Deputy PM – 'This is no time for strikes'
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
07.05.2013 10:39
Deputy prime minister Janusz Piechociński has told Polish Radio that trade unionists should call off planned strikes over the summer as Poland fights to maintain economic growth.
Janusz Piechociński: photo - Wojciech Kusiński/Polskie Radio
“This is no time for a general strike,” Piechociński, who is also economy minister, said, Tuesday morning, adding that the government is doing all it can to increase GDP growth this year, currently predicted to fall to around 1.5 percent in 2013.
The deputy prime minister in the centre-right Civic Platform/PSL coalition called for dialogue between unions and government, as well as between unions and employers, after Piotr Duda, head of the Solidarity trade union, threatened a 'general strike' in Poland over pay and working conditions after talks with the government ended in stalemate in April.
The government is also trying to promote growth in investment and exports to project jobs, the deputy PM said, after the Finance Minsitry revised its growth projection for this year downward from 2.2 percent to 1.5 percent, noting a decline in exports and lower domestic consumption as a consequence of a longer-than-expected slowdown in the EU. (pg)