Bridging the divide

The government coalition is at odds about a plan to grant teachers, a professional group currently eligible for early retirement, the right to "bridge pensions" until 2033.

The Polish Peasants' Party (PSL) has proposed that teachers who began working at schools prior to January 1, 1999, should retain the right to bridge pensions after January 1, 2009, if they have worked at a school for 20 years or more. Under this plan, over the next 24 years the retirement age would be gradually increased by five years for both men and women.

Labor Minister Jolanta Fedak of PSL publicly supported the plan, but Civic Platform (PO) officials expressed their disagreement. PO's proposal only gives teachers who work with troubled youths the right to bridge pensions.

Current regulations only grant bridge pensions to teachers who reach early retirement age before the end of this year.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk called PSL's plan for separate bridge pensions for teachers a "misunderstanding." He further claimed that the transition plan put forward by the labor minister had not been agreed upon with him. Zbigniew Chlebowski, head of the PO parliamentary club, bluntly told reporters, "There will not be any early pensions for teachers."

However, Chlebowski later softened his stance, saying that teachers could retain the right to retire early for health reasons or "some kind of transition period." Prime Minister Tusk also signaled the possibility of a compromise. Last Friday, representatives of both coalition parties were still negotiating a solution.