The National Recovery Plan (NRP) envisages reforms related to the labor market, including the refinement of public employment services. However, we do not yet know which reforms it refers to, as precise plans in this respect have still not been presented.
To meet the KPO’s assumptions, the Warsaw Enterprise Institute is presenting a proposal for a new system of labor market support, focusing on reforming the operation of labor offices. We want these institutions to start fulfilling their nominal function, i.e. effectively mediating in finding a job.
Aleksandra Fandrejewska, in the article opening this report, describes how labor offices currently operate. In practice, they are more like welfare funds paying out various benefits than places where the unemployed look for good job offers. When looking for solutions appropriate for Poland, we resorted to the experience of countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, or Australia. Dr. Wiktor Wojciechowski described in his text the operation of public employment agencies in these countries. The practice of other countries shows that reform of unemployment benefits should be carried out in parallel to the reform of labor offices, i.e. by linking them to other social transfers and linking them more strongly to a genuine desire to find employment.
Our proposal – which we describe in the third chapter of this publication – is to transform labor offices into independent agencies, relieve them of social tasks, give them more autonomy, and include private entities (both companies and NGOs) also offering job placement services into the labor market support system. The new system would be subsidized based on the Labour Fund, which would also have to be depoliticized. We also propose to create a modern public database of job offers and job seekers – based on state-of-the-art technologies, continuously updated registers, and full transparency. We also take into account the needs of the Polish labor market concerning the inflow of immigrants, proposing, among others, to consider abolishing the institution of the work permit or taking into account the relocation needs of job seekers.
Our proposal is a collective work. Apart from the above-mentioned people, the undersigned Kordian Kolbiarz, the mayor of Nysa, and previously the director of the district employment office for many years, also participated in its preparation. This proposal is certainly not without flaws. We would like to see it improved through public debate and further expert consultation.
