Since June, there has been talk of increasing the budget by the amount of the inflation rate. At that time, the government predicted that it would be 4.1%.
This proposal was firmly rejected by the unions, but also by the employers, who demanded a 10% wage increase.
In turn, the unions: The Trade Union Forum, NSZZ “Solidarność” and the All-Poland Trade Union Agreement agreed that
- wage growth in the national economy must not be less than 9.44%;
- the increase in wages in the sphere of the state budget should not be less than 15%;
- the increase in the minimum wage must not be less than that of 2025 8.14% (for PLN 350);
- the indexation rate for pensions and annuities shall not be lower than the average annual price index for goods and services in 2024, as referred to in Article 89 of the Law of 17 December 1998 on pensions and annuities of the Social Insurance Fund (Official Gazette of 2023, item 1,251), increased by at least 50% real increase in average labor remuneration in 2024.
After a wave of criticism, Finance Minister Andrzej Domański suggested that the increase could be higher. – It is crucial for me that the real value of wages in the budget sector is at least maintained. Therefore, taking into account the proposals of the social partners in the Social Dialogue Council and the progress of negotiations during the work of the Council’s Budget, Remuneration and Social Benefits Team, I will propose to the Council of Ministers a potential change, namely to increase the indicator, taking security into account – the Finance Minister said during the Social Dialogue Council meeting in July.
The minister was criticized for the fact that the minimum wage is expected to increase by 7% in 2025 compared to 2024 (from PLN 4,300 gross to PLN 4,626 gross), and the government wants to allocate only 4.1% for payments to its employees.
Trade unionists do not hide their dissatisfaction with the salary increase proposals presented this week. They find the 5 percent increase very unsatisfactory. – Taking into account the cumulative growth rate of the minimum wage and the cumulative growth rate of salaries in the public sector, we believe that the proposal for a 5 percent increase in 2025 is unfair and harmful. Such a policy threatens to cause a personal disaster among public sector employees. The departure of employees is already visible, especially among justice employees and civil servants of the uniformed services, says Grzegorz Sikora, spokesman for the FZZ.
The Trade Union Alternative writes in a statement: It is with great disappointment that we receive the statements of the Minister of Finance, Andrzej Domański, about the planned increase in public sector wages by only 5%. The entry into force of this proposal would mean a real freeze on public sector wages. This is a continuation of the destruction of state administration. We reject this offer as completely unacceptable. There is already an outflow of qualified personnel from key state institutions, because wages in public administration are very low and uncompetitive compared to the private sector.
However, the minimum wage increase in 2025 could be even higher, meaning an even greater discrepancy between public sector wage increases and the minimum wage. In June, the government assumed that, as inflation is expected to be 4.1% next year, the minimum wage will increase only once, starting on January 1. Now, however, it has presented a budget with an inflation increase of 5%.
According to the Minimum Wage Law, if inflation is forecast for the next year to be at least 5%. Two dates are then set for changing the value of the minimum wage and the hourly rate: from January 1st and from July 1st. This is what happened, among others, in 2024.
The government is expected to define by September 15 what the minimum wage will be in 2025. According to unofficial reports from Prawa.pl, the ministry wonders whether the increase in the inflation forecast should automatically result in an increase in the minimum wage in 2025. If so, the new rate should increase by almost PLN 50.
The work also included a draft amendment to the Minimum Wage Act, which assumes that the lowest wages will constitute 55% of the average wage. It is assumed that reaching this limit will be gradual, but this would mean that in 2025 the minimum wage should be PLN 4,718.45 gross, i.e. an increase of 9%. which is almost double public sector wages.