ZPP Newsletter
Warsaw, 9th June 2020
The Union celebrates its 10 years
Ten years of operations of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers coincides with the most dynamic period of economic development in the history of Poland. Small and medium-sized companies are responsible for 51% of Poland’s economic growth after 2010. Nowadays, SMEs account for 99.8% of all entities conducting business activity, employ 68.7% of the total number of people employed, and together represent 10 million voters.
It is no wonder then that the number of institutions and politicians who feel they are the fathers of SME’s success is increasing so quickly.
Back when we were starting, there were only five of us and we only needed a couple of rooms is an attic. In the minds of various officials, but also many Poles, the stereotype dating back to the Polish People’s Republic regarding private owners, small producers, slyboots and dodgers was still commonplace. They were treated as such in the offices whenever they wanted to start a business or demanded equal treatment by the tax office.
Ten years ago, we were convinced that this was a one-year project. We believed that this long was enough to inform politicians about the disproportionate rules and taxes imposed on entrepreneurs and what privileges corporations enjoy, and as a result to change it. We thought it was enough to indicate some good practices, and that politicians hand-in-hand with officials would introduce and implement them themselves. We were wrong about how much time we would need, nevertheless we were able to fix a number of important matters over the years. And there’s still more to come. We are constantly trying to explain the importance of repairing the legal and institutional environment to the authorities both in Warsaw and Brussels, where we were forced to open an additional office.
Today, the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers represents 51,889 companies associated in 14 regional and 20 industry organisations. Our member-companies employ 576,917 people.
A thriving small and medium-sized enterprise sector is really the only common denominator of all the world’s most developed economies. It doesn’t matter if their competitive advantages result from new technologies, a powerful financial sector or production capacity, they all rely on an extensive and flexible network of small and medium-sized companies.
Poland today has found itself in a place of historical opportunity. The stabilisation of the labour market and where we will be placed within the pyramid of global prosperity will largely depend on how we shape our financial and economic policies in this very moment. Just like 10 years ago, so today it does seem to us that we only need a few globally proven legal and institutional solutions to put Poland on the fast track to the top of the most developed countries in the world. To our members – the terrific people who every day drive our economy further and who granted our nation prosperity and a quality of life incomparable to anything that had ever been achieved in Poland before – we wish high spirits, further development and many successes.
The Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers
P.S. Today, in the courtyard of the former Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party, celebrations were to be held on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Union. For reasons known to everyone, they were postponed until December 3rd later this year. We are really looking forward to it.
See the video: 10 years of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers in 10 minutes
