Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski presented the
government pro-family policy yesterday. Malgorzata Krzysztoszek from the Polish
Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan (PKPP) admitted that employers and
entrepreneurs support the ideas.
“We are for well prepared, effective
pro-family policy. Without it, our economy will face a very serious problem
developed countries struggle with today: lack of labor. The fundamentals of the
program are to prevent it. You can see that someone analyzed the problem and
tried to find solution”, Malgorzata Krzysztoszek said.
She believes what the government proposes may improve the situation. The means include three year exemption from the Labor Fund payments for employers when a woman comes back from the maternity leave. It would be easier to found kindergartens from social funds present in every company or discounts in transport, cinemas or supermarkets would be granted to families with at least three children.
Employers point out that there are some problems,
however.
“The cost of the whole program amounts to PLN 17.4 billion (EUR 4.5
billion), half of it are tax discounts. How to finance it?”, Malgorzata
Krzysztoszek wonders.
That’s why another employers organization, the
Confederation of Polish Employers (KPP) is skeptical about the program.
“We support pro-family policy. We don’t know, however, who’s going to pay for it. Assuming that bigger taxes revenues (due to higher GDP growth) cover the gap is a bad idea. Everything should be counted, estimated, have economic explanation and be real. These assumptions are based on money which we may or may not have. No one is able to forecast the GDP growth in the upcoming months”, Boguslawa Nowak-Turowiecka from KPP commented.
(PLN 1 = EUR 0.257)