreneur’s complaint, but in its justification questioned the interpretation of the provisions of the Pharmaceutical Law the CPI used in its decision. In the VAC’s opinion, the licence to operate a pharmacy is subject to the principle of universal succession and was passed by law onto the complainant. The Inspectorate disagreed with the interpretation presented by the VAC in Warsaw and filed a cassation complaint with the Supreme Administrative Court.


The Supreme Administrative Court dismissed the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate’s complaint. “By dismissing the cassation appeal, the Court first emphasised that the body’s duty is primarily to follow the wording of the provision, and not to perform the “law-making” function. The SAC pointed out that Art. 99 par. 3 of the Pharmaceutical Law does not regulate legal succession at all and must not be treated as an exception to the principle of universal succession,” said Marcin Jaworski of the law firm Tomasik Jaworski representing the PharmaNET Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs Union. “As the Court pointed out, if there are no provisions providing for the exclusion of the application of the universal succession principle, there is no basis for the authority to interpret that the licence was not transferred. As a result, the principle of universal succession applies in this case and the entrepreneur took over the licence by virtue of law,” he added.


The Supreme Administrative Court pointed out that the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate had committed an unacceptable interpretation extending the competences conferred on it by the legislator. The competences granted by the legislator to the Inspectorate only in the scope of the proceedings regarding the issuance of a licence to operate a pharmacy, the CPI unjustifiably extended to proceedings concerning the change of a licence.


“The Supreme Administrative Court also made it clear by the way what it thought about the CPI’s behaviour in the context of patient protection and public health’” said Mateusz Grzech of the law firm DurajReck, who leads the case of the aggrieved entrepreneur, and added “Of significant importance was the question the SAC asked the representative of the Inspectorate whether if in a voivodeship, there were only one pharmacy, would the CPI close it down, as the entrepreneur would then own 100% thus exceeding the 1% limit?”


Today’s sentence is ground-breaking for several reasons. The previous rulings at the level of Voivodeship Administrative Courts in matters related to changing the licence to run a pharmacy were inconsistent. However, the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court introduces an intelligible interpretation of the Pharmaceutical Law provisions referring to the classic rules for the interpretation of law and the actual wording of the provisions. The attempts by the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate to create artificial rules regarding the succession of licences were cut off.


“We are glad that the Supreme Administrative Court clearly stated that the absurd interpretation of the 1% threshold, pushed through by the pharmacy self-government and applied by the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate, has no legal basis. The decision of the SAC is pleasing, because it is a clear signal that the provisions governing the principles of conducting business must be read literally, according to their content, and not interpreted in an extensive way,” summed up Marcin Nowacki, vice president of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers.

28.02.2018

 

POSITION OF THE UNION OF ENTREPRENEURS AND EMPLOYERS ON THE DRAFT OF THE ACT ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF JANUARY 22^ND, 2018, THE SO-CALLED CONSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE

The proposed new act can be considered the beginning of positive and much anticipated changes. Polish higher education is in a serious long-term crisis. There is can be no doubt that we are witnessing a multi-faceted problem that has a significantly negative impact on the condition of the Polish economy. Hard data, such as the places of our universities in the prestigious Shanghai Ranking, only prove how dire the situation is. Among the 500 best universities in the world, there are only two Polish institutions – the University of Warsaw and the Jagiellonian University. For a large country with ambitions to join the richest group in the world in a short time, this is definitely not enough. The situation seems to be even worse when we look at the places that Polish universities took – Warsaw University ranked in the fourth, whereas the Jagiellonian University in the fifth hundred of higher education institutions. This proves that the world in terms of the quality of higher education has overtaken us by several lengths. It will be a long time, before we can, even in the most optimistic scenario, take up competition in this respect with countries such as the United States, Great Britain or Japan. Moreover, it is worth noting the fact that Czechs, Estonians and Serbs have universities placed on higher positions than any of the universities from Poland. Polish universities in the third or second hundred of the ranking seem to be the minimum plan for the nearest future, and ultimately, we should fight for at least one institution to be among the best one hundred universities in the world.

The consequences of the current crisis in higher education in Poland are quite complex. From the point of view of current economy, it negatively affects the access to qualified staff. Not only do Polish companies have to deal with the natural shortage of employees resulting from demographics (the generation born in the demographic low is entering the labour market, as well as many young Poles migrated to Western Europe in recent years), while those who stay in the country and obtain university education often leave them unprepared for the actual work in their profession. In the course of teaching, they do not obtain the necessary competences or practical experience, they often only have dry knowledge acquired in the course of their studies, which turns out to be insufficient on the market. As a result, employers who hire fresh graduates have to train them on their own, or even educate them, so that they are able to perform their tasks on their own. In a more strategic perspective, however, the poor state of Polish universities means that it will be impossible to carry out the kind of economic transformation in accordance with the key ideas of the Plan for Responsible Development authored by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Its very accurate recommendations related to transforming the economy in the direction of innovation, generating high added value, and developing new solutions will be possible only provided there is an effective tertiary education system characterised by a high level of education.

All attempts to execute a wholistic and comprehensive reform of the higher education system in Poland deserve full support from the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers. We believe that one of the most rudimentary conditions for the further dynamic development of the Polish economy is the high level of tertiary education. Therefore, we support the drafted act.

Above all, attention should be paid to the fact that unusually broad public consultations concerning the act took place – the discussions regarding the final shape of the project lasted for two years. It seems that this is a very valuable and necessary practice, so different from the increasingly more often used standards, in which new laws are created very quickly, are processed in a haste, often with by way of parliamentary legislative paths and thus avoiding official consultations. In this context, such in-depth and extensive consultations should definitely be appreciated.

Concerning the substantive proposals included in the project, most of them should also be assessed positively. The proposal to introduce University Councils is quite noteworthy. More than half of its composition is to be represented by the socio-economic environment – this way one of the basic postulates of business communities is addressed: to involve entrepreneurs operating on the local market in the process of education in a much larger degree, including higher education. The University Council would have quite broad competences – it would approve the university’s financial statements, give opinions on the drafted statutes, or would select (or nominate candidates for the office of) rector or chancellor. These bodies would also determine their remuneration, and could also provide them with allowances, thus indirectly obtaining a tool to assess and control their work. The Council is to be mainly a supervisory body, but it has been given several executive competences, for example, adopting university strategies, thus arming it with having a real impact on the development of a teaching facility. The provision that more than half of members of the Council must come from outside the university community guarantees the social side, including representatives of business communities, participation in it. This way, local communities have a real influence on the development of higher education institutions.

In order to tighten cooperation with the business community, other proposals were included in the project, among others the postulate that a researcher with a Ph.D. title and extensive professional experience might be employed as professor. To a large extent this may affect the number of didacticians with practical experience, and the same effect might be achieved by the abolition of staff minima. Moreover, in the drafted act, universities are explicitly granted the right to conduct dual studies with the participation of partnered companies, with the detailed organisation of such studies being defined in a written agreement. Providing such flexibility may be beneficial to the development of the dual study formula, very attractive from the point of view of the labour market needs.

The draft also proposes the introduction of entrance examinations at universities (however, the results of exams confirming completion of secondary education would have an at least 50% weigh), or the introduction of a program dubbed “Didactic Initiative of Excellence” involving the financial support of those vocational higher learning institution that achieve the best monitoring results concerning the professional careers of their graduates. Moreover, it is postulated to prolong apprenticeships for undergraduates to up to six months, which obviously translates into greater practical competences of graduates of these studies.

The presented draft is heading in a definitely good direction and takes into account a large part of the postulates raised in recent years, including those raised by the business community. The introduction of cooperation mechanisms between the world business and universities, the introduction of practitioners to universities, as well as greater emphasis on the practical aspects of education deserve our support. Of course, the presented draft law should not be the last step in improving the quality of Polish higher education institutions – the legislator ought to also consider the possibility of modifying the path of obtaining licences and the rights to practice in such a way that it can take place within the framework of university education, and not outside it. We hope that more projects will be prepared, which might have a chance of a deeper impact on the level of higher education in Poland.

 

The Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers

 

Photography: Luke Jones/ licence: Creative Commons / flickr.com

27.02.2017

 

According to the position published on February 27^th, 2018, by the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, the introduction of mandatory electronic sick leaves is a step in the progressive direction of digitalisation of the healthcare which must be assessed positively.

From July 1^st, 2018, the only effective form of issuing a sick leave will be an electronic document. Until now, doctors have had a choice between writing a traditional sick leave on paper or writing an electronic sick leave entry in the IT system.

“The data we have at our disposal indicates that doctors rarely make use of the electronic option,” said Marcin Nowacki, vice-president of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers. “In 2016, almost 500,000 electronic sick leaves were issued. It may seem to be a large number, but at the same time, there were almost 20 million sick leaves written on paper. This data shows well how unpopular e-sick leaves are at the moment.”

The system currently in force, in which the paper form is still dominant, has many disadvantages. First of all, the circulation of physical paper documents consumes more time and work than the exchange of information by electronic means. In case of the second option, the information regarding the sick leave appears immediately in the employer’s IT system. In addition to inconvenient formal and bureaucratic obligations, the current legal situation also causes far-reaching financial consequences that constitute a burden primarily for employers. Entrepreneurs pay as much as PLN 860 thousand annually in payments related to sick leaves covering a period of up to 7 days. It is in their case that the scale of fraud is highest.

“The sick leave issued by a doctor in paper form must be provided to the employer within 7 days of its issue,” Nowacki added. “Therefore, sick leaves covering a period of less than 7 days are de facto beyond anyone’s control. We deal with cases of fraud in this area and as a consequence thereof, entrepreneurs lose real money.”

In addition to financial issues, the position draws attention to the fact that entrepreneurs, when they receive information about their employee’s sickness immediately after it’s been issued, will be able to find replacement for an employee absent due to illness much quicker. The Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers emphasises that it supports all solutions for digitalisation of healthcare, including the introduction of mandatory electronic sick leaves. It is worth noting that e-sick leaves are only an element of a broader package of reforms, which also include the introduction of e-prescriptions. The Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers hopes that the informatisation and digitisation of Polish healthcare will go further, because ultimately everyone gains from the implementation of innovative solutions – from doctors, who will spend increasingly less time carrying out administrative duties, through entrepreneurs, to the most important participants of the whole system, that is, the patients themselves.

 

27.02.2018 Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers  position on electronic sick leave

12.02.2018

 

In the last edition of the survey on the largest barriers for doing business in Poland, entrepreneurs of the SME sector put legal instability first, followed by excessive bureaucratic obligations and high labour costs. The research was carried out by Maison&Partners on behalf of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers.

“For a very long time now, we have consistently been repeating that the biggest obstacle to running a company in Poland is its complicated and duplicative law. As many as 76% of respondents share this view. For us, entrepreneurs, it is not about lower tax rates, but about simplifying the law and making it more understandable. For years, the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers has been appealing to the government in this matter and this is not about long-lasting and arduous activities, the effect of which are only further provisions and regulations. What we need is political will to make a radical change,” commented Cezary Kaźmierczak, President of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers.

The following obstacles to running business activity in Poland were listed:


Maison&Partners for the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, January 2018, N: 242, survey conducted among a representative group of the SME sector with up to 250 employees.

Entrepreneurs listed the above-mentioned barriers, indicating those which in their opinion cause the most difficulties in running a company. The list of Top 5 barriers includes the following labour costs (32%), legal instability (18%), excessive bureaucratic obligations (11%), overcomplicated economic law (10%), and high taxes (10%).

“Although the situation on the Polish labour market is as of now quite stable, which is confirmed by our latest ZPP Busometr survey, it is a fact is that high non-wage labour costs impact both employers and employees in a negative way,” says Cezary Kaźmierczak. “Let entrepreneurs themselves testify as to how big a problem high labour costs are. As many as 67% of businessmen and businesswomen indicated this factor as a barrier.”

70% of entrepreneurs in the small and medium-sized enterprises sector recognised the lack of financial resources (e.g. resulting from too high employment costs) as the most important reason for not hiring more people.

Furthermore – among the most important barriers for the development of companies in Poland – the following were named: vagueness of legal provisions (82%), unfavourable labour law (66%), and administrative duties (51%).

“The government ought to find those key factors significant that would encourage the Polish people to start their own businesses. Most respondents, as many as 61%, wish the period of preferential payment conditions to the Polish Social Insurance Institution were extended. We hope that the Act on Small Economic Activity will reduce the scale of the problem related to setting up and running your own business in our country” summarised Cezary Kaźmierczak.

02.02.2018

 

Entrepreneurs do not show a radical change in their economic sentiments – the latest results of the Busometer ZPP Index amounted to 44.67 points. This outcome is similar to the results from the second half of 2017.

“The results of the latest Busometr survey indicate that entrepreneurs from the SME sector have a rather neutral attitude towards the government’s economic policy. Moreover, compared to the previous survey, we did not notice any significant differences in the values of components that affect the Index. Although the ‘economic situation’ component is slightly lower, it is a minute difference amounting to only 6 points. The situation on the labour market has enjoyed a very decent level for a long time, and the investment rate has slightly increased,” says Cezary Kaźmierczak, President of ZPP.

The survey conducted by the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers among a representative group of small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland shows that the greatest fluctuations in time concern the ‘economic situation’ component. Its current value amounts to 41.75 points. According to 35% of entrepreneurs, in the coming months the economic situation will not change, whereas 42% expect it to deteriorate.

Entrepreneurs in the manufacturing sector show positive attitudes regarding the economic situation in Poland in the perspective of the next six months – here the index is 52.59 points. The situation looks worse is in trade and services – approximately 38 points.

Two more components affect the Busometr ZPP Index – the ‘labour market’ and ‘investments’. Their respective values amounted to 55.14 points and 43.46 points.

“Optimistic entrepreneurial moods concerning the ‘labour market’ are demonstrated by entrepreneurs from all sectors. Similarly, if we take into account the size of the enterprise, the market experience or region. In all of these cases, the value of this component exceeds 50 points,” comments Cezary Kaźmierczak. “The reality that we now have an employee market finds proof for instance in the fact that 38% of entrepreneurs plan to raise wages in their companies over the next few months, while nearly 30% intend to increase employment,” he adds.

Since the first half of 2017, the growth of the ‘investments’ component has been slow. Currently, its value reached 43.46 points. In this field, companies from the manufacturing sector thrive best (the value of the index is close to 65 points).

48% of respondents declare that they will invest in the next six months. Entrepreneurs from the sector of medium and large enterprises show the greatest propensity to invest (53.7 points), however, there is less optimism among microentrepreneurs.

***

Busometr ZPP – the Index of Economic Mood in SME Sector is an economic barometer illustrating the level of optimism in small and medium enterprises, and their plans for the coming six months.

Three components affect the index: (1) the economic situation, (2) labour market (remunerations and employment) and (3) investments.

A value within the range of 0-100 is assigned to each component.

The Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers along with Maison Research House conduct the research among a representative group of small and medium enterprises (up to 250 employees). Busometr ZPP is published every six months.

Small and medium enterprises constitute in Poland 99.8% of all the companies in the country. They create three quarters of the work places and generate 67% of GDP.

Busometr ZPP. Prognosis for the first half of 2018_pdf

5.02.2018

 

Another trade organisation joined the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers lately – the Union of Railway Employers.

The organization established in 2001 has been operating since 2001 and currently has 30 members – companies belonging to the URE employ as of now approximately 90 thousand people.

The URE is a self-governing organization independent in its statutory activity from bodies of the state administration or the territorial government as well as from political, social and professional organisations.

The main goal of the Union is to protect the rights and represent the interests of the associated members in talks with trade unions, state institutions and administration as well as bodies of the territorial government.

The Union is an active participant in social dialogue within the Tripartite Team for the Railway. It influences the shaping of legislation concerning the interests of employers associated in the Union, through participation in the committee sessions of Sejm and Senate (lower and upper chambers of the Polish Parliament, respectively). It also participates in the creation of social mechanisms for resolving collective disputes with employers associated in the Union and represents employers in negotiations with the social side and in mediation proceedings.

It supports employers by organising legal, economic, and organisational consultations. Recognising the needs of its members, it takes care of the development of the competencies of the managerial staff, including through the organisation and financial support of life-long learning (post-graduate studies). The Union initiates and supports cultural and social activities, as well as undertakes charity in the area related to the activity of its members. It also pays particular attention to nurturing the rich railway traditions

18.01.2018

 

An increasingly elderly society, a declining working-age population, a growing number of diseases, including civilisation diseases – in the face of these challenges, creating an efficient health care system seems to be nothing less than a necessity. This is a particularly difficult task taking into consideration the growing difficulty with access to qualified medical staff, including doctors and nurses, as well as a chronic deficiency of funds. When Poland reaches the 6% threshold of GDP spending on healthcare, in other European countries, the share of expenditure on health will already have reached a much higher level. It is, therefore, not enough to just catch up with EU leaders – Poland needs a sensible roadmap for health care. For this reason, considering the construction of an efficient health care system as one of the priorities of the state policy, the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, in consultation with affiliated companies from the medical sector, decided to establish the Public Health Forum.

“We believe that health care is one of those topics where consensus as to the general direction of change is vital,” says Marcin Nowacki, vice-president of the Union. “Our vision of the healthcare system assumes the coexistence of public and private entities, because in our view such a model will prove most effective. At the moment, one of the biggest threats from the regulator is attempting to curb access to the market for private entities. That is why this year we will focus on key regulations defining the areas of cooperation of medical entities, as well as on enhancing a transparent market by co-financing procedures”.

In addition to the issues mentioned above, the Forum’s priorities for this year include matters related to the development of telemedicine as a response to staff shortages, as well as building a concept of reinforcing the role of medical staff by granting new powers, among others, to nurses or pharmacists. The main goals of the Forum include, to name a few, cooperation in the scope of program and legislative works (both domestically and at the EU level), preparation of common legislative positions, conducting analytical projects, as well as a general promotion of sensible, pro-competition models in the field of state health policy. In order to build political coalitions around specific issues, as well as to distribute concepts and ideas created within the Forum, it will cooperate, inter alia, with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Investment and Development, the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology, as well as members of the parliament and senators.

“I am very pleased that the Public Health Forum was established within the framework of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers,” says Agnieszka Szpara, CEO of Affidea Sp. z o. o. “I think that a substantive discussion is needed regarding both the role of private and public entities in the whole system, as well as specific solutions that aim to improve the quality of healthcare as such. After all, health has both a private and public dimension, everyone is responsible for it as a patient, but also as a society, we must set up public health priorities. I am convinced that cooperation within the Forum will bring to life many interesting ideas and concepts created by representatives of various organisations. After all, our goal is common – for patients in Poland to have access to the best possible medical services”.

26.01.2018

 

The times of guarantees of eternal peace and security in Europe are behind us. Today, every scenario of armed confrontation in our region must be considered probable. Poland must reckon with the possibility of armed conflict and prepare accordingly. The Warsaw Enterprise Institute and the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers in the published report “Poland’s security strategy” present possible scenarios of the course of events and offer recommendations for the state administration.

The report is an attempt to answer the questions concerning the fundamental challenges facing Polish defence. The authors offer a structured train of thought about our security and concrete solutions that can strengthen the national security system and provide our armies with adequate military capabilities. The report cannot replace the national defence strategy, an extended document based on classified data and detailed simulations, but Poland currently does not have a general strategy document, either publicly available or classified, which would set the boundary conditions for Poland’s security. Such a document ought to be developed and accepted by all political forces for which the survival and development of the Polish state are an important issue.

“State security is a vital issue for every Pole, that is why citizens not only have a full right, but also an obligation to discuss security strategies as well as co-shape them. The report by the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers and the Warsaw Enterprise Institute is the vox populi in the public debate that should take place but does not. We do not want in any way to replace the state institutions set up to develop a security strategy, but the survival of the state lies in our common interest, so the voice of the people should resound and be taken into account. Thus, our report is an invitation to a discussion,” says Andrzej Talaga, Director of strategy at WEI.

In spite of the faith in the good intentions of our allies and their will to fulfil their obligations under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, we must not base our defence almost exclusively on support from NATO. Because it is not absolutely sure. We must build the potential of self-defence. Only this will ensure Poland’s security. This means create the potential for deterrence and defence based on the efforts of the society as a whole.

The current number of military personnel, especially trained reserves, is insufficient to effectively defend the country. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the reserve and other additional forces so that, ultimately, it is possible to mobilise a million armed Poles and Poles for war. This is due to the fact that Poland cannot afford to build a deterrent system for a potential aggressor based on precision weapons. It is worth acquiring it, but practice shows that it is quickly used up. Deterrence should then be based on the mass resistance of the armed nation – a total defence. The task of total defence will be executed most effectively by mean of general defence, a citizens’ militia that will fight alongside regular operational forces and the Territorial Defence Forces. Their task will be to draw their opponent into a swamp of a long-lasting, destructive, irregular war.

Poland will also face big challenges in the area of financing. Current and planned expenditure on defence are unfortunately insufficient. Poland must spend 3.5 percent of its GDP over the next decade for military purposes in order to build capabilities for self-defence and increase the number of armed forces and reserves. The planned level of 2.5 percent GDP by 2030, with the simultaneous increase in the number of the military personnel, is too modest and may ultimately lead to a reduction in the budget for the purchase of weapons and equipment.

“Our publication coincides with the publication of the new US security strategy. There cannot be any comparison in neither the rank of the document, nor the goals set by the two states. However, many philosophical assumptions and the thinking about the national interest bear resemblance,” says Tomasz Wróblewski, President of the Warsaw Enterprise Institute.

The authors of the report propose basing the strategy on a few fundamental assumptions:

1. Poland’s achievement of self-defence ability, which is indispensable despite allied guarantees under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. This will make Poland competent and capable to self-defend and resist a potential aggressor for several months without external assistance.
2. Expansion of personnel reserves of the Polish Army and preparation of units of the Polish Army to accept them in terms of equipment, uniforms, and weapons so that the reserve could stand to fight as an equal part of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland.
3. An increase in defence spending to 3.5% GDP over the next five years.
4. Introduction of a voluntary civic defence tax, which will supplement the budget of the Ministry of Defence.
5. Inclusion of the entire society in the defence effort following the example of the Finnish “total defence”.
6. Expansion of Territorial (General) Defence, as units of a citizens’ militia who train to fight and become independent of the regular armed forces, albeit in coordination with them.
7. Introduction of the fundamental right of citizens to possess firearms, including long-barrelled guns, which must result from the constitution.
8. Development of a rudimentary state strategy in the field of defense, which will be non-partisan and consistently implemented. 
9. Expansion of military cooperation to non-NATO countries, especially Sweden and Finland.
10. Exclusion of defence issues from the current political struggle and building a cross-party consensus on the construction of defence potential, as well as on society’s defence preparation.

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The “Poland’s Security Strategy” was prepared as part of the Polish Agenda, a project executed by the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers along with the Warsaw Enterprise Institute, whose aim is to develop a strategy for the development of Poland as well as systemic and legal solutions in the areas most important for Poland.

The full and unabridged report is available here for download (in Polish).