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Poland plans hike in unemployment benefits amid virus crisis

15.05.2020 15:20
Poland plans to give extra help to the unemployed, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Friday, as new data indicated the economy had slowed amid a coronavirus epidemic.
PM Mateusz Morawiecki speaking at press conference on Friday
PM Mateusz Morawiecki speaking at press conference on Friday Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański

The government intends to increase unemployment benefits from PLN 860 to PLN 1,200 (EUR 263, USD 284) a month, Morawiecki said.

It also plans to bring in an additional three-month benefit of PLN 1,300 for people losing their jobs during the virus crisis.

Morawiecki told a news conference: “These difficult, radical times demand radical, courageous decisions. We have decided to take such decisions.”

The announcement came after Poland’s president at the start of this month outlined a plan for more aid to the unemployed, including a special allowance to workers who lose their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis.

The Polish economy expanded 1.9 percent in the first quarter, slowing from 3.2 percent growth in the fourth quarter of last year, the country’s Central Statistical Office (GUS) said on Friday in a flash estimate.

Poland’s parliament on Thursday approved a plan to expand a massive relief and stimulus package of measures aiming to shield the economy from the coronavirus pandemic.

(pk/gs)

Source: PAP/IAR