POLAND: Social Dialogue Council To Comment On Proposed Minimum Wage Hike

Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reminds that the tripartite consultative Social Dialogue Council (SDC) will today hold a plenary session to discuss the government's proposals surrounding a minimum wage hike and public-sector wages. The Council has to present its opinion no later than today, otherwise the government will set these parameters unilaterally by September 15.

• The law stipulates that the minimum wage is increased twice a year if CPI inflation in a given year exceeds +5% Y/Y (which was the case in 2024), and once a year otherwise. The government proposed a 7.6% minimum wage hike to take effect from January 2025 alongside a 4.1% (equal to the expected average CPI inflation) increase in public-sector wages.
• There is a discrepancy between the figures proposed by employer lobbies and trade unions, which makes the implementation of the government's proposals the most likely scenario. In any case, the government has the final say and will announce its decision by September 15 at the latest.
• Robust wage growth remains one of the key sources of concern for the Monetary Policy Council (MPC), translating into the stickiness of core inflation. The next wage report is due alongside the first batch of June economic activity data on Thursday.