Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his government’s "anti-crisis shield", which is to be debated by parliament on Friday, was the largest such support package in Polish history and was worth at least 10 percent of the country’s GDP.
In a message on Facebook, Morawiecki said Poland was approaching “a time of economic trial, perhaps the most serious that we have faced for decades.”
He added: "This storm cannot be avoided completely."
Under the plan passed by the Cabinet, the government will dole out up to 40 percent of the average monthly salary to employees working for companies in financial trouble, state news agency PAP reported.
Meanwhile, the self-employed and small businesses employing up to nine people will have their social security (ZUS) contributions paid for by the government for three months, PAP added.
The government last week unveiled an EUR 47 billion stimulus package to shore up the economy.
Morawiecki told reporters at the time that the programme would deliver a massive injection of funds from state coffers in order to protect jobs, help the country’s entrepreneurs and maintain the liquidity of businesses hit by the coronavirus.
(pk)
Source: PAP