Changes to Labor Code designed to save government zl. 300 million

Parliament has introduced changes to the Labor Code designed to provide the budget with almost zl. 300 million in savings. The changes cut back basic maternity leave from 26 weeks to 16, two weeks longer than the minimum required by the EU. Other maternity leave options were cut from 24 and 32 weeks to 18 and 26 weeks, respectively. Parliament also cut down on the pre-retirement benefit for people over 55, lowering the amount of the benefit to 80% of the retirement pension, from its previous level of 90%. The Labor Fund stands to save zl. 115 million as a result of this change. At the same time, unemployment benefits were increased to zl. 476.70 per month from the current zl. 260. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 3, Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B2) M.T.K.