Black market

The biggest coal mining concern in Europe, Kompania Węglowa, wants to limit coal vouchers granted to its employees because they are impacting sales. "We want to replace the vouchers with money. The vouchers, which can be exchanged for coal, will be granted only to those who really need them," says a spokesperson for Kompania Węglowa, Zbigniew Madej.

About 203,000 people are beneficiaries of 'coal bonuses' granted by Kompania Węglowa. Some 70,000 are regular mine and office workers and 133,000 are pensioners. A coal miner can claim a tidy pile of six to eight tonnes of coal per year and a pensioner two to three tonnes, which costs the company some zł.200 million annually. It is up to the recipients whether they choose money or vouchers, for which they can receive coal from the mine. Most people choose vouchers, which can easily be sold to coal traders or smaller coal companies for a profit.

"This phenomenon is commonplace," admits Madej. Reform of the voucher system is now being discussed with trade unions.

Another issue that Kompania Węglowa needs to settle is free meals, which, theoretically, should be granted only to miners who work in tough conditions. In practice, however, almost 98 percent of workers benefit from them, including office and administration staff. Kompania Węglowa's attempts to end the zł.200-per-month meal bonus is expected to raise objections among trade unions.

Kompania Węglowa extracts 53 million tonnes of coal a year, which constitutes half of the total coal production in Poland. In 2005 the company generated a profit of zł.261 million, but does not intend to share it with its employees.