We do not want Poland to be treated as a country of cheap labour: PM

Her comments came in an interview published in an independent Mediaplanet supplement distributed on Friday with the Rzeczpospolita daily.

The prime minister said that for many years Poland favoured an economic model which led to "a large stratification in our socio-economic life and clear privileges for some at the expense of others."

"Poverty deepened in Polish families, and in many occupational groups wages were frozen for years, while living costs steadily rose... Entrepreneurs and small family businesses could not count on support because it was not in the interests of those in power at the time," she argued.

"We want to turn this around and return the state back to citizens... not only in the social sense but also in economic terms... that’s why we are pursuing a policy of equalizing opportunity, the fair distribution of goods, sustainable development.”

‘Giving everyone a chance’

She added that her conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government, which came to power in late 2015, aims to “give everyone a chance."

Asked where the government sees the greatest opportunities for the Polish economy in the future, Szydło replied: "We do not want Poland to be treated as a [source] of cheap labour, and that was the situation for years and no one did anything about it.”

The prime minister said the government aims to boost innovation in the economy, increase its competitiveness, raise R&D spending, achieve “synergies between science and business”, and create favourable conditions and incentives for both newcomer entrepreneurs and established small family businesses.

(pk)

Source: PAP