Making Money (but not in Warsaw)

April 28th, 2012 by Joanna Frączkowska
Making Money Outside Warsaw

Making Money Outside Warsaw

Last year, salaries in Warsaw increased by 0.1%. In other cities, salaries are rising even faster. Last year, the average salary in Warsaw enterprises was PLN 4,683, 4.4% higher than in 2010. However, after taking into consideration inflation, real earnings in Warsaw were only 0.1% higher. To compare, at the same time the average earnings in Katowice enterprises saw an increase of 6.4% (2.1% in real terms), that is PLN 5,005, according to the Statistical Office in Wrocław. Consequently, this city is a better place to work than Warsaw in terms of earnings. Other cities are fast catching up with Wrocław. For instance, in 2009 the average salary in Lublin was 63.5% of the Warsaw salary, while last year it was 74.8%. What is more, it is no surprise that Katowice tops the salaries charts. Professor Mieczysław Kabaj from the Institute of Labour and Social Studies believes that these increases in salaries are thanks to such industries as mining or metallurgy. Nevertheless, experts are also concerned about the weakening position of Warsaw. “The situation may have been triggered by the fact that companies are cutting costs in Warsaw in order to increase competitiveness,” says Ernest Pytlarczyk, chief economist of BRE Bank. Cutting costs often equates to lower wages. Companies do this when they have a greater choice of potential employees, like in Warsaw. However, many people continue to travel from other cities to look for work in Warsaw. As a result, there are more future employees than employers. The prospects for employees are, therefore, obvious. “Earnings in Warsaw will grow but not as fast as in other cities,” says Professor Kabaj. He adds that increases in salaries are inevitable because companies will have to pay more to keep the best specialists. Also, Warsaw’s low unemployment rate favours salary increases. In February the unemployment rate in Warsaw amounted to 4%, while in Poland as a whole it was 13.5%.
Gazeta Prawna

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Posted in Employment, Silesia | No Comments »

Under UEFA Rule

April 6th, 2012 by Anita Chrabałowska
Irony?

Ironic, isn't it?

“In June, Poland will lose part of its sovereignty to UEFA in connection with Euro 2012,” according to Polityka. From 2005 Polish authorities have signed approximately 30 guarantees with UEFA, which, besides obligations to build stadia, sports centres and hotels also include guarantees to sell TV licenses and commercials, employ commercial areas in cities and even block TV broadcasts of matches in pubs and restaurants. “Some of the signed documents involve legal and financial guarantees, and by signing them Poland is obliged to change tax law, intellectual property rights, and public procurement regulations. All of these are being implemented to protect the economic interests of UEFA,” continues Polityka. Even though the tournament will be held in Poland and Ukraine, with both countries providing the necessary infrastructure, UEFA remains the sole organiser and can expect to make as much as €2.3 billion, including a €116 million net profit. Polityka also informs its readers that one of the major problems in the collaboration with the football organisation is its desire to create a monopoly especially over the sale of licenses. To illustrate, the organisation wants to sell TV rights, and even has a final say as to the conditions in regard to blocks of commercials accompanying the broadcasts. “The most visible ‘sign of UEFA domination over Poland’ will be in public areas, which will be filled with sponsors’ ads,” adds Polityka. Thanks to these guarantees, UEFA may also profit on match broadcasts in pubs and restaurants. According to the regulations, these broadcasts will be allowed only after the purchase of special licenses from the organisation (at a cost of between €35 and €65 per match). Even though the guarantees are restrictive, Poland has managed to re-negotiate some of them. Poland has managed to negotiate from UEFA a guarantee that the organisation will finance part of the costs of the installation of fan zones.
Onet.pl

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Posted in Euro 2012, Football, Sport, Ukraine | No Comments »

We Will Work for 67 Years

April 3rd, 2012 by Newzar Team
Time to Start Moaning?

Time to Start Moaning?

There will not be a retirement age referendum. Most Poles will work until they reach 67 years of age. The ruling coalition wants to allow earlier retirement, but for the price of a very low pension. The compromise between the Civil Platform (PO) and the Polish Peasant Party (PSL) ends the crisis in the coalition. The negotiations between PO and PSL activists about raising the retirement age lasted over one month. The aim of the compromise is that the retirement age for women and men be made equal and be gradually increased until it reaches 67 years. However, if one wants to, the would-be pensioner can retire earlier: women at 62 years old and men at 67 years old. This is the so-called ‘partial pension’. In order to receive it, one has to agree to one more condition, that it have the appropriate pension contributions. With regard to women this amounts to 35 years’ worth of contributions, and in the case of men 40 years’ worth. According to calculations made by Łukasz Wacławik, a specialist in social insurance, a man who earns PLN 3,500 will receive PLN 841 monthly on a partial pension, or PLN 1,578 if they work for another two years. If he does not take a partial pension and works until he is 67 years old, he will receive almost PLN 200 more, that is, in total, PLN 1,766. Moreover, a woman who earns PLN 3,500 monthly will receive PLN 736 partial pension. After five years, when she switches to a normal pension, she will receive PLN 1,245. If she works until 67 years of age, she will receive PLN 1,682. The agreement made between PO and PSL resulted in their voting against the rejection of a motion by the Solidarity Trade Union calling for a referendum in regard to the raising of the retirement age. Over a few thousand unionists went to the debate in Warsaw.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Posted in Pensions, PO, Poland | No Comments »

EU Welcomes Polish Immigrants

March 31st, 2012 by Joanna Frączkowska
Polish Abroad

Polish Abroad

Job Centre workers agree that the number of employees recruited abroad has increased in recent months. Experts claim that this may be the first sign of a second economic exodus. The first one took place between 2006 and 2008. According to the Central Statistical Office (GUS) at the end of 2007 nearly 2.3 million Poles worked abroad; at the end of 2009 this number decreased to 1.9 million. However, this number is growing again and may exceed 2 million people. The reason for this upsurge in immigrant workers is due to growing unemployment in Poland which in February reached 13.5%. Among people below 25 the unemployment rate is even higher, and exceeds 25%. The problem is that the younger generation is more eager to pack up and leave the country. Leaving Poland is no longer an unknown quantity. An increasing number of foreign companies are coming to Poland and offering  Polish people profitable contracts. Entrepreneurs from Norway, the Netherlands, France and Belgium are offering jobs to Poles. What is more, Polish Job Centres are helping would-be employees with all the formalities. Emigration is becoming more common as it is much easier now than several years ago. Also, ‘temporary’ emigration is often becoming ‘permanent’ as 1.3 million Poles have found. In many European countries Polish shops, churches and schools are opening up. The only difference between these Polish enclaves is the wages are most certainly not Polish.
Gazeta Prawna

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Posted in Employment, EU | No Comments »

English for Money

March 9th, 2012 by Joanna Frączkowska
Learning to Talk

Learning to Talk

Nearly 50% of students take extra English classes to pass their finals in high school. Private language schools have not witnessed so many people applying for courses in a long time. Starting from this year, students will take their finals based on new regulations which involve communication skills. Unfortunately this is the weakest point of the Polish educational system. In order to cater to students’ expectations, language schools are offering special courses for students. Third grade students pay and learn because they have no idea what to expect during their exams. According to the new regulations, the exam will last fifteen minutes and there will be no time for taking notes or for any preparation. During the conversation students will have to demonstrate their negotiation and reporting skills in a foreign language. Schools does not teach them these skills. 70% of students admit that they are unable to learn communication skills in school. One out of three say that the main obstacle is a lack of speaking tasks during lessons while 27% complain that there are too many students in their groups. As a result, nearly 50% of them sign up for language schools or take private classes. The reason behind these problems is explained by an anonymous teacher who teaches in a junior high school in Warsaw: “The policy of learning English in Polish schools is based on memorising grammatical structures, vocabulary and doing too many exercises. Students who are taught in this way will have extreme problems with real communication”.
Gazeta Prawna

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And the winner is…

February 27th, 2012 by Joanna Frączkowska
Oscars

Polish Chance?

Poland has a chance to win two Oscars, first for Agnieszka Holland’s In Darkness for best non-English movie and the second for Janusz Kamiński, cinematographer of Steven Spielberg’s War Horse. Bookmakers are not so enthusiastic, though. A Separation is predicted to be the most serious rival of Agnieszka Holland. It is a wonderful movie by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi and has already won a Golden Globe. The Oscar for best cinematography could well go to Emmanuel Lubezki (The Tree of Life). Experts also maintain that the best foreign movie, and indeed best movie, could go to the French film The Artist which entices viewers with its magic, charm and simplicity. Even though The Artist seems to be the benchmark at this year’s Oscars, there are at least two rivals that may unexpectedly turn out winners; the first is The Help (director Tate Taylor) and Moneyball (director Bennett Miller). The stories are simple, without cliché, and are based not only on great screenplays, but also employ great acting. The competition between actors will be strong. The nominations for best actress, besides Viola Davis, include Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Michelle Williams and Rooney Mara. For best actor, Brad Pitt is rivalling the ever-perfect Gary Oldman (Tinker, Taiilor, Soldier, Spy). Whatever the outcome, the Polish movie industry already done itself proud.
Gazeta Prawna

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Txts Kept on File

February 21st, 2012 by Newzar Team
Being Checked

Being Checked

The government is suggesting that our itemised telephone bills, text messages, and other telecom data, for which the police and special services crave, be stored not for a period of two years but for one year only. After the debate with the PM regarding ACTA, the government said it would look into the regulations related to privacy on the internet, including data retention, which is a legal necessity for telephone operators. This data gives information about our activity on both the telephone and internet networks. The obligation was introduced by an EU directive three years ago. Poland accepted the longest possible period of retention, that is two years. The Ministry of Administration and Digitization announced additional meetings regarding the amendment to telecommunications law. The amendment will adapt this law to the package of new EU directives, which aim to be more user-friendly. The amendment has already undergone consultation, but the necessity of retention of data has been shortened from two years to one year. This is important because the police and special services have full access to our data, and they need a court’s permission to access it. As far as the police and special services using telecommunications data is concerned, Poland is the European leader: 1,300,000 accesses annually.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Posted in ACTA, Internet, Telecommunications | No Comments »

After Valentine’s Day

February 15th, 2012 by Anita Chrabałowska
Counting the Cost...

Counting the Cost...

“When Valentine’s Day approaches, swarms of people visit dating websites, and sellers increase sales,” according to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. “38 million Europeans per month search for love on the internet. In Poland alone, that number amounts to 5 million internet users. People’s perceptions are changing. Finding a partner takes time. The internet significantly accelerates the whole process, which explains the dynamic development of this industry,” says Daniel Surmacz, creator of a Polish online dating website. Surmacz reminds us that online dating generates approximately 2 billion dollars per year worldwide. Moreover, each year, this sum rises by 10%. Valentine’s Day is one of the factors which is helping to boost growth in this area. Data from Allegro.pl suggests that Polish people spend twice as much on Valentine’s Day presents as the Czechs. The survey, conducted by Silesia City Center, indicates that as many as 41% of consumers buy Valentine’s Day presents worth between PLN 50-100, while 21% dig deeper into their pockets by spending PLN 100-200. As many as 67% of Poles celebrate Valentine’s Day. “Polish behaviour during Valentine’s Day is starting to resemble that at Christmas time. Valentine’s Day special offers are being advertised earlier each year. Although the roots of Valentine’s Day may be romantic, it comes very soon after the winter sales, and so is a perfect occasion for sellers to boost sales,” says Dominika Musialik, marketing manager at Silesia City Center.
Gazeta.pl

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Posted in Economy, Internet, Popular News | No Comments »

Poland’s Two Worlds

February 13th, 2012 by Joanna Frączkowska
A Tale of Two Countries

A Tale of Two Countries

Cultural development in the Polish countryside is much slower than in large cities as revealed by two reports concerning Polish culture, published last week by the National Centre of Culture. One of the authors of the report, Professor Wojciech Burszta, claims that the countryside and city… “are still two very different worlds”. The reports concentrate on the differences in cultural development in urban and rural areas, which according to the authors are less than 20-30 years ago, but still significant. The results of the two publications show the changing cultural environment and different ways of participating in cultural life. Rural culture is becoming less dependent on institutions, and the majority of its consumers look for shared entertainment whilst still wanting to preserve social ties. Wojciech Burszta, professor of cultural anthropology at Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities claims that in rural areas there is much greater consciousness of the “existence of the world through culture”. “Concert halls may not yet be built in the countryside en masse, but changes in people’s understanding of culture is visible”, says Professor Burszta. He explains that inhabitants of rural areas more willingly participate in cultural events, however, culture often has a “folk, shallow character”. He emphasises the role of events such as fairs, which may seem “unimportant” from the point of view of an urban dweller but are not for someone in the countryside. The report clearly shows that the ‘countryside’ and a ‘peasant culture’ no longer exists. Burszta adds that we are now witnesses to “a mixture of city and countryside or folk, which brings together the old and the new, the rural and the urban, the local and the global.”
Gazeta Prawna

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Expensive Cigarettes = Fewer Smokers

February 12th, 2012 by Newzar Team
Time to Quit?

Time to Quit?

“An increase in excise on cigarettes will provide income for the state budget coffers and will save the lives of 7% of Poles,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO). A report entitled “Economic aspects of tobacco smoking and taxation of tobacco products in Poland” has been prepared by WHO as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to reduce tobacco smoking. The authors of the report have found that in Poland and other countries where cigarette prices have increased the number of smokers has decreased. According to the report, smoking is the cause of one in five deaths in Poland. There are approximately 9,000,000 smokers of which 18.6% are aged between 13-15. Approximately 500 young people begin smoking every day. Statistically, the costs of treatment of heavy smokers are approximately 30% higher than in the case of people who have never smoked. A Pole who smokes spends around PLN 2,500 annually on cigarettes. According to data from the year 2010, average monthly cigarette expenses of a household amount to PLN 15.7 per person. In comparison, expenses on education amount to PLN 12.7 per person. Every third Pole would willingly give up smoking, mainly due to the increasing prices of cigarettes. “These prices are still too low to motivate smokers to quit. If prices of cigarettes increased faster, more people would quit smoking,” says Anna Kozieł from the WHO office in Warsaw. WHO suggests the following solution for Poland: if the price of a packet of cigarettes increases by 14%, budget revenue will increase by PLN 2.3 billion, the number of smokers will fall by 174,000 people, and 60,000 people will not start smoking at all. An increase in price of 50% would be an even better solution. Revenue would increase annually by PLN 7.1 billion, and the number of smokers will decrease by 618,000. The overall conclusion from the report is this: an increase in duty on cigarettes is the best way to reduce tobacco smoking.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Posted in Health | No Comments »

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