Poland National Action Plan on Social Inclusion for 2004-2006

NATIONAL ACTION PLAN
ON SOCIAL INCLUSION FOR 2004 – 2006
Poland
NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON SOCIAL INCLUSION
Poland
CHAPTER 1. TRENDS AND CHALLENGES
5
1.1
Economic situation and the labour market
1.1.1. Economic development
1.1.2. Situation on the labour market
1.1.3. Groups in the most difficult situation on the labour market
1.1.4. Summary
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5
5
6
7
1.2. Demographic trends
1.2.1. Structure of households and families
1.2.2. Disabled people
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7
8
1.3. Income poverty and major risk factors
1.3.1. Relative poverty
1.3.2. Absolute poverty
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8
9
1.4. Education
1.4.1. Disabled youth
1.4.2. Education for adults and lifelong learning
1.4.3. Education in correctional centres
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12
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13
1.5. Culture
13
1.6. Housing and equipment
14
1.7. Health and health care
14
1.8. Identification of groups threatened by exclusion
1.8.1. Homeless people
1.8.2. The Roma population
1.8.3. Women
1.8.4. Persons in conflict with law
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CHAPTER 2. NATIONAL POLICY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION OBJECTIVES
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CHAPTER 3. SOCIAL POLICY INSTRUMENTS
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Priority 1 – Educational, social and health actions preventing exclusion as well as
supporting equal chances for children and the youth
21
Action 1.1. Increasing the participation of children in education and equalising educational
opportunities
21
Action 1.2. Support to families with children and prevention of family pathology
24
Action 1.3. Improving access to health care
25
Action 1.4. Preparation of the youth to enter the labour market
26
Priority 2. Creating a network of social safety, poverty prevention and social exclusion27
2
Action 2.1. Determining the realistic and socially accepted level of state income support
Action 2.2. Ensuring the minimum guaranteed income
Action 2.3. Ensuring income from work
Action 2.4. Ensuring adequate income in the old age
Action 2.5. Family benefits
Action 2.6. Income support for farmers
Action 2.7. Counteracting the feminisation of poverty
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Priority 3. Activation and inclusion of groups threatened with social exclusion
Action 3.1. Supporting employment opportunities
Action 3.2. Social economy
Action 3.3. Access to social housing
Action 3.4. Support for the elderly
Action 3.5. Legal protection of discriminated persons
Action 3.6. Refugee inclusion
Action 3.7. Integration of national minorities
Action 3.8. Inclusion of former prisoners
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Priority 4. Development of social services and their co-ordination
Action 4.1. Development and reform of social services
Action 4.2. Development of social services enabling social inclusion
Action 4.3. Co-ordination and evaluation of actions in the sphere of social inclusion
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CHAPTER 4. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
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4.1. The way of creation of the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion 2004 - 2006
44
4.2. Profile of the third sector in Poland
44
4.3. Institutional possibilities of horizontal and vertical co-operation
46
4.4. Challenges for the future and planned activities engaging all social partners in
combating poverty and social exclusion
Action 1. Creation of the strategy for development of the non-government sector
Action 2. Promotion, training and monitoring of the non governmental organisations
Action 3. Creation of structural bases for supporting the non-government sector
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51
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CHAPTER 5. EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICES
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Practice 1. Duet – Readaptation of the imprisoned through work with disabled youth 54
Practice 2. Protection of biological diversity – The usage of activities from the range of
widely understood ecology as a form of social readaptation and reintegration
55
Practice 3. Brochure – Searching for missing persons among the homeless
56
Practice 4. Lending library of school textbooks for children
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ANNEX 1
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3
ANNEX 2
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4
Chapter 1. Trends and challenges
1.1 Economic situation and the labour market
1.1.1. Economic development
In the years 1992-2002 Poland went through the full business cycle, including a period of
speeding up of the economy in 1992-1994, a period of prosperity in the middle of nineties,
slowing down in the years 1999-2000 and then economic stagnation in the years 2001-2002.
The year 2003, when the GDP growth rate reached 3.8%, is probably the first year of the next
business cycle. This cycle should last approximately until the year 2010 in the situation of
lack of negative internal and external shocks. The beginning of 2004 points to further increase
in the GDP dynamics, which in the first quarter rose by 6.9% in real terms.
1.1.2. Situation on the labour market
The economic growth in Poland has a jobless character and can be contributed to an increase
in total factors productivity. In consequence, despite observed economic growth in recent
years, employment rates remain unchanged (in the first quarter of 2004 the employment rate
increased only by 0.1 percentage point as compared to a similar period of the last year).
According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the number of people employed decreased by
10.9% from 15.4 million in 1998 to 13.7 million in 2003. At present the employment rate in
Poland is the lowest among all EU Member States - in 2003 the employment rate in Poland in
the age group of 15-64 was 51.2% (M: 56.5%, F: 46%), while the average rate in EU 25 was
63% [Table 1, Annex 1].
The high unemployment in Poland is, among other things, the result of restructuring processes
in enterprises. In 2003, the unemployment rate amounted to 19.5% (M: 18-19%, F: 20-20.5%,
Table 2, Annex 1). The main reason for losing work for nearly half of unemployed in 2003
was the winding-up of a workplace or of a firm. The liquidation of inefficient workplaces was
not accompanied by the creation of new ones. It results mainly from technological
modernization of the Polish economy and development of the capital-intensive sectors of
production rather than labour-intensive ones.
A confirmation of the hypothesis of a structural character of unemployment is relatively
strong correlation between the unemployment rate and the level of qualifications of the
population in different regions of Poland. Differences in the level of education are responsible
for at least 50% of differences between regions in the unemployment rates. Since the
beginning of the nineties, the growing need for highly qualified employees leads to the
situation when regions with less qualified population such as Warminsko – Mazurskie and
Lubuskie, have higher unemployment rates.
In 2003, the share of the long-term unemployed (seeking work for longer than one year) in the
total number of the unemployed amounted to ca. 50% (women 54%, men 47%), while the
total long-term unemployment rate was nearly 11% (F: 11.5%, M: 10.1%, Table 3, Annex 1).
In the first quarter of 2004 the population of the long-term unemployed comprised 1578
thousand persons. In comparison with the first quarter of 2003 the number of the long-term
unemployed decreased by 165 thousand (i.e. by 9.5%) and by 69 thousand (i.e. by 4.2%) as
compared to the fourth quarter of 2003. The percentage of the long-term unemployed was the
highest amongst unemployed in the older age groups. Among the unemployed at the age of
5
above 45 years, the long-term unemployed constituted 50.2%, while among the population of
the unemployed up to the age of 24 years – 33.4%.
The approximate job seeking period gradually increases (in 2003 it was 16 months, women
seek job a month longer than men). The longest job seeking period was in the case of
unemployed with primary education (17.5 months) and basic vocational education (16.4
months), the shortest one – in the case of unemployed with tertiary education (11.7 months).
1.1.3. Groups in the most difficult situation on the labour market
Combination of reaching the working age by baby boomers and simultaneous increase in
unemployment caused particular difficulties for young people to find a job despite
improvement in the education level. In 2003, in the age group of 15-24 years, the
unemployment rate exceeded 40% [Table 4, Annex 1], while the long-term unemployment
rate – 38%. In 2003, the youth unemployment ratio1 decreased by one percentage point as
compared to the previous year, when it reached the highest value in the recent years, and
finally amounted to 14.8% [Table 5, Annex 1]. On the other hand, situation of older workers
in the immobile age – above 45 years is also difficult, with the total long-term unemployment
rate in this group amounting to 58.8%. During the transition period, the fall of employment
rates for these age groups was the highest.
Another unemployment determinant is education. According to the LFS data, the highest
unemployment rates are observed in the case of persons with primary education (including
lower secondary (gymnasium)) and incomplete primary education. In 2003 the unemployment
rate in these groups amounted to 25% [Table 6, Annex 1]. Above average unemployment rate
is observed in the case of persons with basic vocational education [ca. 23%] and general
secondary education [22-23%]. In 2003, the highest increase in the unemployment intensity
occurred among persons with primary (including lower secondary (gymnasium)) and
incomplete primary education. In the case of persons with general secondary education, the
unemployment rate decreased.
The structural changes took a different course in different regions of the country. Therefore
there are regions of Poland with a difficult situation (regions around post-State farms and with
collapsing heavy industry) and specific enclaves of dynamically developing labour markets
(mainly big towns). In 2002, the regional cohesion2 amounted to 7.3 and it increased by a half
since 1999. Such Voivodships as Warminsko-Mazurskie, Zachodniopomorskie and Lubuskie
were characterized by the highest unemployment rate (ca. 25%). There are also big
differences between particular types of towns. In big towns of above 500 thousand inhabitants
the unemployment rate is lowest – on average 16.2%, but the labour market situation in small
towns is difficult (the unemployment rate ca. 25%). As a result, overall situation in towns is
worse than in rural areas (the total unemployment rate in urban areas – 20.9%, on rural areas –
16.6%). It can be assumed, that relatively low indicator for rural areas results from the hidden
unemployment existing there. However in those regions where once state farms were
functioning, the scale of unemployment in rural areas is larger than in towns (e.g. in
Zachodniopomorskie, the unemployment in rural areas is 27.6%, in Dolnoslaskie 27.2%, in
Warmi sko-mazurskie 23.7% and in Lubuskie – 22.4%).
The more difficult situation for women [Table 7, Annex 1] results mainly from increasing
competitiveness on the labour market combined with insufficient access to affordable
childcare of good quality. In 2003, the economic activity rate for women amounted to 58%
(for men – 70%), while women employment rate was 46% (for men – 56,5%). Despite
1
2
Relation of unemployed youth aged 15-24 to the total of population in this age.
Standard deviation of unemployment divided by the weighted national average for age group 15-64 years.
6
comparable unemployment rates for both genders, women seek a job a month longer than men
and more often suffer form long-term unemployment, which does not only affect their current
situation, but also affects the future in the form of lower pensions. At the same time,
economically active women are better educated than men. They compose 51% of people
completing trainings, 66.1% of participants of labour clubs. In 2003, in the age group of 25 to
64, only 4.5% of men participated in education and trainings, while the respective percentage
for women was higher by one percentage point.
The unemployment rate in the group of disabled persons is slightly more favourable than
among the rest of population, but economic activity rates and employment rates are
unsatisfactorily low and in 2003 amounted respectively to ca. 17% and 14% for persons aged
15 years and more and 24.1% and 19% for persons aged 15 to 64. These rates are higher in
rural areas, although the unemployment rate for disabled persons is lower in rural areas than
in towns. In this group, the number of persons registered in labour offices is increasing. A
reform of the functioning of labour offices, which is implemented includes employment
qualified vocational advisers for the disabled by labour offices which may bring positive
results.
1.1.4. Summary
Due to the structural character of Polish unemployment and in connection with the forecasted
considerable worsening of the total demographic dependency ratio3, there is a need of
undertaking more and more intensive activities improving the possibilities to employ groups
having difficulties with finding a job. It should be possible to reintroduce to the labour market
persons inactive even for a few years through improvement of their qualifications and
motivation and lowering costs of labour for employers. Therefore, integration programmes are
becoming more popular. They take into account different levels and reasons for exclusion of a
given person both from the labour market and from the social life. The biggest challenge is
the activation of persons with low qualifications, older and disabled employees and increasing
the number of jobs.
1.2. Demographic trends
In 2002 there were more than 38,3 million people in Poland4 (106 women per 100 men).
Currently, due to decreasing total fertility rate (to 1.25 in 2002) combined with increases of
the life expectancy (in 2002 F:78.78; M:70.42) Poland experiences population ageing. Since
1999, the natural growth was negative and the age structure of the population reflects shifting
of the baby booms and baby busts [Chart 1, Annex 1]. The above trends determine the
direction of social changes. Such factors as: baby-boomers entering the labour market,
projected inactivation of the present population at the immobile age (persons aged 45 to 65)
and non-favourable changes in relation of the population in working age towards population
in the non-working age, will be the main challenges in the sphere of the labour market policy,
social security, health care and the social welfare system.
1.2.1. Structure of households and families
The National Census conducted in 2002 [NC 2002] revealed the high share of one-person
households (24.8% of the total number)5. The prevailing types of families are6 married
3
Dependency ratio is defined as the number of people at the non-working age per 100 people at the working age.
Data are based on the National Census 2002 [NC 2002] results.
5
According to the CSO, such a big share of one-person households results from, inter alia, the adopted
methodology, according to which persons living together and keeping themselves separately are treated as
separate households. „Population and households. State and socio-economic structure”, CSO, October 2003
4
7
couples with children (56%), of which one-child families made-up the biggest proportion –
46.9% (families with two children – 36.2%). The share of single-parent families in the total
number of families also increased (from 15.4% in 1998 to 19.4% in 2002) as a result of, inter
alia, more divorces. Among those families dominate single mothers (80%) and residents of
urban areas. Single parents and families with many children are traditionally threatened by
poverty and social exclusion to the highest degree. Also the scale of problems among these
groups enlarges most rapidly.
1.2.2. Disabled people
Comparing recent National Censuses, there was a sharp increase in share of persons legally
disabled in the total population (from 9.9% in 1988 to 14.3% in 2002, Table 8, Annex 1). The
reason for that – besides ageing of the population – was treating a disability as a possibility
for early exit from the labour market in the light of an increase in the structural
unemployment. At present, 30% of the total disabled do not suffer from restricted ability to
perform basic activities. Disability most often occurs in the age group 45 to 64 years, more
often among women (52.9%) than men and residents of urban areas. However disability
increases fast in rural population.
Among ethnic and national minorities, which represent a slight percentage of total population
in Poland (3.3% according to the NC 2002), mainly the Roma are affected by social problems
(in the NC 2002 12.7 thousand of people declared Roma nationality). In recent years the
number of immigrants and refugees has increased. According to NC2002 there were 34.1
thousand immigrants in Poland7. Two thirds of this group were long-term immigrants, who
reside in Poland for 12 months or longer, while one third - from 2 to 12 months.
1.3. Income poverty and major risk factors8
1.3.1. Relative poverty
During transition period the processes that took place significantly influenced the changes in
the living situation of different types of households. Since 1993, total real incomes have
increased. Differentiation between incomes in various socio-economic groups has enlarged.
At present, the families in which main sources of income are social transfers (with exception
of pensioners) are in the least favourable situation. In the years 1989-2002 the Gini
coefficient increased from 24.9 to 31 in total population and in particular groups was even
higher (in 2001: farm employees – 34, farmers, self-employed – 33, employees - 32). In 2002,
the income of 20% richest Poles was 4.8 times higher than the income of 20% poorest ones.
In 2002, 17% people had at their disposal income lower than 60% of the median national
equivalised income (since 1999 an increase by one percentage point, Table 9, Annex 1). It is a
value close to the EU average. Similar situation is observed for other levels of the poverty
threshold. At the threshold of 40% of the median, the poverty rate in 2002 reached 6%, at the
level of 50% of the median - 10%. However, as the average level of income in Poland is
lover, the threshold level at 60% of the median is in financial terms ca. 2.7 times lower than
EU average. For one-person’s household this threshold in 2001 amounted to 2822 PPS while
6
According to the NC 2002, a family is a couple (married couple or partners) without children or a couple with
one or more children or a single parent with one or more children. Also families living in the collective housing
are taken into consideration.
7
According to the definition adopted for needs of the NC 2002, an immigrant is a person living permanently
abroad and residing in Poland periodically more than for 2 months.
8
Estimates based on results of households budgets surveys conducted annually by CSO.
8
in EU15 - 7732 PPS9. It indicates much lower standard of living of the Polish society and
much more difficult situation of poor people comparing to similar group of poor people in EU
countries. Since the beginning of the nineties, when transition changes worsened the financial
condition of a part of the society, social transfers significantly supported the budget of Polish
households. Major beneficiaries of social transfers were persons aged more than 65. The
impact of those transfers for this group of people is significant. If pensions are excluded from
the total households’ incomes, risk of the poverty increases twice, while if all social transfers
are excluded from the income - this rate rises three times. In the group of persons aged over
65, the extent of poverty at the level of 60% of the income median in 2002 was 7% compared to 17% overall. While taking away the influence of social transfers (other than
pensions) to income of pensioners, the poverty rate increases to 18%, while after taking away
the influence of pensions - the poverty rate increases to 86%.
Traditionally, the poverty scale increases together with the increase of the family size. In
2002, among families with three or more children, the threat of poverty determined at the
level of 60% of the median was two times higher than in the total population. As a result,
children and youth compose the group which is most affected by poverty. In 2002,
according to the Laeken indicators about 23% of children (aged below 15) and 21% of youth
(aged 16-24) lived in poverty.
As far as economic activity is considered, in the group of persons employed, the selfemployed are in the most difficult situation (20%). The high value of the rate results from the
fact that this group covers well not only managing persons running their own business, but
also individual farmers. Farmers having small farms and unskilled workers constitute a group
of the working poor. Among groups remaining outside employment, the unemployed are
affected by poverty to the greatest degree (38% in 2002). Men are in a more difficult situation
than women (39% and 36% respectively).
1.3.2. Absolute poverty
Application of different levels of poverty thresholds does not cause significant changes in
identification of groups in the most difficult situation. The Laeken line first of all focuses on
the issue of differentiation of income in the society. However, the scale of the extreme
poverty in Poland is the reason why enabling the meeting of basic needs and creating
conditions for undertaking activities that help leaving the poverty circle becomes a
priority. During the period 1996-2003 the percentage of persons below the minimum
subsistence level10 increased 2.7 times. In consequence, in 2002 almost every eighth Pole
experienced such a risk. [Table 10, Annex 1].
The situation became particularly difficult for the unemployed, the number of which
considerably increased during the transition period. Long duration of this phenomenon
resulted in termination of rights to unemployment benefits (in 2003 only 13-14% of the
unemployed were entitled to the unemployment benefit). In Poland, there is a strong
correlation between poverty and employment, particularly in the case of low-skilled people,
persons living in areas economically underdeveloped, rural and undergoing restructuring11.
9
PPS – Purchasing Power Standards – an abstract unit, for which comparable baskets of goods could be bought
in each country.
10
Minimum subsistence level – estimated on the basis of a basket of goods and services which ensures meeting
of only the most basic needs: modest food, housing expenses for a very small flat, replacement of the most basic
household items and underwear, medical drugs and items required for obligatory school attendance. Because the
minimum subsistence level, defined in this way, covers only the needs which must be met immediately and
cannot be deferred, and for which consumption below the specified level leads to biological deterioration, the
minimum subsistence level has been accepted as the line of extreme poverty.
11
„Growth, employment and living standards in pre-accession Poland”, The World Bank, Warsaw, 2004.
9
People subsisting on non-earning sources of income (other than pensions) suffered poverty
to the highest degree (in 2003, 34% of them lived below the minimum subsistence level).
Disability and survivor pensioners (17.2%), farmers (17.5%) and farm employees (14.8%)
lived also below average.
National indicators point at dramatic situation of families with four or more children, as in
2003 more than 2/5 people from these families realized expenditure below the minimum
subsistence level. Similar problems affected 13.4% of single parent families. In 2003, 40% of
people living in extreme poverty were aged below 19. Generally, children from rural areas are
poorer than children from towns. However, regional surveys point also to the scale of the
problems experienced by little urban residents of “poverty enclaves”12.
Moreover, it is worth pointing at a difficult situation of elderly people, particularly those
receiving disability pensions, as the level of those pensions in Poland is often insufficient to
meet the specific needs of seniors in a poor health condition (in 2003 every 20th person aged
over 65 lived in the extreme poverty).
Poverty threat is above average in families with disabled-headed households (in 2002 14.5%
below the subsistence level) and in families with at least one disabled child (in 2002 18.4%
persons bringing up a child aged below 16 and having rights to obtain the nursing benefit13
lived below the minimum subsistence level).
There are also strong differences between urban and rural areas. In 2003 ca. 18% rural areas
inhabitants lived in the extreme poverty (in small cities 11%). The highest percentage of
poverty could be observed among inhabitants of rural areas that do not have their own farm
and whose main source of income are non-earning sources other than pensions (in 2003, 47%
of these persons were threatened by extreme poverty).
Polish poverty is not deep (in 2003, poverty depth for the minimum subsistence level
accounted for 20%). Nevertheless, it does not change the fact that the generally lower
standard of living in Poland leads to very difficult situations, particularly when such events as
an illness or a job loss contribute to a significant worsening of the living standard. The social
welfare so far addressed to the marginalized persons has not been sufficient and it focused on
passive participation of beneficiaries. Moreover the precise addressing of the assistance for
specific needs has been also lagging behind. In consequence, the assistance did not support
educational or employability needs and did not contribute to leaving the poverty or exclusion.
It rather preserved the existing situation.
The excessive burden of social employees with office and administration work and with the
payment of cash allowances prevented them from doing social work targeted at social and
economic activation of beneficiaries.
In 2002, in the group of persons living below the minimum subsistence level, almost a half
suffered from poverty at least for a second year in a row. In the years 2000-2002, the relation
of the number of beneficiaries receiving the social welfare benefit for three years to the
number of total beneficiaries of that system amounted to 43%14. The poverty persistence
12
Surveys on the Lodz town show that some 1/3 of poor children from this region come from “poverty
enclaves”. “Children and families in poverty. Local, social, institution”, Wielisława Warzywoda-Kruszy ska,
Łód 2002.
13
To the nursing benefit is authorized for a child up to 16 years of age being in possession of a disability
certificate.
14
Information from IS POMOST – an administration system for recording beneficiaries of the social welfare
system.
10
amongst families contributes to such phenomena as inheritance of poverty or creation of the
so-called underclass.
The poverty threshold in Poland established at the minimum subsistence level means that
people threatened by poverty are not able to meet even basic needs and their social inclusion
is particularly difficult. It should be underlined that within this group there is a strong
correlation between income poverty and other types of deprivation in such spheres as:
accommodation, access to health care, education or culture. Moreover accumulation of
difficulties is particularly painful when it affects the whole community of a given area. In
such conditions, children and youth are in the most difficult situation. On the one hand they
are not able to withstand the difficult situation on their own, on the other hand – they do not
have possibilities to obtain skills (social and vocational), which could prevent them as adults
and their families from poverty and exclusion in the future. As the difficult condition of the
public finance forces undertaking selective activities, particular attention should be focused
on prevention measures targeted at children and youth as well as activities eliminating
extreme poverty.
1.4. Education
Since the beginning of the nineties, education in Poland at the secondary and tertiary level has
been disseminating. More and more often education is continued in the form of courses,
trainings and additional studies. According to the NC 2002 as compared to the previous
census of 1988, the population education level improved (inter alia among population aged
over 15, the percentage of persons with tertiary education increased from 6.5% to 10.2%,
Table 12, Annex 1). At present in Poland there are high enrolment rates in secondary and
tertiary education, particularly among women [Table 13, Annex 1] thanks to an increase in
access to different types of schools15 and also in connection with implementation of the
educational system in 1999 focusing on development of secondary and tertiary education. In
2003, the early school leavers constituted 6.3% of young people aged 18-24 - it is a lower
than a half of that in EU-15 (PL: 6.3%, EU15: 18%, NMS: 7.5%, Table 14, Annex 1).
Despite those good indicators, Polish education system experiences many inequalities. At
present, one of the factors influencing increase in the inequality of educational opportunities
is small proportion of children aged 3-6 attending pre-schools. In rural areas in the school
year 2001/02 only 34.7% of this age group was covered by this type of education (but 91.2%
of 6-years-olds). In urban areas almost all 6-years-old children attend pre-schools preceding
the first grade of primary school.
Children from rural areas have poorer access to all types of education. The quality of schools
from these areas is often lower than the quality of schools from big urban agglomerations,
which offer education better adjusted to modern needs and are better equipped with
educational aids (including computers and the Internet) and have a more diversified offer of
extracurricular activities. Taking into account difficulties connected with access to bigger
cities and the larger scale of poverty, the distance between children from different regions of
the country in the level of education and in future opportunities on the labour market
increases.
Improvement in total enrolment rates is not accompanied by a high quality of education –
despite efforts undertaken within the framework of the educational system reform. In 2000, in
15
Accessibility of different types of schools increased mainly thanks to the possibility of creation of private
schools, which at present play a particular role mainly for tertiary education (30% of students are educated in this
type of schools) as well as branches and divisions of universities etc.
11
Poland there was an alarmingly high percentage of 15-years-olds (PL: 23.2%, EU25: 17.2%),
who are at level 1 or below of the PISA combined reading literacy scale.16. It points at low
efficiency of the Polish educational system, which focuses more on transferring knowledge of
encyclopaedic rather than functional character. Polish pupils came off below the average for
OECD countries in: understanding of a text (479 points), mathematical competencies (470
points) and scientific thinking (483 points)17. Differences between the Polish best and the
worst pupils are also markedly higher than at average in OECD countries. In Poland the
connection between learning results and financial situation of pupils’ households is relatively
lower than in other countries. Important factors explaining the Polish outcome are cultural
differences, additionally intensified by the structure of educational system, as they foster
strong differentiation between schools. Survey results indicate also different gender
competencies with girls coming off much better than boys in understanding texts and only
slightly worse than boys in mathematical tests.
Despite the fact, that more and more people take-up tertiary education, the quality of
education varies. At present, almost two thirds of higher schools are shortly functioning nonpublic institutions. While in public higher schools there is one academic teacher per 16
students, in non-public ones this ratio is threefold higher. What is worrying, evening and
weekend forms of studying intended only to support access to the higher education, cover
more than 50% of the total number of students. Such situation leads generally to lower level
of education, as – mainly weekend studies – provide limited contact with lecturers and require
less didactic classes. Differences are deepened, as majority of students in free, public fulltime studies (often on a higher level) are persons from better-off financially and better
educated families, who thanks to better quality of hitherto school and extracurricular
education are able to cope with difficult exams. In consequence, youth from less educated
families and from families of lower level of income still experience difficulties in access to
education at the higher level and particularly to public, often better, schools which influences
their further working career. The above issues point to the necessity to equalize the quality of
education at all stages and provide access to financial support for students from poorer
families. Implementation of the efficient accreditation system for educational and training
institutions is a very important aspect. An increase in quality of education in private
universities established far from big academic centres would be a chance for the less wealthy
youth to be educated without bearing additional living costs.
1.4.1. Disabled youth
In 2002, some 40% of disabled children attended special primary schools, 50% went to
generally accessible schools and 9% attended integration classes. The number of special lower
secondary schools and special general upper secondary schools is increasing and in 2002 they
covered by education about 52% of disabled pupils of lower secondary schools. Upper
secondary education for the disabled is concentrated in vocational schools, attended by some
90% of disabled young people. Due to architectural, financial and transportation barriers and
the course of earlier education, which is not always adjusted to the needs of disabled children,
their participation in tertiary education is small. Nevertheless it should be underlined that the
number of disabled students grows much faster than able-bodied students of the same age (in
2002 they accounted for 0.3% of all students, in 2001 – 0.2%).
16
The so called Indicator of low reading performance – indicator concerns participation of 15-year-olds, who in
the PISA examination attained results at or below level 1 on the combined literacy scale in the total number of
youth in this age group participating in the examination.
17
Ireneusz Białecki, Jacek Haman, „Programme for International Student Assessment OECD/PISA. Polish
results – examination report”. The average for OECD countries in all spheres is 500 points.
12
An important factor supporting education of disabled children and youth is the provision of
affordable transport and care while conveying to schools or school-educational and
revalidating-educational centers. During the school year 2003/04 5819 of disabled pupils were
transported to primary schools, while to gymnasiums - 4813 pupils.
1.4.2. Education for adults and lifelong learning
Education for adults (including university-level schools offering evening, weekend or
distance learning courses) developed significantly since early 1990s. In the school year
2001/2002, nearly 1.5 million adults (8-10% of those working in the economy, compared to
20% in EU15) were enrolled in primary, lower and upper secondary and higher education
institutions (in evening, weekend or distance learning courses) as well as in postgraduate and
doctoral studies. In 2003, participation in education or training among persons aged 25-64
amounted to 5% (F: 5.5%, M: 4.5%, Table 15, Annex 1) of all those learning and completing
their education (in EU 8.5%). Serious disproportions can be noticed in the case of the number
of hours devoted to trainings in organised forms – in Poland about 2 hours per year, in EU
countries– 50-70 hours per year. It is necessary to increase this indicator through, inter alia,
promoting the importance of continuing one’s education during the working career, as well as
during the period of seeking employment and through development of educational institutions
having certificates confirming high quality of courses provided. It is also important to adjust
lifelong learning to the needs of the disabled from the point of view of programmes,
methodology, and communication e.g. sign language.
1.4.3. Education in correctional centres
One of the crucial problems in education for persons located in correctional centres and
resocialisation centres is the inadequacy of vocational education in these facilities to the needs
of the present labour market. Due to low attractiveness of professions offered (e.g. wall-paper
hanger or locksmith) and outdated equipment, it is impossible to prepare youth for
participation in the labour market reality. Gaining vocational skills fostering employment may
be one of the fundamental factors speeding up resocialisation and further social inclusion of
this group of young people.
1.5. Culture
Due to the worsening of the economic situation of a part of households in Poland and
decrease in public expenditure for culture (for current activity and modernization) access to
culture is uneven both on a rural-urban line and in regional perspective. A common
phenomenon is the worsening state of culture infrastructure, a decrease in the number of
culture establishments and recipients of culture. Particularly worrying is liquidation of
libraries and library service points – as compared to 1995, in 2002 the number decreased by
22.4% (by 28.5% in rural areas). Reduced access to culture in rural areas in recent years is
also related to a continuous decrease in the number of rural community centres, clubs, dayrooms and limitation of hitherto activity by other institutions.
Facilities adjusted to the needs of persons with a considerable motor dysfunction are
unsatisfactory and regionally differentiated. In 2001, the situation looked best in the case of
theatres and institutions of music performances (42.2% of them were fully accessible).
It is necessary to expand and modernise cultural infrastructure and to ensure even access to
culture, mainly in rural areas. The creation of encouraging legal, organisational and financial
conditions for the activity of culture institutions, support for non-governmental organisations
in the process of culture animation and development of culture industries would surely
13
contribute to improvement in the culture institutions network and thus increase possibilities of
social integration through culture.
1.6. Housing and equipment
On the basis of the NC 2002 data, it is estimated that the number of households exceeded the
number of housing units by 1.5 million. It indicates difficulties of families, who cannot afford
to buy an apartment (at present the average monthly wage affords buying only 0.6-0.8 square
meters) or to rent one. Too small number of social houses, which represent 0.3% of all
housing resources in Poland, does not meet the needs. At present nearly 1/5 of tenants are in
arrears with rent, 5.2% - for longer than 3 months. In 2002, 33634 eviction judgments were
pronounced towards tenants sued for eviction by the owner of a dwelling for different
reasons18. 7631 evictions were carried out, of which 65% constituted the so-called evictions
into the street. These data confirm the necessity to develop the social infrastructure, which
would offer affordable housing for low-income persons in the most difficult situation.
Assuring at least a temporary apartment is an essential element preventing falling into a chain
of problems, which may lead to social exclusion.
As compared to the previous 1988 census, the equipment of houses and apartments with
sanitary installations has improved, although in rural areas still one in ten dwellings has no
such installations. The lower the household income and the smaller is the town the worse is
the equipment with durable goods and modern technology. In 2002, in rural areas there were
three-times less computers and printers as compared to urban agglomerations of above 500
thousand inhabitants and in households from the first income quintile there were 3.3-times
less computers than among households from the fifth quintile.
1.7. Health and health care
Since early 1990-ties, indices of population health status have been improving. Infant
mortality rate decreased (to 7.5 in 2002) and the average life expectancy increased (in 2002
F:78.78, M:70.42). The exposure of population to certain risk factors (smoking cigarettes,
consumption of high-percentage alcohols and animal fats) also decreased. This is reflected in
a decrease in the number of deaths caused by circulatory diseases – the most frequent cause of
death, which at present causes 49% of all deaths (M-43%, F-54%). Stabilization of cancer
mortality causing 24% of deaths (M-26%, F-22%), takes place. Despite a steady decreasing
trend, the level of tuberculosis sickness rate is still much higher than in EU countries.
Stabilization of the registered HIV sickness rate has been also observed. There are significant
regional differences in population health status, which persist and sometimes rise. Other
warning signals are observed, such as regional curbing of the decrease in infant mortality and
of decrease in breast cancer mortality.
The positive changes in the Polish population’s health status are in contrast with the
significant increase in the frequency of hospitalization and ambulatory services caused by
mental disturbances, including alcoholism and other addictions. The alcoholism was more
18
The owner of a dwelling may sue for eviction of a tenant who lost a legal title to the dwelling. Reasons for
eviction may be different e.g.: arrears with rent or other dwelling usage payments, usage of a dwelling in a way
contradictory to the agreement or incompatible with its destination, neglecting duties which may lead to
damages, devastation of appliances destined for common usage by inhabitants, persistent violation of house
order etc.
14
acute during the transition period19. According to the State Agency for Prevention of AlcoholRelated Problems, the total number of persons affected by alcoholism (directly and indirectly)
ranges from 7 to 10 million, including some 600-800 thousand alcoholics, 2-3 million persons
abusing alcohol regularly and 3-4 million family members of alcoholics (both children and
adults). Regular abuse of alcohol by one fifth of persons aged 15-18 is of particular concern.
According to the survey conducted on social welfare beneficiaries, alcoholism affects more
frequently men, people aged 35-54, families with four and more children, residents of small
towns (10.000-20.000 inhabitants) and people from rural areas20. Another problem, the scale
of which has increased in recent years is experimenting with drugs and their occasional use.
In particular, the percentage of pupils reaching for hard drugs rises, placing Poland at the
European average level.
The falling number of public health care facilities (in 2001 by 20%) and employment in health
care is counterbalanced by the creation of non-public health care facilities (in 2001 an
increase by 95%). The number of dentists and nurses also fell. In spite of an increase in the
number of doctors employed in health care facilities, long waiting times for medical
treatment, especially for an appointment to see a specialist, remains a serious problem. The
health status of the poor population may be lower owing to lack of financial resources to
obtain quality health treatment. In 2002, 30% people refrained from purchasing drugs due to
insufficient means21.
In the area of health-care, the challenge for the future is support for the access to the
specialised health care for the poorest and rural areas inhabitants through, inter alia,
rationalization of the network of health care facilities as well as shortening of the waiting
times for appointment.
1.8. Identification of groups threatened by exclusion
The above analysis allows the identification of factors fostering poverty and social exclusion
and groups more frequently than others experiencing such problems. It should be kept in mind
that standard surveys of households are not able to cover representatively small groups of
population, such as the Roma population in Poland. In order to obtain some information
concerning such groups, special case studies should be conducted. These restrictions remain
challenges for the Polish statistics.
On the basis of accessible data, it can be specified that factors determining difficulties of
Poles to the highest degree include:
-
unemployment,
-
long-term illness and disability,
-
having families with many children,
-
bringing children up alone,
-
low level of education,
-
living in rural areas, small towns or underdeveloped areas.
19
Agnieszka Sowa, „Alcohol abuse and poverty” in: „Poverty dynamics in Poland. Selected quantitative
analyses”, CASE, Warsaw 2002.
20
„Alcohol Abuse and Poverty”, op. cit.
21
„Social Diagnosis 2002”
15
Combination of many negative aspects complicates the difficult situation and requires
undertaking greater effort in order to get a person or a family out of the poverty circle.
Besides the groups already mentioned (including children, youth, the disabled and old
persons), also many other groups experience poverty and social exclusion.
1.8.1. Homeless people
According to estimates, there are 30-80 thousand homeless people22 in Poland. Homelessness
is the most extreme form of exclusion and in Poland, similarly to other countries, it occurs
jointly with such phenomena as mental illnesses, disability, joblessness, crime and others. The
many aspects of this problem require undertaking actions adjusted individually to the situation
of a given person.
1.8.2. The Roma population
Many people among this strongly economically differentiated group live in poverty or even in
extreme poverty. In many communes (gminas), a prevailing majority of the Roma residing
there benefit from various forms of social welfare. It should be expected, that in the nearest
future the number of people of Roma origin, who despite reaching the retirement age would
not acquire retirement rights and thus financial security for old age, would increase. This is
the result of, inter alia, living from casual works, employment in the grey zone or being out of
a job and living by begging. Difficulties of the Roma on the labour market derive first of all
from lack of education, often illiteracy, passivity in job seeking and reluctance of employers
to hire the Roma23. At present about 70% of Roma children are provided with regular
education, but in some societies the great majority of children do not fulfil the schooling
obligation and some married girls aged 13-15 leave schools.
As a result of such factors as lack of water supply and sewage systems, unsatisfactory
protection of houses from cold weather, poor diet, limited access to health care services and
lack of prevention and tradition in pregnancy monitoring, the Roma very often suffer from
diseases – including tuberculosis, congenital anomalies and their average life expectancy is
shorter. Roma families often cannot benefit from housing benefits as dwellings inhabited by
the Roma do not meet construction standards (including lawless constructions) and there are
arrears in rent.
Public opinion pools show many negative Roma-related stereotypes functioning in the Polish
society. According to the Police, the Roma are not frequent victims of crimes, and crimes
committed towards them meet with prompt reaction of police.
1.8.3. Women
Thanks to the activity of the Office of the Governmental Plenipotentiary for Equal Status of
Men and Women and activity of relevant non-governmental organisations, the issue of gender
equality of rights is more visible in Poland. But still a big part of the society perceives the
traditional roles of women and men. There is also prevailing social permission for functioning
of such stereotypes. Despite the fact that on legal grounds, generally in all spheres of social
life equal rights for both genders are guaranteed, the practice is not always consistent with the
intentions of the lawmakers.
22
The evaluation is based on estimates made by non-governmental organisations. These data are transferred to
the Ministry of Social Policy.
23
On the one hand, representatives of this group do not have skills, which would enable them to find jobs, on the
other hand, they live in areas (e.g. the Carapace Roma) characterized by the highest levels of unemployment in
Poland, indicating a generally difficult situation of residents from these regions.
16
Women experience a more difficult situation on the labour market resulting in, inter alia,
more frequent long-term unemployment (women compose 63% of persons unemployed for
more than 24 months). As a result of existing feminisation of some low-paid types of
occupations, the gender pay gap is around 20 per cent. As a consequence of lower salary,
insufficient development of affordable forms of childcare services and stereotypical
perception of partners’ role, women more frequently take parental leave. Another example of
negative outcome of maintaining the existing inequalities is lower old-age pension for
women, being the result of lower average salary, temporary breaks in work caused by, inter
alia, childcare and earlier retirement age (shorter insurance contribution period).
There are particularly drastic cases of trade in women and women abuse as well as home
violence. Thus, beside introduction of the issue of gender equal rights to all spheres of social
life, essential is the realization of special programmes, aiming at diminishing the range of all
forms of violence and supporting the victims.
1.8.4. Persons in conflict with law
Since 2000, the number of those imprisoned in Poland has increased and in the first quarter of
2003 it amounted to 82 872 persons. Inclusion activities in the Polish penology are focused
mainly on education aiming at raising the skills level and supporting further employment. As
a result of low percentage of the imprisoned undertaking education and scarcity of financial
resources enabling purchase of equipment e.g. computers and provision of high quality
teaching, such education may not always fulfil the resocialisation function.
Improvement in access to education for the imprisoned, education in the form of courses and
employment require more financial resources. This activity could benefit in the future in
better social adaptation and inclusion. It is also necessary - using the potential of nongovernmental organisations - to track results of educational activities after leaving the penal
institution and to support continuation of this path.
17
Chapter 2. National policy and social inclusion objectives
The objectives of social inclusion policy stem mainly from the priorities defined in the
National Social Inclusion Strategy [NSIS] adopted in June 2004. This document was prepared
in an innovative way. The Task Force, which prepared it, consisted of representatives of
social partners: non-governmental organisations, central and local governments, and
international organisations.
The objectives of the social inclusion policy in Poland derive also from the goals connected
with fighting poverty and social exclusion adopted by the European Council meeting in Nice
in December 2000. Poland considers them as fully justifiable and has officially confirmed this
by adopting the Joint Inclusion Memorandum (JIM) of Poland and EU in 2003.
Both the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion and the JIM are part of the process of
implementation of the Lisbon Strategy adopted by fifteen Member States in March 2000. The
objectives and actions adopted are convergent with the Lisbon Strategy and the Nice
objectives. It ought to be underlined that all the Polish objectives fit into the framework of the
Revised Strategy for Social Cohesion of the Council of Europe inaugurated in Warsaw in July
2004.
***
The National Social Inclusion Strategy covers the period until 2010. This National Action
Plan focuses on these issues, which are particularly urgent. They also stem from presented
analysis of the socio-economic situation, which discusses the basic causes of poverty and risk
of social exclusion. Fighting these problems through strengthening the positive tendencies in
economy has been also underlined in the Prime Minister’s expose.
The NSIS goals are as follows24:
In education:
- Increasing the number of children participating in pre-school education,
- Improving the quality of education at the level of lower and higher secondary schools,
- Promoting tertiary education and adjusting it to the demands of the labour market,
- Compensating deficits in children’s intellectual and physical development.
In creating social safety networks:
- Radically reducing extreme poverty, the level of which is unacceptable today and
demands instant, decisive steps,
- Reducing the tendency for the income stratification growth so that the differences do not
exceed the average level of the EU countries.
Unemployment is one of the main causes of poverty and social exclusion in Poland. Therefore
as many as five of twenty goals of the National Social Inclusion Strategy concern the labour
market:
- Limiting the long-term unemployment;
- Limiting unemployment among the young;
- Increasing the level of employment among the disabled;
24
All the goals included in the National Social Inclusion Strategy together with the indices, which are to be
reached till 2010 are in Annex 2.
18
- Increasing the number of participants in the active labour market policy (ALMP);
- Promoting lifelong learning.
In health care:
- Extending the average healthy life expectancy;
- Promoting health insurance;
- Covering more women and children with national health programmes;
In access to rights, goods, and services:
- Increasing access to housing for groups most threatened with homelessness;
- Ensuring better access to social workers;
- Developing community aid and increasing the number of people covered by it;
- Increasing citizens’ involvement in social activeness;
- Implementation of the National Social Inclusion Strategy by local self-governments;
- Increasing access to civic information and counselling.
The objectives of the Polish social inclusion policy are based on appropriately directed
research. The diagnosis presented in Chapter 1 indicates that the social inclusion policy in
Poland should focus on reducing unemployment, long duration of diseases, and the disability
scale, improving the level of education and alleviating the poverty, particularly in families
with many children and in single-parent families. These require actions in virtually all aspects
of social policy and social services. Though, macroeconomic policy, focusing on balanced
economic growth in all regions and job creation is also an important factor. As Polish
experience shows, slower economic growth and destruction of job places lead to increased
unemployment and poverty, reducing efficiency of the instruments of social policy that exist.
The National Action Plan for Social Inclusion is a programme improving access to social
rights and increasing the scope of their implementation. It is also the main instrument of
achieving social inclusion in the European social model. Implementation of social rights is, of
course, costly, similarly to the implementation of all the other categories of human rights
defined by international and national law. Therefore financial, personnel, office, material, and
other resources should be ensured for the institutions responsible for implementing these
rights. Social rights should have priority in public expenditure due to the fact that in recent
years their implementation has considerably decreased and thus the level of social inclusion
has been decreasing and the extent of the social exclusion processes is growing.
The National Action Plan for Social Inclusion is to be implemented within two years and the
most important objectives for that period can be defined as follows:
-
Taking up educational, social, and health activities preventing exclusion as well
as setting the scene for equal chances for children and the youth;
-
Creating social safety networks and prevent from of poverty and social
exclusion;
-
Implementing the right to work for everyone, especially for the groups who are
in the most difficult situation on the labour market through appropriate
macroeconomic policies and employment policy,
-
Developing the institutional system with a clear division of responsibilities of
the central and local governments, opening at the same time the scope for the
19
civic action as well as for subjectifying the users of social services provided both
by the state and the non-governmental organisations.
At the operational level it is important that Polish policy of social inclusion has to be
implemented in co-operation with broadly understood social partners. This implies in
particular trade unions and employers’ organisations, non-governmental organisations, local
governments, and charity organisations of churches and religious groups. Regardless of the
level of affluence and of economic situation the state is not able to implement the goals of this
policy without a partnership with these institutions.
In this context the following objectives for the coming two years have been determined:
-
Involving the citizens in social activity, mainly through increasing their
participation in the activities of non-governmental organisations and other forms of
social work and grassroots initiatives;
-
Increasing the number of local governments which create local strategies for
fighting poverty and social exclusion and then consistently implement them with
sensitivity and full involvement.
20
Chapter 3. Social policy instruments
This chapter presents actions connected with the policy of social inclusion which will be
implemented in 2004-2006. They derive from the priorities defined in Chapter 2 and from the
adopted National Social Inclusion Strategy. They are also coherent with the aims defined in
the Sectoral Operational Programme for Human Resources Development (SOP HRD) and
also in the operational programme: EQUAL Community Initiative Programme (EQUAL CIP).
Moreover, these instruments take into account the goals set in the National Action Plan for
Women.
In 2004-2006 the social inclusion policy will be based on four types of priorities. The first one
embraces complex preventive actions, as preventing problems or solving them at an early
stage will allow to limit the extent of marginalisation and exclusion in the future. This
approach is also the least expensive and the most practical in terms of social policy. It is
important to extend special, multifaceted care over mothers with small children and then the
children and youth. In particular, it includes monitoring health situation, supporting
financially families raising children when needed, granting access to high quality education,
and developing instruments for reacting when difficult situations, which the family can not
counteract on its own (i.a., lack of the possibility for gaining income, disability, home
violence, or addictions), arise. These actions thus embrace mainly the access to the labour
market, education, and health service of suitable quality.
The second group of actions is related to creating a social safety network through ensuring a
system of income support for the poorest and targeted programmes aiming at alleviation of
poverty and its effects. It includes providing people threatened with social exclusion with the
access to basic social services. In this area the basic actions will concern ensuring the income
security to the poorest and requiring support, supporting families or counteracting addictions
and social maladaptations.
The third group of actions embraces forming a coherent system supporting activation and
integration of groups threatened with exclusion or excluded from the labour market. The
key element in this case is to ensure synergy between the labour market institutions and social
welfare institutions guaranteeing the chance for activation. Moreover it is also important to
implement actions supporting the socialisation of people suffering the greatest exclusion
(counteracting addictions, home violence, homelessness, and the helplessness syndrome).
To the fourth group belong actions for the reform and institutional development of social
services and improving co-ordination between them.
The actions, mentioned in the following part of this chapter, do not exhaust the whole
catalogue, yet in terms of social inclusion policy they are the most important.
Priority 1 – Educational, social and health actions preventing exclusion as well as
supporting equal chances for children and the youth
Action 1.1. Increasing the participation of children in education and equalising
educational opportunities
In the nearest years the actions will focus on increasing access to education for the following,
vulnerable groups: disabled people, youth from the families having difficulties in performing
21
their educational roles, poor people, inhabitants of rural areas and small towns as well as
national and ethnic minorities.
1.1.1. Increasing the participation of children and youth in education
Equal opportunities in education for children should be fostered by the introduction of the
obligation to attend pre-schools for six-year olds from September 2004. Simultaneously,
actions will be taken to encourage more frequent participation in pre-schools for younger
children. Among others, it is planned to organise within the boundaries of the SOP HRD
competitions on alternative forms of pre-school education and checking the readiness of sixyear-olds for school education (conducted under the supervision of specialists from the
psychological/pedagogical advice centres). While the period of realization of this programme
(at the beginning it will be pilot version), teachers will be commuting to respective villages
where they will run classes for 3-5 year old children.
The reform of the educational system launched in 1999 and aimed at supporting the
accessibility of high quality education for all children shall be continued. So far, i.a., the
primary school education has been shortened and lower secondary schools have been
established, which gives one more year before making decisions about the process of further
education and allows for additional verification of their knowledge after the completion of
primary school. The new structure of the education system and the changes in the curricula,
i.a. through module teaching are expected to ensure greater flexibility of the educational path
and the possibility of returning to education in case of its interruption.
In order to increase the accessibility of tertiary education several new mechanisms have been
introduced in recent years. The amendments to laws on education and tertiary education from
2003 and 2004 made it possible for tertiary schools to create branches, departments, and
didactic centres in small towns. Additionally, the age limit for access to education has been
abolished and the graduates of a given specialisation and level of studies, regardless of the
form of studies, receive identical diplomas.
1.1.2. Improvement of the quality of education
Improvement of the quality of education will be achieved through a number of actions
undertaken at different levels of the education system. The most important of them are:
–
modernisation of vocational training;
–
introduction of a system of external exams confirming vocational qualifications,
–
implementing the new provisions in the law on the system of education25, introducing a
system for accrediting agencies conducting educational activity in other forms than
schools and agencies involved in distance learning.
It is planned that a competition will be carried out within the SOP HRD concerning subsidies
for schools to finance projects which will develop the students’ basic skills, supporting the
youth with learning problems and ensuring education in accordance with the needs of the
local labour market.
1.1.3. Development of the scholarship system
An important element equalising the opportunities in the access to education will be the
system of scholarships in the form of social scholarships, special scholarships for the disabled,
subsidies to accommodation and subsistence. Since 1998 the system of loans and credits for
25
The Law of 27 June 2003, amending the Law on the education system and some other laws, Journal of Laws
2003, No 137, item 1304
22
students has been functioning. It is planned to create a system of grants supporting access to
education for children and young people coming from poorly developed areas. The
programme will be implemented within Priority 2 of the Integrated Regional Operational
Programme 2004-2006 (IROP)
New legal regulations concerning the labour market have introduced the possibility of
obtaining a grant for studying by poor unemployed people under the age of 25. If within 6
months from registering in the labour office the unemployed begins to continue education in a
school (lower secondary school, upper secondary school for adults or evening or weekend
studies in a tertiary school) they may receive financial aid in the form of a grant from the
labour office.
The plan for implementing of the National Scholarship Fund directed at poorer students of
schools higher than the primary level is under preparation.
1.1.4. Supporting the poorest families in the access of children to education
School Layette. The introduction of the programme School Layette addressed to pupils from
families in financial difficulties and beginning primary school aims at compensating the
differences in starting school among the pupils. The families obtain aid in the form of new
textbooks, a backpack, school accessories and an outfit for physical training. In 2004 the
programme School Layette is continued by the Ministry of National Education and Sport in
the form of the purchase of school textbooks. Moreover, a new money allowance paid as a
lump-sum benefit at the beginning of the school year for all the families entitled to a family
benefit has been also introduced (by the Law on the family benefits). Textbooks and money
grants should be available for all those who are in need of such kind of aid.
School lunch programme. According to the Law on social assistance, it is the duty of the
communes to provide food for children in need. Since 1996 the central government
financially supports the communes in implementing this task by means of the earmarked
reserves determined every year in the State Budget law. The amount of this support will be
considerably increased. As a result of the co-operation of the state budget, non-governmental
organisations and sponsors the aid in the form of school lunches reaches children from poor
families. This action will be gradually expanded in 2005 and 2006.
1.1.5. Education of disabled children and youth
In order to support the access of disabled children and youth to education special programmes
financed by the State Fund of Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (PFRON): Student (supports
gaining tertiary education) and Pitagoras (for the people with impaired hearing which
supports their tertiary studies and access to culture) will be continued. Moreover, the disabled
who have been awarded a student loan may apply for partial remittance of the loan. If
permanent inability to work has been documented, they are entitled for remittance of the
whole loan.
Steps aimed at removing architectonic, information, communication, social and psychological
barriers hindering the access of disabled people to tertiary education are among priority tasks
of the tertiary schools defined by the Ministry of National Education and Sport.
1.1.6. Gender equality in education
The National Action Programme for Women involves the elimination of all the forms of
gender inequality and discrimination appearing in the process of education. The most
important actions in this area include:
23
- guaranteeing women and men equal access to education in state schools of any levels and
kinds;
- introducing the principle of equal status of women and men in curricula, textbooks, and
teaching aids at all levels of education;
- promoting the principle of equality of women and men in the programmes of teacher
advancement and education.
Action 1.2. Support to families with children and prevention of family pathology
1.2.1. Helping parents in their care and educational functions
National Action Programme for Women includes promotion of the partnership model of the
family and thus the principle of the equal treatment of both parents in their educational
functions. Care systems will be developed (especially the institutions of daily care) for
children and people requiring care, which should also foster women’s economic activity. The
non-governmental organisations will play a particular part in running care institutions
(nurseries, pre-schools). Such actions are especially important in rural areas where the
proportion of children attending pre-schools is far lower than in urban areas.
1.2.2. Support of educational functions through the system of family benefits
In 2002, instead of the existing family benefits paid from various sources and on various
principles, only two kinds have been introduced: family benefits and care benefits. Family
benefits are supplemented with allowances paid in certain situations causing increased costs
such as: being a single parent, loss of the right to the unemployment benefits by single
parents, childbirth and maternity leave; beginning of the school year; the child’s attending a
school away from home, and educating a disabled child.
The solutions adopted by the law will be monitored. The corrections which arise thanks to the
monitoring will be made after 2004.
1.2.3. Development of prevention in families threatened with pathology
In accordance with the new Law on social assistance a strengthening of the system of
prevention in child and family care is planned. To that end care and rearing institutions of
daily support (including the specialist ones) will be reorganised and promoted.
To achieve this end the programme Recreation room, work, and internship - sociotherapy in
the rural environment will be implemented from 2005. It will help to create sociotherapy
recreation rooms and clubs in rural and rural-urban communes for children and youth from
families with alcohol problems and it will support families threatened with pathology.
1.2.4. Development of new forms of foster family care
Since it is vital to ensure children deprived, partly or completely, of parental care the
possibility of growing up in conditions most similar to the ones found in a family, new forms
of foster families will be created. Professional, not related to the child foster families will
raise siblings coming from families with many children, socially maladapted children and ill
children requiring constant care. Simultaneously, the quality of training for candidates for
foster families will be improved.
1.2.5. Counteracting social maladaptation, crime and addictions among the youth
The Programme for Preventing Social Maladaptation and Crime Among the Children and
Young People has been prepared in co-operation with local government authorities and non-
24
governmental organisations and approved by the Council of Ministers in January, 2004. The
programme covers recommended prevention programmes implemented by non-governmental
organisations. Moreover, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration will award
supplementary means from the public funds and assume patronage over undertakings
organised and realised by the non-governmental organisations.
The General Headquarters of Police organise workshops for the employees of counselling and
prevention centres on the procedures followed in drug-related crisis situations. The police will
also continue trainings conducted within the boundaries of the Mini Dublin Group in
monitoring undertakings in the sphere of the drug abuse prevention and fighting drug-related
crime in Poland.
Action 1.3. Improving access to health care
Ensuring universal access to health care will first of all require changes in the legislation
connected with adjustment of the law to the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal.
According to the Tribunal the existing law is not in accordance with the Polish Constitution
because it has created a public institution the form of which does not ensure its reliable and
efficient functioning, breaks the rules of the rule-of-law in the citizens’ constitutional right of
equal access to health care financed by public means due to the fact that the people who do
not pay the health care contribution are not entitled to the health care26.
Actions in the field of health care policy presented below also derive from the National
Health Programme. Moreover, local governments will be obliged to prepare commune,
district and voivodship health programmes. These will be the basis for preparing the
voivodship health programmes.
1.3.1. General access to health care
The systemic solutions adopted in the Law on health care services financed from the public
funds27 will give access to health care benefits not only to people covered by mandatory
health insurance (as it has been so far) but also to people not covered by it (on obligatory or
voluntary basis). The law provides that persons fulfilling the income criteria defined in the
Law on social assistance will be entitled to health care benefits financed from the budget
funds via the National Health Fund. This task is to be financed from the earmarked subsidy.
The law also provides solutions aiming at the improvement of the accessibility and efficiency
of basic health care, i.a., through adjusting the number of health care institutions to the
number of inhabitants and their health care needs.
Provisions relating to waiting for medical procedures (i.e., management of the queue system,
informing the public about waiting times) are a new regulation, which makes the system of
awarding health care benefits more transparent and may lead to the elimination of existing
abuses.
The law defines also the scope of health care services financed from public funds by
describing the negative basket, i.e. the list of services which will not be financed by the
National Health Fund. In the future, a special agency will assess the medical technologies and
recommendations if it should be put into the basket.
26
The Sentence of the Constitutional Tribunal of January 7, 2004. Sygn. Akt K 14/03 (Journal of Laws No 5.
item 37)
27
As of August 2004, the draft law has been adopted by the Senate and is awaiting the third reading in the Sejm
(lower chaimber of the Parliament). It is expected that the law will come into force as of October 2004.
25
Moreover, there are actions in the Integrated Regional Operational Programme, aiming at the
improvement of the infrastructure of health care services.
1.3.2. Improving the quality of health services
In 2004-2006 the health care contribution will be increasing which means that the financial
abilities of the system will also increase. At the same time financial and organisational
restructuring of the health care institutions will be carried out and the principles of operation
of public health care institutions will be changed. The draft law on public aid and
restructuring of public health care institutions regulates the principles of: financial
restructuring, developing and implementing restructuring programmes, change of the
organisational structure, personnel and property management. Thanks to the transformation of
the independent public health care institutions into public utility corporations the ownership
supervision of the institutions will improve, which should result in increased efficiency and
better financial management as well as improved quality of the health care services offered by
these institutions.
1.3.3. Health promotion
The state pilot programme Early, multispecialised, complex, co-ordinated, and permanent aid
to children threatened with disability, or disabled children, and their families will be
implemented. Its aim will be exact, quantitative and qualitative determination of the
occurrence of disability among 0 - 7 year-old children and developing concepts and standards
of the system of aid for children threatened with disability, disabled children, and their
families.
The actions undertaken within the National Action Programme for Women will include
ensuring women the right to the best physical and psychical health, i.a., through ensuring
access to health care services and health prevention and rehabilitation in all phases of
women’s life and resulting from their various social roles.
An important aim is to conduct the national policy in the sphere of reproductory health
concordant with the standards of modern medical knowledge and international legal
regulations, therefore an analysis of legal provisions from that perspective is planned.
Action 1.4. Preparation of the youth to enter the labour market
1.4.1. Better preparation of the school-leavers to participate in labour market
In the coming years a network of vocational counsellors will be created in schools. Through
intensified co-operation of schools with the employers the training in vocational skills will
become more important. At the same time the qualifications of teachers of vocational subjects
will be increased, especially of those connected with the modern information technologies. To
improve the chances for the graduates to find a Job School Career Centres (SZOK) will be
created in schools. Moreover, within the SOP HRD Measure 1.2 concentrates on projects
directed at creating prospects for the youth.
1.4.2. Creating equal access to information and vocational counselling for the youth
From September 2004, Mobile Centres of Vocational Information (MCVI) will begin to
operate in communes all over Poland. The main aim of the MCVI will be first of all to remove
barriers in access to vocational information and to prevent social exclusion of the youth
entering the labour market. Everyone who comes to a MCVI will be offered specialist
counselling, have the opportunity to learn the principles of functioning on the labour market,
26
undergo specialist vocational predisposition tests. Suitable equipment and a staff training
system will ensure services at the highest level.
The MCVI will be created and co-ordinated by the Voluntary Labour Corps (VLC), which
have been running a cross-national system of aid in the fields of education and vocational
action directed at the youth for many years.
The Network of MCVI will be organised on the basis of the existing Centres of Education and
Labour and Centres of Education VLC. In September 2004, 50 MCVI will be established,
including one Central Methodological Centre at the Headquarters of the VLC serving as a
substantial centre of innovation and co-ordination of the development of the entire system.
The MCVI will consist of groups of 3-4 employees composed of vocational counsellors and
labour exchange agents. The counsellors will move across Poland in special cars equipped
with computers and technical aids as well as libraries. Altogether the MCVI will employ one
hundred counsellors and exchange agents trained in counselling and managing the computer
information system.
Priority 2. Creating a network of social safety, poverty prevention and social exclusion
At present the most important task is to improve the citizens’ social safety net and to
counteract social exclusion by guaranteeing stable foundations of the system of social
protection, i.a., ensuring the adequacy of future social benefits.
Action 2.1. Determining the realistic and socially accepted level of state income support
In May, 2004, new principles of determining the income test of social assistance and family
benefits were implemented. They are prepared on the basis of the assessment of the actual
needs of the families (at the basic level determined for the social assistance and increased
level for the families with children to determine the family benefit). Moreover, a principle has
been adopted according to which the level of social intervention can not be lower than the
minimum subsistence. The social partners have embraced these proposals.
The criterion will be verified at 3-year intervals and every time the proposed income limits
will be agreed with the Tripartite Commission for Socio-Economic Affairs. If agreement is
not reached in the required time the limits will be determined by the Council of Ministers.
The analytical work will be continued and the level of social intervention, the minimum
income entitling to family benefit, as well as the legally determined minimum subsistence,
which is the indicator of absolute poverty in Poland, will be monitored.
Action 2.2. Ensuring the minimum guaranteed income
In order to ensure the poorest people financial aid in the form of minimum guaranteed income
there are granted such financial benefits as follows: financial benefits in the form of a social
pension, a permanent benefit and temporary benefit (temporary aid). These benefits are
designed for the adults who are completely unable to work because of old age or disability.
The benefits are also meant for persons who have been ill or unemployed for a long time and
have no possibility to retain or obtain the right to financial benefits from the other systems of
social protection. Cash benefits are granted to persons or families whose income per capita
does not exceed the legal income criterion.
27
At present it may happens that due to the lack of funds at the disposal of the social assistance
a family is refused temporary benefit (due to its optional character). In order to prevent such
cases the minimum guaranteed quota of this benefit has been introduced. As the state budget
has limited financial possibilities, it was impossible to guarantee the entire due benefit
payment but only its part defined as a percentage. The amount of the benefit is calculated by
taking the difference between the income criterion determined for the purposes of the Law on
social assistance and the actual income.
The minimum guaranteed quota will be gradually increased and in consecutive years they will
amount to:
-
in 2004 r. – 15% of the due benefit for a family and 20% for a single person household,
-
in 2005 r. – 20% of the due benefit for a family and 30% for a single person household,
-
in 2006 r. – 25% of the due benefit for a family and 35% for a single person household,
-
in 2008 r. the allowance can not be lower than 50% of the due benefit
The benefit is a commune’s own task, subsidised from the state budget in the coming three
years. The communes have also been given the right to increase, by means of a resolution, the
minimum guaranteed quota of the temporary benefits.
Action 2.3. Ensuring income from work
There are more and more frequent court decisions connected with withholding the wage by
the employers. In such a situation employee became a beneficiary of social assistance.
Since 2003 the principles of determining and negotiating the increase of the minimum wage
for work have been regulated by law. In the following years analyses concerning the relation
of minimum wage and social benefits and correlation of the minimum wage with the situation
in the labour market will be conducted. In the year 2004-2006 there will be undertaken
complex actions aimed at:
-
ensuring equal wage for women and men,
-
preventing withholding wages and social security contributions by the employers,
-
significant increase in effectiveness of labour court as regards execution of unpaid
wages.
Action 2.4. Ensuring adequate income in the old age
The new mandatory old-age pension system, implemented in 1999, in both its parts: pay-asyou-go and financial funded relates the size of the old-age pension to the accumulated pension
capital (at the notional account in the Social Insurance Institution and in the open pension
fund OPF, respectively) and to the life expectancy at retirement. First benefits based on the
new system will be paid in 2009, yet even at the moment actions for increasing the amount of
future benefits are planned in Poland.
Firstly, they aim at increasing future pensions of women, through actions leading to extending
their working lives. Keeping differentiated retirement ages means that women, due to shorter
savings period and longer period of receiving the old-age benefit will have their old-age
pensions by 40 to 50 per cent lower than men. Therefore actions in the field of labour law will
be undertaken in order to prevent the employers from dismissing women who, despite
reaching the minimum retirement age, want and can continue to work. The next step should
28
include gradual equalising the retirement ages for men and women, simultaneously creating
possibilities for flexible combination of work and receiving pension.
Secondly, new solutions, the aim of which is to improve social safety, are being introduced. In
2004 it is planned to adopt provisions allowing to grant an old-age pension to people who
achieved the retirement age but had not managed to accumulate required insurance record
because they had been receiving disability pension. Namely, the periods when disability
pension was received will be taken into account to complete the required insurance record, if
the person applying for the old-age pension is no longer entitled to the disability pension
because of regaining the ability to work.
Moreover, safeguards for the members of the open pension funds against non-payment of
social insurance contributions will be introduced. As a result of the new regulations even if
the money from the employer is not paid to the OPF it will be registered at the insurance
account in ZUS at the moment of retirement and thus taken into account when calculating the
old-age pension.
Thirdly, the new system of bridging pensions will be prepared. The pension system reform
eliminated possibilities for early retirement within the general scheme for those covered by
the new system (born after 1948, who cannot retire before the end of 2006). But, some of
those persons will not be able to continue their working career until retirement age, due to
special working conditions (for example miners, pilots, engine drivers, fishermen). The
bridging pensions will cover those groups, who due to medial reasons cannot work until
retirement age.
Fourthly, the activities are planned to promote voluntary pension savings. In 2004 the
Parliament adopted the new Law on employee pension plans, which to significant extend
simplified the possibilities to establish and develop such plans. Another law that has been
adopted is the Law on individual retirement accounts, which creates opportunities for
individual savings for the old age, supported by the state in the form of the tax on investment
returns exemption.
Action 2.5. Family benefits
In order to alleviate poverty and reduce the growth of income disparities new principles of
family policy28 are introduced from May 2004. The new Law on family benefits mainly
supports families in their upbringing function. In order to receive the benefit the family does
not have to go through background interview, but meet the income test criterion (higher than
that of the social assistance). The new solutions are designed to improve the efficiency of the
support by addressing family benefits to concrete needs.
The efficiency of the family policy should be enhanced by the increase of the benefit size with
the age of the child and introduction of preferences for families most threatened with poverty:
families with many children, incomplete families, and families with disabled children. As
particular importance is attached to the education of children, including the disabled ones, the
family benefits should increase the children’s future chances of gaining employment.
The Law on family benefits has adopted the principle that from 1 September 2009, the amount
of the family benefit can not be lower than 40% of the value of the nutrition basket for a given
age group determined by the analysis of the family income support threshold.
28
The Law of 28 November 2003, on family benefits, Journal of Laws of 2003, No 228, item 2255
29
In order to maximise the effects of the new law in 2004-2004 its implementation will be
monitored.
Action 2.6. Income support for farmers
In 2004-2006 the system of structural pensions for farmers will be developed. It is aimed to
ensure income until the retirement age is reached for those farmers who sell their farms.
Simultaneously, the system will support the generational exchange in the rural areas through
taking over of farms by young people well prepared for the work in farming. A similar system
of ‘early retirement’ will be created also for the fishermen who lose their jobs as a result of
the fishing fleet reductions.
Moreover, actions aiming at decreasing the poverty areas in the countryside will embrace:
supporting semi-subsistence farms, stimulating agricultural activities in the areas with
unfavourable farming conditions, and supporting groups of agricultural producers.
Action 2.7. Counteracting the feminisation of poverty
In order to reduce poverty among women a systemic and complex analysis of incomes and
living conditions of women will be conducted within the National Action Programme for
Women and on this basis programmes will be prepared supporting the reduction of poverty
among women most threatened with it.
Priority 3. Activation and inclusion of groups threatened with social exclusion
In 2004-2006 a reform of the labour market and social assistance29 will be implemented. It
will introduce instruments aiding people from the risk groups in order to overcome their
difficult situations in life, regaining social and vocational activity.
Action 3.1. Supporting employment opportunities
3.1.1. Pro-employment actions
The most recent regulation30 aims at stimulating the employment services so as to create
programmes adapted to the needs of the local labour markets and groups as following:
-
the unemployed under 25 years of age,
-
the long-term unemployed,
-
the unemployed over 50 years of age,
-
the unemployed without vocational skills,
-
the unemployed being single parents of at least one child younger than 7 years of
age,
-
the disabled unemployed,
29
The Law of 12 March 2004, on social assistance (Journal of Laws No 64, item 593).
The law of 20 April 2004, on employment promotion and labour market institutions, (Journal of Laws 2004
No 99, item 1001)
30
30
The basic programmes fostering access to employment include programmes of vocational
activation implemented by local authorities (through public employment services)
supplemented by central programmes.
The main idea of the law is to increase the activity of the employment services as well as of
private employment agencies, training institutions, and the EURES - the European Job
Mobility Portal. The stress is put also on increasing co-operation between regional public
services (employment services, centres of social assistance, etc.). One of the aims defined in
the law is to strengthen social inclusion and solidarity. Great importance is attached to the
implementation of active labour market programmes for the long-term unemployed who have
difficulties in returning to work.
The main actions in 2004-2006 will include:
·
horizontal actions aimed at employment promotion realised by employment services
(labour intermediation, vocational information and counselling, vocational training);
·
actions directed at groups in a difficult situation on the labour market:
- continuation of the programme First Job which aims at supporting school-leavers in
their job search;
- implementing the programme 50+ supporting vocational activation of older
employees;
- projects directed at aiding target groups, co-financed from the European Social Fund
(within the SOP HRD, in particular Measure 1.5 - CIP EQUAL) in the sphere of social
and occupational inclusion and promoting innovative solutions to combat all forms of
discrimination and inequality on the labour market.
The target groups of Measure 1.5 SOP HRD (Promoting active social policy in support of
high-risk groups) are: people threatened with social exclusion, in particular those receiving
social welfare benefits for a long time: (people unemployed for over 24 months and in the
case of participants in Centres of Social Integration, for more than 36 months, people
addicted to alcohol and drugs under medical care, the homeless, former prisoners, refugees
having problems with inclusion, disabled people, youth brought up in care and rearing
institutions and in foster families); people at the age of 15-24 who: do not study, do not work,
and are not registered as unemployed, study in post-primary schools but cause educational
problems and have serious difficulties in learning, come from poor background threatened
with social dysfunction (including resourceless families getting into conflicts with the law).
Moreover, the increase of social inclusion will be also fostered by projects conducted within
Measures 1.3 and 1.6 SOP HRD, Counteracting and fighting long-term unemployment and
Women’s vocational inclusion and re-inclusion, respectively. The CIP EQUAL projects
implemented by so-called Partnerships for Development will focus on solving problems of
people in the worst situation in the labour market, both the unemployed and employed ones,
within five areas:31:
Topic 1/A - Facilitation of entering and returning to the labour market for those who
have problems with inclusion and re-inclusion on that market in order to promote a labour
market open for everyone;
31
Partnerships for Development within CIP EQUAL will be created by non-governmental organisations,
institutions from the public sector and private enterprises in the 4th quarter of 2004 on the basis of applications
submitted by 31 August 2004. It is assumed that ca 120 Partnerships will be created which will be realising
projects till 2008.
31
Topic 2/D - Strengthening the state social economy (the third sector), especially the
services for local communities and improvement of workplace quality;
Topic 3/F - Supporting the skills of enterprises and employees for adaptation to the
structural changes in economy as well as using IT and other new technologies;
Topic 4/G - Reconciling family and working life and re-inclusion of men and women
who have left the labour market by implementing more flexible and effective forms of
organisation of work and accompanying services;
Topic 5/I - Aiding social and occupational inclusion of persons applying for the refugee
status.
3.1.2. Supporting the employment of the disabled
The basic action in this sphere is to give the disabled the opportunity for social and
occupational rehabilitation by gaining or regaining the skills necessary for taking up
employment32. The fundamental forms supporting mainly the process of social rehabilitation
is the participation of these persons in occupational therapy workshops and rehabilitation
camps. Moreover, it is possible to make use of intermediate forms, i.e., creating sheltered
jobs, e.g., in social enterprises and sheltered workshops, i.e., units combining employment of
disabled persons with their social rehabilitation. To support employment the employers can
obtain financial support to cover the costs of creating or adapting jobs and the cost of labour
(mainly the social security contributions) connected with the additional costs of employing
persons of limited capabilities.
Moreover, support is given to the disabled who start a business through loans, financing credit
interest rates or financing part of the social security contributions.
In 2004-2006 special programmes: Junior (supporting vocational activation of disabled
school-leavers), Telepraca (programme supporting employment of disabled people in jobs
using the IT), Ku Nowoczesno ci (supports maintaining the jobs of the disabled, helps their
employers in implementing quality systems and obtaining a suitable certificate of quality
determining their presence on the EU market).
Additionally, Vocational and social inclusion of the disabled people is an action included in
the SOP HRD (Measure 1.4). Disabled people are also one of the target groups within the CIP
EQUAL topics.
3.1.3. Access to lifelong learning
In 2004-2006 the government will be implementing the Strategy of lifelong learning till 2010.
The strategy includes, i.a., to extend the tasks of the Centres for Practical and Lifelong
Learning and also to strengthen their technical and didactic base. The reformed Centres for
Practical and Lifelong Learning will be implementing such statutory tasks as:
- organising and running courses, counselling, and consultations;
- organising workshops and vocational training;
- organising and conducting exams;
- publishing textbooks, handbooks and didactic materials.
32
Actions concerning the disabled will be realised on the basis of regulations on employment promotion and also
of the new Law on employment and occupational and social rehabilitation of the disabled, which is being
currently prepared by the government. It is going to replace the existing legal provisions in this field.
32
The centres will be co-operating with the labour offices, enterprises, and social institutions. In
order to make the programmes more accessible, actions will be taken up to encourage
institutions which offer fora of lifelong learning to adapt to the needs of their users and to
develop individual training programmes.
The amendment of the Law on the educational system will be implemented in the following
years. The law provides legal foundations for the development of:
- an accreditation system for educational and training institutions (public and non-public);
- distance learning (extramural education) creating opportunities for social groups threatened
with exclusion (e.g., inhabitants of rural areas, disabled people).
According to the law amending the educational system, currently under preparation, the
institutions providing lifelong learning will be obliged to collect and provide suitable
information to the created for that purpose institutions registration system. The ESF will
finance a competition for the preparation of a guidebook on the accreditation procedures of
non-school institutions of lifelong learning.
Increasing the participation of adults, including the disabled, in the programmes of lifelong
learning is an important element improving the chances of finding work. To support these
actions the employers may create training funds. The Law on employment promotion and
labour market institutions includes provisions for creation of such funds.
The programme of vocational re-orientation of people leaving agriculture will be organised
within Priority 2 IROP. Moreover, the SOP HRD has taken into account Measure 2.1
Increasing the access to education - promotion of lifelong learning. It will also be possible to
realise within the CIP EQUAL projects aiming, i.a., at increasing the access to lifelong
learning.
3.1.4. Women’s economic activity
In order to eliminate women’s discrimination in employment and working conditions in
National Action Programme for Women 2003-2005 promotion of knowledge on the
employees’ rights, educational activities in the scope of women’s non-discrimination in wages
and monitoring of the observance of legal regulations will be undertaken.
Another action will consist in abolishing gender segregation and labour market segmentation
understood as women’s indirect discrimination. Those programmes will be aimed at fighting
against the stereotypes in career choices and kinds of jobs done by women and men.
Moreover the equality of the proportion of women and men occupying decision-making posts
will be promoted. Therefore trainings for women on vocational promotion will be stimulated,
and women will be encouraged to start careers in non-traditional spheres, especially those
connected with science and technology. In co-operation with social partners actions to
increase the employers’ and employees’ awareness of equal treatment of women and men on
the labour market will be undertaken.
Numerous actions to increase the employment opportunities of women through training and
re-training programmes, concerning especially women who have been unemployed for a long
time, single mothers, disabled women, and women living in rural areas, are also foreseen.
Actions broadening women’s access to knowledge, efficient vocational training, counselling
services, and labour exchange will be undertaken. Incentives concerning women’s
enterpreneurship will be supported. Access to knowledge on legal provisions, loans, training
and counselling in business will be extended.
33
Projects in this sphere may be financed within Measure 1.6 Women’s inclusion and reinclusion in labour market SOP HRD And Topic 4/G CIP EQUAL.
Action 3.2. Social economy
Activities in this field focus especially on a greater social cohesion and solidarity. The
criterion of profit plays, in the case of social economy, a less important role, giving way to
actions for social and occupational re-inclusion of vulnerable groups.
3.2.1. Social employment
In the framework of a Law on social employment33 the most vulnerable groups are:
- mentally disabled,
- unemployed without work for longer than 24 months,
- released from penal institutions and who have difficulties in inclusion,
- refugees realising individual integration programmes,
- addicted to alcohol and who have completed a psychotherapy programme in a
rehabilitation centre,
- addicted to drugs and other psychotropic substances and who have completed a therapy
programme,
- homeless realising individual programmes of moving out of homelessness.
The process of re-inclusion focuses on participation in the sessions at the Centre of Social
Integration then through work on the supported labour market, and finally through the return
to the ‘open’ labour market and taking up business, finding employment, or running a social
co-operative. It is planned that within Topic 2/D CIP EQUAL 12 Partnerships for
Development will be created. Their aim will be to Support the creation and development of
the Polish model of social economy including support for social employment and social cooperatives.
3.2.2. Social co-operatives34
Social co-operatives can be organised by the unemployed and other persons threatened with
social exclusion (according to the Law on social employment) and by the disabled (as defined
by the Law on occupational and social rehabilitation and employment of the disabled).
Running a social co-operative is simplified in comparison to ordinary co-operatives,
moreover, the state aid can be taken advantage of (i.a., from the Labour Fund).
It is foreseen that a support system for the newly created social co-operatives will be adopted
and comprehensive legal provisions on social co-operatives understood as non-profit
enterprises will be adopted.
33
Social employment regulated by the Law on social employment of June 13, 2003, (Journal of Laws of 2004,
No 122, item 1143). According to the law social exclusion is a situation when persons ‘due to their situation in
life are not capable of satisfying their basic life needs by means of their own efforts and are in a situation causing
poverty and preventing participation in occupational, social and family life.’
34
Social co-operatives have been introduced in the Polish system of social policy by the Law on promoting
employment and labour market institutions (Journal of Laws of 2004, No 99, item 1001) which changed the law
on co-operatives from 1982, (Journal of Laws of 2003, No 188, item 1848) introduced in Title II Division V
‘social co-operatives’ (articles 203a – 203d) defining the principles of creating and functioning of the social cooperatives.
34
Action 3.3. Access to social housing
3.3.1. The programme for moving out of homelessness
In 2004-2006 the programme Homelessness, which was being implemented till 2004 in cooperation between the non-governmental sector and the state administration, will be assessed
and expanded. The aim of the programme is to counteract homelessness by realising tasks in
this field by non-governmental institutions chosen by the central administration through an
open competition. The programme allows the centres and organisations to offer the homeless
many kinds of aid: from providing night’s lodgings, food, clothing, to medical, legal, and
psychological aid as well as various forms of social and occupational activation of people
suffering from prolonged homelessness and those threatened with eviction.
3.3.2. Programme of building flats for people requiring social aid
One of the main aspects of social inclusion is to ensure people suitable living conditions. In
2004-2006 programmes of social housing35, will be implemented. Their aim is to give
financial support to the communes in building, reconditioning or restructuring houses,
adaptation of houses and conversion of other buildings into houses, so as to obtain
apartments, night’s lodgings or homes for the homeless.
Support through granting the right to live in a protected apartment will be available in
particular to people with psychological problems, people raised in foster families, juvenile
care centres, juvenile correction centres, and refugees. Such apartments are to provide
accommodation for people who, due to their difficult life situation, age, disability, or illness
need help in daily life but do not require day and night care.
After the piloting period a systemic Law on social housing, regulating the standards of
respective types of houses, building of social houses, and their use will be prepared and
adopted. The second part of the programme entails actions directed at people threatened with
loss of accommodation due to financial reasons.
Action 3.4. Support for the elderly
3.4.1. Development of community support
In 2004-2004 forms of care alternative to the stay in social assistance houses, such as local
care services, are expected to develop. The communes are given incentive to seek other forms
of care for people needing support by the obligation to participate in the costs of maintenance
of inhabitants of social assistance houses.
3.4.2. Care insurance
With the demographic changes the role of the local care support of elderly people will be
growing. It is necessary to create systemic provisions defining stable principles of financing
these benefits. In 2005 work will begin on the preparation of solutions in respect of care
insurance, which may be adopted in 2006 and implemented by 2007.
35
The law of 29 April 2004, on the financial support for creating social housing, lodging houses and homes for
the homeless. The governmental programme of building flats for people requiring social aid adopted in July
2003.
35
Action 3.5. Legal protection of discriminated persons
This item is supported by the Minister of Justice in co-operation with the police. The General
Headquarters of Police will continue to co-operate with the non-governmental organisations
in order to offer aid in the following spheres:
- protection of children – victims of crime (together with the Nobody’s Children
Foundation);
- issuing the Polish Charter of the Victim’s Rights (together with the National Forum for
Victims of Crime);
- co-operation with social organisations in the work with the victims of rape and family
violence.
The Programme of Aid for the Victims of Crime, is currently prepared under the auspices of
Ombudsman and the Minister of Justice in co-operation with the Minister of Internal Affairs
and Administration.
The National Action Programme for Women provides for targeted action thanks to which
knowledge on the international instruments of human rights protection will be disseminated. It
also envisages the active participation of Poland in international projects concerning
equalising opportunities. The main aim is to safeguard the observance of the principle of
women’s equality and non-discrimination in the national law and respecting it in practice.
Other actions will be directed at eliminating unequal treatment in all the spheres of law. They
will deal with the sphere of social insurance and retirement and with monitoring the
implementation of the principle of gender equality in court decisions. Actions will be also
taken in order to develop the knowledge of law on equal treatment of women and men,
especially among the people working in state administration. Moreover, actions directed at
preventing and eliminating violence among women will be conducted. Under the project
Promotion of anti-discrimination provisions of labour law (SOP HRD Measure 1.6) a number
of comprehensive information materials is to be prepared.
Action 3.6. Refugee inclusion
Although the group of foreigners gaining the refugee status in Poland is quite small the
phenomenon will have a tendency to increase. In this connection it has been planned to
specify the ways of realisation and monitoring of the refugee inclusion process. Inclusion
concerns only these refugees who are not married to a Polish citizen. The aid extended to the
refugees has the form of training, language teaching, health insurance, adaptation in the
society and work. It is implemented as a part of individual programmes of integration agreed
by the refugee and the poviat centre for family support. The individual programme defines the
duration of the inclusion process, the amount and forms of the aid depending on the situation
of the refugee and their family.
Moreover, the refugees are one of the target groups of Measure 1.5 SOP HRD and Topics of
CIP EQUAL (Topic 5/I entails, i.a., adaptation of the aid system to the needs of the persons
applying for the refugee status in the scope of learning the language, vocational training,
information about the culture, rights and duties as well as employment opportunities;
strengthening the state institutions and non-governmental organisations implementing the
state policy on the aid to people applying for the refugee status, and transfer of good solutions
in this respect thanks to supra-national co-operation).
36
Action 3.7. Integration of national minorities
In May 2004, Council of Ministers accepted National Action Plan on Counteracting Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. Within this programme, that is
implemented in cooperation with government authorities and non-government organisations,
the actions will be undertaken in area of education, legislation and some of preventive nature.
There will be also researches conducted that would describe the scale of xenophobia and
racism, including anti-Semitism.
In Poland, the problem of exclusion of national and ethnical minorities mainly touches Roma
community. Due to that, there will be intensive actions undertaken that are aimed at inclusion
of this group starting from 2004. The actions result from Program for the Roma Community
in Poland that was accepted on 19 August 2003 by Council of Ministers36.
Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration co-ordinates the programme, but local
governor and Minister of National Education and Sport will supervise the process of
programme implementation, respectively in scope of regional tasks and education. The
following organisations are involved in the programme: central and local government
institutions (especially communes), NGOs including Roma NGOs and representatives of
Roma Community. In order to avoid some disagreements, the poorest persons, who are nonRoma origin but live in local community, are also included in the programme.
The programme covers 8 scopes of actions:
-
counteracting unemployment [mainly through trainings, vocational counselling],
-
health condition improvement [mainly though health promotion, encouraging women
to monitor pregnancy, employment of environmental nurses of Roma origin],
-
living conditions improvement, particularly housing condition of Roma community
[mainly through apartments renewal, development of sanitary and technical
installation, in kind support],
-
security of Roma community improvement [counteracting ethnical crimes and cases of
discrimination],
-
improvement of level of education, in particular among Roma community [mainly
through increase of school graduation indicator, employment of teachers and assistants
that would support education of Roma children, purchase of school accessories,
funding some scholarships, complex actions that covers cooperation with parents and
specialists like educator or psychologist],
-
Roma integration through civil education,
-
assistance in maintaining Roma ethnical identity and Roma culture development,
-
improving knowledge about Roma society among non-Roma majority, that leads to
improvement of Roma-image and to change of negative stereotype in polish society.
Programme realization is foreseen until year 2014 with the possibility of continuing.
Programme will be financed mainly from the state budget resources (earmarked reserve in the
state budget was activated in May 2004) supported with local governments and NGOs
resources.
36
Most of the actions within the program was tested during realization of Pilot Government Program for the
Roma Community in the Małopolska Province for the Years 2001-2003 and will be continued during countrywide program.
37
There were also other initiatives undertaken, like Strategy of Lithuanian Minority Education
Development in Poland that was prepared and accepted in 2002. National minorities are also
one of the target groups within Community Initiative Programme EQUAL areas (CIP
EQUAL).
Action 3.8. Inclusion of former prisoners
The Main Council for Social Re-adaptation and Aid to Prisoners has been established by the
President of the Council of Ministers, and the Minister of Justice is ex oficio the President of
the Council. The Council, being the opinion-giving and advisory body for the Minister, coordinates the co-operation of the state bodies and representatives of the society in preventing
crime, executing court decisions and providing aid. The Council is planning to organise in
2004 programmes of broadly understood education as well as conferences of governmental
and local government bodies dealing with social re-adaptation of convicts. The Minister
awards financial support for the post-penitentiary aid fund which supports institutions
fostering integration of former prisoners.
The Ministry of Justice and the Central Board of Prison Service are updating the database of
all non-governmental organisations actually and effectively co-operating with the penitentiary
system in social re-adaptation of the convicts (today there are several hundred such
organisations in Poland). The information is made available for regional courts and judges in
criminal courts. The non-governmental organisations will be informed, through the Ministry
of Justice, about the possibilities of implementing financial projects with the help of the
European Social Fund (mainly Measure 1.5). Former prisoners are also one of the target
groups of CIP EQUAL and Measure 1.5 SOP HRD.
Priority 4. Development of social services and their co-ordination
Action 4.1. Development and reform of social services
4.1.1. Development and integration of social services
The high rate of unemployment of mainly structural character and the resulting risk of social
exclusion demand actions tailored to the needs of respective groups threatened with the risk of
high unemployment and low employability. The employment services play a basic role in
supporting employment of these groups. Their actions are co-ordinated by the local
government authorities and must be supported by the social services, rehabilitation actions
undertaken by the social security institutions and the PFRON. Activities planned in 20042006 include:
- reform the public employment services, including development of the vocational advisory
network, especially for the disabled;
- support for institutions of social assistance (including non-governmental organisations);
- building Centres of Social Integration and developing social employment on the basis of
the Law on social employment adopted in 2003.
Actions taken within the Sectoral Operational Programmes Restructuring and modernisation
of the food sector and Development of rural areas are an important element contributing to
the decrease of open and hidden unemployment in rural areas. The actions planned in them
entail organising training, agricultural counselling, diversification of agricultural and para-
38
agricultural activities in order to ensure variety of actions, and facilitating young farmers’
start at work.
Moreover, a new integrated system of educating social workers, employees of public
employment services and services aiding the disabled at the higher vocational level in state
Colleges for Social Service Workers will be introduced. Additionally, a joint system of
continuing education for the social service workers will be established.
4.1.2. Development of the social assistance services
In the sphere of social assistance services it is currently important to foster the active cooperation of the social workers and the people and families, which would result in actual
prevention and counteracting of problems. It would also increase the independence of these
people and their chances to move out of poverty. It has been assumed that by the end of 2010
there will be one social worker per 2000 people. Moreover, it is necessary to increase the
importance of the social worker as a professional, working towards fuller social inclusion of
poor and socially excluded people. To that end a draft law on the profession of the social
worker will be prepared, which is supposed to increase the prestige and efficiency of the work
done by this group. In the future social workers will not be limited to the organisational units
of state social assistance services, but will also work in units of non-public social assistance.
This means that the standards of performance of broadly understood social work should be
improved.
Activities directed at these aims are taken into account in SOP HRD (Measure 1.5) and the
Community Initiative EQUAL.
4.1.3. Improvement of accessibility and quality of social work
The social assistance system currently introduces such activating elements as social contracts.
The contracts define the rights and duties of a person applying for the aid and the duties of the
social worker, which will help to overcome the difficult situation in life and facilitate a
person’s (or a family’s) moving out from the group of recipients of social asssistance. The
introduction of social contracts should be accompanied by attempts of the local authorities to
employ an increasing number of better prepared social workers. This a prerequisite for the
improvement of the effectiveness of social assistance in fulfilling such functions as prevention
and activating poor and socially excluded people.
Action 4.2. Development of social services enabling social inclusion
4.2.1. Civic information
The Law on social assistance imposed on the districts the own task of providing information
about rights and entitlements. This task should be implemented mainly by non-governmental
organisations. According to the National Social Inclusion Strategy by 2010 all the communes
will be covered by a network of civil information centres. The programme of the network
development will be implemented in 2005 and 2006. It is also planned to implement a project
that would give full access to current legal acts through the Internet.
4.2.2. Access to law
Many people cannot afford legal services on account of their high costs. The costs are driven
mainly by the limited access to the professions and corporatism, particularly in the case of
legal advisers and attorneys. As a result, the costs of their legal services are quite high.
However, the price of legal advice depends greatly on the region – it is most expensive in
Warsaw, but more affordable in other places.
39
In order to support access of the less affluent population to legal advice, several policies are in
place. A citizens'legal guidance system was created in order to improve access to the legal
system. The Citizens'Advice Centres operate within the guidance system and provide
information on rights, eligibility and tasks. In every Polish Court there are attorney services,
which are free of charge and provide the citizens with basic information on the law. In the
event of settlement, the person in financial hardship has a possibility to take a barrister
without any charge. Furthermore, for such a person there is an opportunity to repay the costs
of the Court case. Another way of improving access to the legal system is the fact that every
Court case concerning labour law is free of charge for citizens.
It is necessary to take up actions for promoting the citizens’ access to information on the law.
Difficulties in the access to unified texts of legal acts and systems of legal information result
in the decline of legal culture in the society and the citizens’ distrust in the state.
4.2.3 Creating the information society
One of the priority tasks realised by the Ministry of Science and Information Technology is
the implementation of the Strategy for IT Development of the Republic of Poland - e-Poland,
2004-2006. One of its aims is to prevent social exclusion by ensuring technical possibilities of
participation in the information society for the people from the ‘middle generation’ requiring
training, and for the disabled. The main methods used to that end are e-learning, promotion of
tele-work, implementing good practices at the national, regional, and local levels. Another
task is the implementation of the Ikonka programme, which is to ensure the citizens cheap,
easy and common access to the Internet by organising centres of public access to the Internet,
the so-called Internet reading rooms, in every commune (e.g. in libraries and commune
cultural centres).
The Polish Internet Library (PIL) will also be created. It will facilitate access to knowledge
for the inhabitants of small towns, villages and regions distant from the academic and cultural
centres, and also help students and researchers to compile required bibliographies. PIL will
allow the Poles living abroad to keep contact with this country, its traditions and culture and
the rich literary and scientific heritage.
Since 1992 the Ministry of National Education and Sport has been running programmes
aimed at introducing computers in schools: an Internet centre in every commune (1998-1999),
an Internet centre in every lower secondary school (1992-2002), an Internet centre in every
school (since 2002). The latter will be continued so as to provide the broadest possible access
to the Internet to children and young people at every level of education (in 2002 more than
60% of schools had computers and this proportion was growing). The aim of this action is to
achieve the similar percentage of schools with computers as that of the EU countries.
Improving the IT qualifications of teachers of all subjects is an important element of this
process.
In 2004-2006 the governmental programme National action plan for broadband access to the
Internet 2004-2006 will be conducted. The programme is meant to increase by at least
300,000 the number of users of broadband access to the Internet and result in acquiring access
to the Internet by 43,900 schools, libraries and higher schools, especially in rural areas.
Moreover, one of the aims of the CIP EQUAL is to include people threatened with social
exclusion in the development of the information society.
4.2.4. Access to culture
The middle term aims in the sphere of culture at the national level are determined in the
National Action Plan for the Development of Culture 2004-2013, which will foster balanced
40
development and support culture in the regions. From the point of view of social inclusion the
priorities of this strategy consist in the promotion of reading books and supporting the sector
of books and publishing houses as well as protection of cultural heritage including the
protection and restoration of historical monuments.
Since 1999 the burden of conducting cultural policy has been the responsibility of the local
government administration. Due to the financial status of these units numerous shortcomings
can be noticed in the implementation of tasks connected with the development of culture. As a
result, there is an observed decrease of the number of cultural centres, especially in rural
areas. In order to prevent cultural degradation of rural areas and small towns, the Minister of
Culture will continue to extend financial support to activities and cultural events organised in
these areas by commune and district local governments and local government cultural
institutions, regional and folk societies. The Minister will also support the purchase of books
for the libraries, equipment for museums and regional societies. It will be done through
targeted subsidies from the state budget as well as income from the surcharges on stakes in
games of chance, being the monopoly of the state. Targeted subsidies will also be assigned to
support financing such incentives as: reducing architectural and communication (including
telecommunication) barriers, promotion and providing access to cultural assets to the
disabled, running libraries of spoken and Braille books for the blind and those with impaired
eyesight. These actions are also supported by programmes for the disabled realised on the
basis of the PFRON resources. One of them is the Papirus programme, which is to support
publications for the disabled, making it possible for people with dysfunctions to participate in
social, professional, cultural and artistic life, integrating these people and removing the
existing psychological barriers (the programme will have been implemented by the end of
2004).
Actions supporting cultural activities of national and ethnic minorities will be conducted
(including festivals, panel discussions, publishing books, magazines, organising concerts,
competitions, etc.). Such support is awarded to the non-governmental organisations of the
Ukrainian, Belarussian, Lithuanian, Czech, Armenian, German, Russian, Slovakian, Jewish,
Tartarian, Karaite, Lemkan, and Roma minorities.
4.2.5. Revitalisation of urban areas
The activities aimed at social integration include also some tasks connected with socioeconomic revitalization of urban areas. The state policy has to fight against unfavourable
phenomenon such as degenerated urban space and arising of areas of high poverty rate, which
could be spatially separated37.
Both the renovation of housing resources and municipal infrastructure, as well as the support
of social solidarity and cohesion on the areas in the risk of degradation should be priorities of
revitalization policy. The continuation and broadening the coverage of revitalization
programmes is planned38. The programmes are aimed not only at renovation of buildings and
municipal infrastructure (replacement of water-supply, gas fittings, renovation of facade of
buildings and flats, pavements, roads, street lamps), but also at creation of new workplaces
37
Warzywoda – Kruszy ska, in „Children poverty phenomenon versus the risk of social exclusion in the future.
Poverty map – the site and the scope of poverty among children in Lodz Voivodship”, Institute of Sociology in
Lodz University.
38
Revitalization programmes are realized among others in: Bytom Bielsko-Biala, Glogow, Krakow, Plock and
also in Jaworzno (Pieczyska district). Special attention should be paid to the project of revitalization of both
Stare Bronowice and Kosminek districts in Lublin. During the conference HABITAT II in Istanbul, United
Nations Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS) deemed this project as the best practice. The project was
realized by City Office in Lublin together with Revitalisation Forum, consultants from Harvard and IRS Institute
from Erkner (Germany) and National Fund of Environment Protection.
41
(which will arise a few hundred), social services (donation of non-industrial structures to nongovernment organisations and the use of its part for the back of social work place) and
transport (including common access to Internet). Programmes of revitalizations can be
financed through the sources under Integrated Regional Operational Programme (IROP).
4.2.6. Access to transport
The deterioration of transport infrastructure in Poland as well as the observed increase of
transport costs are the main reasons of limiting the labour force mobility in Poland. This
factor hinders activation of the unemployed.
The Strategy for Transport Infrastructure Development for 2004-2006 includes actions in
order to improve the accessibility of the main urban complexes in Poland which are important
centres of economic growth; assist in the development of regions, improve the safety in
transport. These actions will be financed through the sources of the Cohesion Fund and within
SOP-Transport. They will be complemented by actions at the regional level through activities
envisaged in IROP. In further years (2007-2013) actions will be taken in order to increase
labour force mobility by determining the strategy of creating a transport network helping to
undertake work away from the place of living.39
Organising and subsidising regional transport performed as a public service duty belongs to
the own tasks of the voivodship local government and the financing of these tasks is
determined in the state budget law on an annual basis. This means that all actions fostering
new important transport links in a given region or urban complex depend on the incentive of
the local government or regional authorities.
Action 4.3. Co-ordination and evaluation of actions in the sphere of social inclusion
4.3.1. Creating a system of programming and evaluation of the national policy on social
inclusion
It is planned that the regulations for creating, implementation and assessment of actions in the
sphere of counteracting poverty and social exclusion, as well as that of social inclusion (on
similar principles as the solutions with respect to the National Action Plan for Employment)
will be established starting from 2005. The new provisions should define the principles of
preparing consecutive national plans for social inclusion and their evaluation, determining at
the same time the principles of social assessment of these programmes and the progress
achieved in the priority actions.
Actions will be launched to establish of a National Observatory of Poverty and Social
Exclusion as an independent group of scientific institutions financed from the public funds is
planned. The task of the observatory will be on-going analysis of indices concerning social
exclusion, which are the basis for actions fostering social inclusion.
4.3.2. Programming of local social policy
The Law on social assistance has imposed on the communes and districts the task to elaborate
and implement from May 2004, commune and district strategies of solving social problems
with particular attention paid to programmes of social assistance, prevention and solving
alcohol and other problems in order to foster inclusion of particularly endangered people and
families.
39
This was reflected in the Premises for the National Plan of Development for 2007-2013 adopted by the
Council of Ministers.
42
Self-governing voivodships (regions) have been assigned the task to elaborate, validate and
implement the voivodship strategies in the sphere of social policy, which is an integral part of
the development strategies of voivodships embracing in particular programmes devoted to:
fighting social exclusion, equalising the opportunities of the disabled, social assistance,
prevention and solution of alcohol problems, co-operation with non-governmental
organisations. The district programmes should be consulted with the communes and the
voivodship programmes with the districts. By 2010 in all communes, districts, and
voivodships should implement their local strategies. To this end in 2004 and 2005 integrated
promotion and educating actions will be conducted in order to support local governments in
the independent elaboration of local strategies. Additional support and the plane for coordination of actions should be provided by projects within the boundaries of CIP EQUAL
where an active part should be played by the local government organisations.
43
Chapter 4. Institutional arrangements
4.1. The way of creation of the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion 2004 - 2006
A special Working Group has been appointed for the elaboration of the National Action Plan
on Social Inclusion 2004 – 2006 (NAP). The group consists of representatives of the
Ministries, which the scope of activities cover the social inclusion problem. The Ministry of
Economy, Labour and Social Policy (since May 2004 – the Ministry of Social Policy) played
the leading role. The co-operation established between the institutions resulted in obtaining
necessary information concerning the mobilization of all relevant institutions for the combat
of social exclusion.
The Working Group for NAP co-operates with the Task Team for Social Reintegration,
appointed in April 2003 by the Minister of Economy, Labour and Social Policy in order to
create the National Social Inclusion Strategy.
In May 2004 a conference was organised, launching the process of social consultations of the
document. The conference participants included representatives of Ministries composing the
Working Group for NAP and representatives of the local government and non-governmental
organisations. Representatives of the European Commission and an expert from Finland were
also present. The expert presented the Finish experience connected with the preparation of the
NAP/Inclusion. In the conference also participated representatives of the media in order to
disseminate information and raise public awareness as to the continuing process of European
social integration and related activities undertaken in Poland.
In June 2004, the Ministry of Social Policy announced a competition for „Example of Good
Practice”. Social partners, who have been able to plan and organise tasks serving social
inclusion, were encouraged to participate in competition by the Ministry. The best initiatives
were presented in the last chapter of the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion 2004-2006.
Social consultations of the document were continued with the use of a web site created
especially for this purpose. The web site was devoted first of all to the National Action Plan
on Social Inclusion 2004-2006, but the information there concerned also the European
dimension of social inclusion process and the elaboration of the Joint Memorandum on Social
Inclusion.
4.2. Profile of the third sector in Poland
After the dynamic development in the middle of the 1990s, the size of the non-government
sector diminished40. After 1989, 94.9% of the currently functioning organisations were
created, and 26.5% of them are less than 3 years old. In 1995, as many as 13% of Poles
belonged to a non-governmental organization, while in 2002 it was only 10%. According to
recent surveys of the non-government sector, almost 42 thousand non-governmental
organisations are registered in Poland, the majority takes the form of associations. Basing on
the data from the KLON/JAWOR41 survey, only 58% of all foundations and associations
40
Data contained in chapter 4 cover non-governmental organisations according to the so-called narrow definition
(excluding trade unions, political parties, parents’ committees, religious associations or voluntary fire brigades).
Data on the basis of the survey conducted on a representative sample of non-governmental organisations, carried
out in 2002 by the KLON/JAWOR Association „Organisations of Social Welfare – Statistical Profile”.
41
The KLON/JAWOR Association is an organization studying and supporting the non-governmental
organisations and other public initiatives.
44
operate actively, 10% of the organisations have discontinued activity and are in the course of
registering-out or have discontinued activity in practice, while the lot of 30% organisations
have not been established. They may be barely active or not active at all.
The results of the survey show that the greatest number of organisations act in such spheres
as: sport, recreation, tourism, leisure – 36.5%, while 4.6% organisations deal with social
welfare, mutual aid and charity. According to surveys of the Central Statistical Office in 2001
19% of income of non-governmental organisations derived from public sources (comparing to
24% in 1997), considerable and growing is the income from individual donations (10.3%),
while donations of enterprises decreased from 8.3% in 1997 to 6.2% in 2001. A very
important source of income of the non-profit sector in Poland is the so-called own income
(60.4%), including mainly business activity income (30.4%).
Non-governmental organisations are based on the work of volunteers. As much as 46.5% of
organisations hired no employees who were remunerated for their work. Above 1/5 of
organisations engage from 1 to 5 employees and 18.9% - more than 5.
In the survey conducted by KLON/JAWOR 17.2% of non-governmental organisations
pointed out that social welfare, mutual aid and charity compose one of three main fields of
activity, while 4.3% indicated this sphere as the primary one. The majority of organisations
dealing with poverty and combating social exclusion (73%) signalised problems with
obtaining financial means necessary to carry out activity. Without regular financial means
these organisations are not able to build and implement long-term strategies of operation. The
highest percentage of organisations working in the social welfare sphere has at its disposal a
budget of circa 10 thousand – 100 thousand PLN (37.6%) and the second highest proportion
is composed of non-governmental organisations with a budget of between 1 thousand and 10
thousand PLN (25.1%). Almost a third of income of these organisations stems from public
funds (governmental and from the local government) and the remaining part – from
contributions and donations.
Organisations dealing with the promotion of social inclusion generally operate outside the
nearest neighbourhood. They do not refuse aid to anybody, regardless of the cause of the
problem, but they also do not seek persons being in need of aid. Amongst these organisations,
only 27.6% belonged to a union at the national or regional level and only 6.8% - at the
international level.
Besides existing non-governmental organisations, churches and religious associations are
important institutions offering assistance to the poor. Beneficiaries treat them as donators of
goods and not as a source of financial aid (allowances). Recipients of aid of churches and
religious associations make use of the assistance occasionally and receive mainly clothes,
food and medicaments. To sum up the activity of the third sector, it could be stated that:
- non-governmental organisations actively contribute to combating poverty and social
exclusion, not awaiting financial profits in exchange for this activity,
- despite dynamic development of the non-government sector at the beginning of 1990s, at
present the organisations develop at a slower pace than the business and government
sectors,
- the pace of development of the third sector is not sufficient comparing to the needs of
recipients of aid,
- amongst the organisations there is reluctance to associate, although such attempts are
slowly beginning to appear (e.g. WRZOS - Working Community of Associations of Social
Organisations, National Federation of Non-governmental Organisations),
45
- absence of social dialogue in every-day life contributes to lower activity of the third sector
in Poland than in the EU countries,
- the attitude of the public authorities of different levels, the mass-media and the business
world to non-governmental organisations is not always favourable,
- lack of mutual co-ordination of activities between organisations, which constitutes an
important problem of the entire third sector,
- lack of social awareness connected with the need of development of social activity,
- non-governmental organisations operate effectively despite scarce financial resources.
4.3. Institutional possibilities of horizontal and vertical co-operation
The following laws and agreements regulate co-operation of all social partners.
a) The law on public benefit organisations and volunteerism of 200342. Before the law entered
into force, the co-operation of non-governmental organisations with the public administration
and the local government at different level was not determined by a uniform document. Until
this moment, only some institutions had had co-operation programmes with nongovernmental organisations.
The cited law regulates co-operation between public administration bodies and nongovernmental organisations, which should be based on partnership, subsidiarity and
sovereignty of parties, effectiveness, fair competition and transparency. The law regulates
issues concerning: running public benefit works by non-governmental organisations, using
this activity by public administration bodies in order to execute public tasks, obtaining the
status of a public benefit organisation and its functioning, supervising public benefit
organisations, functioning of the Public Benefit Works Council and volunteerism. The law
imposes the obligation of co-operation of the public administration with non-governmental
organisations in the sphere of public tasks. The Ministry of Social Policy is responsible for the
creation of conditions for development of non-governmental organisations, volunteerism and
other entities running public benefit works, as well as for the co-operation of the public
administration with the third sector.
By virtue of the law, the Public Benefit Works Council was created – an advisory and
subsidiary body of the Ministry competent in social security. Tasks of the Council include,
inter alia, expressing opinions on issues concerning application of the law, giving opinions on
government draft legal acts concerning public benefit works and volunteerism, gathering and
analysing information on conducted inspections and their results. Moreover, the Council may
provide assistance in cases of dispute between the public administration bodies and public
benefit organisations, and may inform on standards concerning carrying out public benefit
works. The Council is intended to be a new forum of social dialogue.
The Council consists of 10 representatives of public administration bodies (government and
local government) and 10 representatives of non-governmental organisations, unions and
agreements and religious organisations, whose statutory objectives comprise carrying out
public benefit activity.
The law regulates also the volunteer’s status and states that a volunteer is entitled to medical
allowances as provided for in the provisions on general insurance. A volunteer may work
42
The law of 24 April 2003 on public benefit organisations and volunteerism (Journal of Laws No 96, item 873).
46
according to the rules defined in regulations on public benefit organisations and volunteerism
and at the same time he may have the status of an unemployed person.
Moreover, the law introduces the possibility for individual to transfer 1% of for public
benefit organisations. A taxpayer may decrease up to 1% of the due income tax and transfer
this amount to the account of a chosen organization. The above transfer should be shown in
the tax return declaration sheet. For the first time, transferring of 1% of the tax was possible in
2004 (in the tax return declaration for 2003). Admittedly small organisations had no money
for promotional actions, but estimates indicate that 3% of taxpayers made use of this
possibility, which gave non-governmental organisations the amount of 10 million PLN.
b) The law on social employment of 200343 regulates the way of creation and functioning of
the Centres for Social Inclusion (CSI). These are the places where vocational and social
reintegration takes place. They were designed for people threatened by social exclusion with
hardly any chances on the labour market, low vocational skills or even lack of these skills
(more information: Chapter 3.2.1. Social employment). The Centres may be created by
mayors, presidents of cities, public benefit organisations and since June 2004 also by nongovernmental organisations. Except the vocational education, the task of CSIs is training
people to perform their social roles, and teaching how to manage the household budget.
Activity of the Centres will be financed from donations coming from own incomes of
communes and also from the European Social Fund, Sectoral Operational Programme –
Human Resources Development 2004-2006. The Priority 1.5 foresees supporting vocational
and social inclusion of groups at particular risk. It should be stressed that social employment
implements assumptions of the European Employment Strategy.
c) The law of 20 April 2004 on employment promotion and on labour market institutions
regulates the rules for creation of local partnerships as institutions implementing initiatives of
labour market partners. They are created to carry out tasks specified by the law and supported
by the local government bodies. The law also regulates the principles for entrusting local
government institutions, non-governmental organisations, trade unions, organisations of
employers and commercial employment agencies with tasks of public labour services. The
rules are analogous to those specified in the law on public benefit works.
The Law on employment promotion and on labour market institutions also enlarged the size
and role of employment boards as well as advisory and consultative institutions dealing with
the labour market problems. Representatives of non-governmental organisations and science
authorities can be members of the employment boards.
d) Social dialogue system is based mainly on dialogue in the sphere of collective employment
relations and socio-economic policy i.e. the traditional dialogue with the participation of trade
unions, organisations of employers and public authorities. The most important institutions in
that area are the Tripartite Commission on Socio-Economic Affairs (operating at the national
level) and the Voivodship Commissions for Social Dialogue (regional level)44. Moreover,
entities with advisory voice and representatives of social organisations may participate in the
work of the Commission . Recently, also representatives of consumer organisations and of the
unemployed were invited as observers.
Tasks of the Voivodship Commissions for Social Dialogue include carrying out social
dialogue in order to keep social peace enabling sustainable development of a given region. In
addition, in December 1994, the Council of Ministers appointed the Centre of Social
43
The law of 13 June 2003 on social employment (Journal of Laws. 2003 No 122, item 1143)
The law on the Tripartite Commission of 6 July 2001, Journal of Laws 2001 No 100, item 1080, (amended on
18 December 2002, Journal of Laws 2002 No 240, item 2056)
44
47
Partnership „Dialog” and obligated the mayors of regions to promote the idea of the social
dialogue on the local government territories and to monitor social tensions in the regions.
In order to activate representatives of local government to participate in the social dialogue
and to establish institutional co-operation between government and local government, a Joint
Commission of the Government and Local Government has been appointed. It is an opiniongiving body and also the entity to solve problems concerning the political system and the local
government activity. Members of the Commission are representatives of all Ministries and
two representatives from every local government corporation. 7 permanent and 2 temporary
task teams have been created to ensure more efficient operation of the Commission.
In a democratic society, non-governmental organisations are a good basis for the development
of local societies as they gather the most active and sensitive to social affairs representatives.
It is indispensable to incorporate non-government entities into the system of the functioning
of a commune/district/voivodship as an equal partner. In this connection the former Ministry
of Economy, Labour and Social Policy in co-operation with the Public Benefit Works Council
elaborated the document „Rules for the creation of the co-operation programme of local
government units with non-governmental organisations and with entities mentioned in art. 3
(3) of the law of 24 April 2003 on public benefit organisations and volunteerism”.
Moreover, in accordance with the Law on employment and occupational and social
rehabilitation of the disabled 45 the National Consultative Board for Persons with Disabilities
has been appointed as a consultative body of the Government Plenipotentiary for Persons with
Disabilities. It constitutes a forum of co-operation for the benefit of the disabled and its scope
of activities includes, i.e. presenting proposals of activities aiming at inclusion of the disabled
in the society and solutions designed for satisfying the needs of the disabled deriving from the
fact of their disability. The National Consultative Board for Persons with Disabilities
comprises representatives of the government administration, local government and nongovernmental organisations. The term of office of the Board is four years.
What is more, since 2000 the Partner programme has been in operation, supporting tasks
implemented by organisations acting for the benefit of the disabled. Within the framework of
the programme, there are agreements aiming at undertaking comprehensive activities in the
range of rehabilitation, training, therapy, assistance in access to employment, culture and
sport for the disabled, members of their families, carers and volunteers engaged in the process
of the disabled rehabilitation. The programme is to be implemented until 2005.
Increasing activity of the non-governmental organisations in the sphere of culture can be
noticed. The activity of these organisations partly compensates for the worsening condition of
the public sector of culture. The range of their activity is very wide – from running and
supporting libraries, recreation rooms to organization of concerts, festivals, artistic events,
contests, performances etc. As an active tool of rehabilitation, the organisations often focus on
disfavoured groups, children and youth from pathologic families and the disabled.
45
The law of 27 August 1997 on employment and occupational and social rehabilitation of the disabled, Journal
of Laws No 123, item 776, as amended
48
Besides the above-mentioned bodies and institutions there is a number of initiatives
mobilising the business world to combat poverty and social exclusion. To this end the
Responsible Business Forum was created – the first organisation in Poland which co-operates
with 13 strategic partners, develops new programmes, promotes good practices and
encourages other enterprises to include activities of responsible business in the overall
business strategies.
Example of good practice. UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)
PARTNRESHIP FOR PLOCK
In 2002, during the work on updating of sustainable development strategy of City of
Plock, partnership cooperation in Plock was initiated. For 8 months, the ‘Forum for Plock’
that brought together over 40 local organisations mainly from businesses sector, some
non-governmental organisations, local government and inhabitants, cooperated together to
create vision of city development by the year 2012. They also worked on the
establishment of indicators to monitor progress of putting defined priorities into practice.
The problems, identified during the meeting, were reflected in Updated Sustainable
Development Strategy (adopted by City Council). There were described present problems
that slow down city development and some actions were proposed to enable Plock
development. Other, equally important effect, was to give opportunities of dialog among
partners that have never cooperated with each other, but from that moment they want to
share responsibility for development of their city and region.
In the agreement with members of ‘Forum for Plock’, PKN ORLEN (biggest Polish oil
company, operating in Eastern Europe), the City of Plock and Levi Strauss (jeans clothing
factory) created Trust Fund with amount of 1.3 million PLN. Financial resources are
distributed among non-governmental organization in Plock to finance projects that cover
some actions from city sustainable development strategy.
Within the first edition of the contest (in 2003) 33 awarded projects received subsidies
from Trust Fund (on total amount of 385000 PLN) and among these 14 projects
counteracting social exclusions. Activities concentrate mainly on helping ill persons,
elderly, children and youth from dysfunctional families and disabled. Within the second
contest edition, partners decided to support Forum with additional resources on amount of
1.1 million PLN.
The Fund will be administrated by UNDP until may 2005. After that time local institution
will take over management responsibilities. UNDP would like to put pilot project,
initiated in Plock, into practice in other cities of Poland as common mechanism of local
plans on sustainable development realization. Similar programmes have been already
started in 6 cities: Ostrow Wielkopolski, Wloclawek, Walbrzych, Olsztyn, Tarnow and
Nowy Sacz.
Trust Fund for Plock is the solution of the problem of financing the activities that
are heading for sustainable development of the city. It is local initiative that engages
local sponsors, policymakers and beneficiaries of non-governmental programmes.
One of the most important Forum’s aim is to increase capacity of Plock nongovernmental organisations, which deal with the improvement of inhabitants’ life
quality.
The Academy of Philanthropy deals with the promotion of social dialogue, especially in the
relation non-governmental organisations – business world. The Academy’s objective is to
develop civil society, able to co-operate in a group, and to bring out the possibilities which are
hidden in society. The competition „Philanthropist of the Year” intensifies the dialogue and
49
understanding between the business sector and non-governmental organisations. This contest
promotes social engagement of companies in Poland.
Moreover, in May 2004, the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection announced the 6th
edition of the competition for the Best Civil Initiative of the Year – Pro Publico Bono. The
idea of the contest is to disseminate ethic standards of social behaviour formed on the basis of
freedom, social solidarity and self-governance as the main rules of the civil society. The
competition supports civil initiatives arising from the rank-and-file, realised voluntarily, from
the feeling of civil responsibility and using non-public means. These initiatives have to be
open and accessible for any person in need.
Development of co-operation with non-governmental organisations in order to create an
efficient mechanism of collaboration for the benefit of the equal status of women and men is
included in the National Action Programme for Women. This Programme operates also on the
principle of substantial and financial support of the non-governmental organisations acting for
the implementation of the gender equality principle.
e) Promotion of the participation of the excluded persons in activities for social inclusion
focuses mainly on new possibilities connected with the law on social employment.
Participants of the programmes run by the Centres for Social Inclusion (CSI), after
completion of therapy may become employees of the Centres. It is at the same time a way out
from the social exclusion level to other excluded persons assistance. According to the
principles of the Community Initiative EQUAL, it is important that the excluded have
influence on the project already at its initial stage and further at the stage of implementation
and evaluation. The principle of engagement of excluded groups is used in order to strengthen
capacity of these groups to influence issues, which are of interest to them.
It is worthy mentioning that volunteers who work for the benefit of the poor are at the same
time either the recipients of the programme of the non-governmental organisation or the
members of such a organisation (e.g. programme „Bread and life” in organisation MARKOT).
f) Evaluation of the co-operation
With the implementation of the act on public benefit organisations and volunteerism , the cooperation between non-governmental organisations and public administration acquires new
importance. In the nearest future this co-operation will improve mutual relations between
these sectors.
At the central level, the Ministry of Social Policy is the main partner for non-governmental
organisations dealing with poverty problems. Participation of non-governmental organisations
was also taken into account in the National Strategy on Social Inclusion, where
representatives of non-governmental organisations participated in the Task Team on Social
Reintegration and chaired all working groups.
Organisations of the third sector most frequently mention municipal and communal
authorities as co-operation partners (frequency of contacts of non-governmental organisations
with communes – 46.2%)46. It happens that common action programmes are elaborated, an
example of which is the Communal Programme of Coming out of Homelessness and
Counteracting Social Exclusion for the town Cieszyn for the years 2003-2008. In this
46
Frequency of contacts has been defined in numbers on the basis of the questionnaire prepared by the
KLON/JAWOR basing on the question: „How often do you contact the above institutions: often, rarely, no
contact.” In the same questionnaire there was the question „How do you evaluate the above-mentioned contacts:
good in general, neither good nor bad, bad in general”. There is a relative convergence between the frequency
and quality of contacts, as it is not always possible not to contact the local government when the local authorities
themselves initiate the contact.
50
programme three entities are visible: municipal authorities, Association for Inclusion and
Supporting the Family „Be together” and the Mutual Aid Foundation „Boat” from Cieszyn.
Organisations dealing with social problems generally positively evaluate relations with the
Catholic Church and church related institutions (relations generally good – 73.1%). The worst
co-operation was in the case of the business sector representatives (frequency of contacts –
16%, evaluation: bad – 10.7%) and with organisations and political parties. Also co-operation
with other non-governmental organisations was not so good. 82% of organisations had no
contact with any institution responsible for preparing Poland for EU membership47.
4.4. Challenges for the future and planned activities engaging all social partners in
combating poverty and social exclusion
Action 1. Creation of the strategy for development of the non-government sector
In June 2004, a draft of the assumptions for the National Strategy of the Third Sector
Development in Poland, which constitutes the framework for the elaboration of this
government document, was presented. The objective of the strategy is to develop social
awareness concerning the functioning of the civil society, increase participation of the society
in activities of non-governmental organisations and strengthen the third sector. The strategy
should also lead to financial and institutional strengthening of the non-government sector. In
the Public Benefit Works Council operates the Permanent Task Team on Co-operation of the
Public Administration Bodies with Non-governmental Organisations, which will consult the
strategy at every stage of its creation. Tools implementing objectives of the Strategy include,
i.e.: instruments in legal acts, EU structural funds, the 3-year Government Programme Fund
for Civil Initiatives.
New challenges for the improvement of activities of the third sector in Poland:
- overcoming vertical and horizontal communication barriers through promoting solving
conflicts with assistance of social partnership and social dialogue,
- creating rules and principles improving opportunities for the association of nongovernmental organisations and consequently strengthening their co-operation,
- creation of the so-called umbrella organisations in order to achieve greater influence
power by the dispersed sector of non-government organisations,
- strengthening the tradition connected with social consultations of documents created by
the government,
- building a stable mechanism of analysing the situation of the third sector in Poland. It is
important to propose directions of its development and engagement of the business sphere
in combating social exclusion,
- improvement of the co-operation between the non-governmental organisations and the
local governments at the local level, as regulations at the central level will not improve
this co-operation as much as good will shown by both parties.
47
Data on the basis of the survey of a representative sample of the non-governmental organisations, carried out
in 2002 by the KLON/JAWOR Association „Organisations of Social Welfare – Statistical Profile”.
51
Action 2. Promotion, training and monitoring of the non governmental organisations
Raising public awareness concerning the role and principle of the social dialogue is a
continuous challenge, as the results of public opinion polls show, that these rules are not
commonly known. The objective of the government and local government should be the
improvement of the social dialogue, not only at all levels of the authority but also between
representatives of the third sector, the business sector and the Church.
In order to engage all social partners in combating poverty and social exclusion, a competition
has been announced concerning promotion, training and monitoring in the scope the law on
social employment. At the same time a competition for monitoring of the law on public
benefit organisations and volunteerism has been announced. Due to the fact that the law on
social employment is a new regulation for institutions dealing with vocational and social
reintegration problems so far, there is a need to appoint, through a competition, an institution
which would undertake monitoring in the range of creation and activity of the first Centres for
Social Inclusion (CSI) in Poland in a certain period of time.
Promotion and support of the creation of social co-operatives in the sphere of social economy
is covered by a separate competition. An additional element of the competition is scholarship
support for non-governmental organisations willing to present their achievements on the
Second European Forum of Social Economy in Cracow.
In the years 2003 - 2006 the Institute of Public Affairs implements projects „Building a
friendly legal and social environment for non-governmental organisations– KOMPAS”. To
this end, the Institute carries out monitoring of tax and legal provisions, elaborates and
publishes legal and strategic evaluations and organises seminars. Implemented monitoring
actions are the reaction to the great need for analysis of the situation of the third sector.
Action 3. Creation of structural bases for supporting the non-government sector
An integral element of the creation of the National Strategy of the Third Sector Development
in Poland will be the 3-year Government Programme Fund for Civil Initiatives (FCI)
accepted by the Council of Ministers and created to fulfil the following objectives:
-
-
creation of conditions for the development of non-governmental organisations through
adequate usage of legal, financial and institutional instruments for functioning of the third
sector in co-operation with the public administration and the business sector,
financing civil initiatives undertaken in order to:
o support activities initiated by the non-governmental organisations in the scope
of realisation of public tasks,
o develop the co-operation between the non-governmental sector and the public
sector,
o support activities of the non-governmental organisations enabling them the
utilisation of the UE funds,
o support activities concerning development and integration of the nongovernmental organisations,
-
promotion of good practices, model solutions in the scope of functioning of the
subsidiarity principle, standards of co-operation, forming a democratic social order.
The amount of 90 million PLN from the national budget will be assigned for the
implementation of the FCI Programme for the years 2005 – 2007.
52
Taking into consideration:
-
introduction of unfavourable provisions into the law on VAT, which prevented branches
of organisations having no legal personality from tax liabilities accounting,
-
accepting some categories of donations granted to organisations as turnover, what
qualifies for the VAT taxation,
-
introduction of the top limit of donations deducted from the tax for individuals at the level
of 350 PLN, which considerably limits income from more wealthy donators, in the
situation when these donations compose the main source of financing of organisations,
steps are being taken in order to change these legal regulations. The hitherto regulations
considerably raise the costs of the organisations’ functioning or in the unjustified way limit
the financial receipts of the organisation, which negatively influences implementation of the
entrusted tasks.
53
Chapter 5. Examples of Good Practices
The best initiatives described in this chapter have been chosen through a competition
announced by the Ministry of Social Policy. The competition was directed to organisations,
who implemented programmes aiming at social inclusion of groups or communities
experiencing poverty and social exclusion problems.
All of the chosen examples present innovative approaches to combating poverty and social
exclusion. They focus on active assistance to the excluded or those at risk of social exclusion.
Each of the mentioned practices is of different territorial range and addresses different groups
in need of support.
Practice 1. Duet – Readaptation of the imprisoned through work with disabled youth
Name of the
organization/institution
Social Assistance House in Cracow
Period of programme
Since August 2002, continuation
Institutions
implementing the
initiative
Social Assistance House in Cracow and Custody in Cracow
Programme
beneficiaries
Intellectually disabled people, residents of the Social Assistance
House aged 3-34 and people for the first time convicted
Main objectives of the programme:
-
Rehabilitation of the imprisoned, addicted to alcohol and penalised for the first time
through work as volunteers with the intellectually disabled,
-
Counteracting marginalisation of the disabled by enabling them to contact the society
from outside the Social Assistance House,
-
Establishing social and emotional relations between both groups,
-
Counteracting the isolation and monotony of lives of both groups,
-
Breaking social barriers and stereotypes concerning both the image of a prisoner in the
society and the possibilities and skills of the disabled.
Programme implementation:
-
Prisoners are chosen for work in the House according to the strict criteria. Before starting
work, they participate in specialist training,
-
The initial period of the prisoner’s work consists in getting acquainted with the House’s
residents. During the first two weeks, the work of the sentenced person is supervised by an
employee of the House,
-
During the further stage, the prisoner’s work is taking care of the disabled, nursing and
cleaning-up activities,
Work of the prisoners in the Social Assistance House takes place 5 days a week from 7 a.m.
to 3 p.m. and the average work period of one sentenced person is 3-5 months. All prisoners
have civil liability and accident insurance.
54
Results of the programme:
-
31 prisoners have participated in the programme so far,
-
Through work with the disabled people prisoners have learned patience, acceptance of
their own shortcomings and weaknesses as well as humility. In the evaluation
questionnaire most of the prisoners indicated total abstinence after leaving the prison as a
positive result of the programme,
-
Since April 2003, two participants of the „Duet” programme left the Custody in Cracow
and were employed in the Social Assistance House as carers of the disabled.
Practice 2. Protection of biological diversity – The usage of activities from the range of
widely understood ecology as a form of social readaptation and reintegration
Name of the
organisation/institution
Readaptation Centre of the Association Solidarni “Plus” EKO
„School of life” in Wandzin
Period of programme
Since 1999, continuation
Area of the programme
Area of the Czluchowski administrative unit
Programme
beneficiaries
Directly – 120 inhabitants of the Centre (HIV/AIDS patients,
drug addicts, the unemployed, the homeless)
Indirectly – the unemployed from the Czluchowski
administrative unit
Main objectives of the programme:
-
Connecting two important issues: activities for the protection of biological diversity with
social and vocational reintegration leading to the reduction of the increasing problem of
unemployment and social exclusion among such people as the unemployed from the entire
Czluchowski district, inhabitants of the district living in poverty, people suffering from
AIDS, HIV infected, the homeless or drug addicts,
-
Enabling patients to function outside the Centre,
-
Promotion of the Pomorskie voivodship,
-
Involvement and co-operation of the local society, particularly the unemployed from the
district as well as the local government during project implementation,
-
Protection of the environment.
Programme implementation:
-
Comprehensive assistance (social, medical, therapeutic, legal and psychological) for
people infected with the HIV virus, suffering from AIDS and addicted to drugs,
-
Building 4 cottages and implementation of the programme for the homeless rehabilitation,
-
Building a hospice ward for 30 people suffering from the Alzheimer disease,
-
Organisation of holiday camps for children from the rural areas of former state farms,
-
Green farming on the area of 14 hectares as the source of good food for patients and as the
work-place for the unemployed inhabitants from the district,
-
Cultivation of plants and breeding of animals in danger of extinction.
55
Results of the programme:
-
Since 1999, in the framework of the programme, 98 people from the Czluchowski
administrative unit have found employment in the Centre,
-
30 people per year are employed on a permanent basis or in the framework of public or
intervention works,
-
300-400 farms have been covered by the project „Protection of biological diversity”,
-
The number of the unemployed has decreased from 8000 to 6500 thanks to the cooperation with the Centre in Wandzin,
-
The establishment of a social co-operative (basing on fruit processing), which would hire
15 socially excluded persons (the unemployed, the homeless, drug addicted, HIV
infected), is planned,
-
The transfer of different crops to about 500 individual farmers and institutions all over
Poland is planned until 2006.
Practice 3. Brochure – Searching for missing persons among the homeless
Name of the
organisation/institution
ITAKA Foundation for the Assistance to Those Affected by the
Problem of Missing Persons
Period of programme
From 2000 to 2003, continuation
Area of the programme
The entire Poland
Programme
beneficiaries
Directly – missing persons, homeless people, unidentified
persons
Indirectly – families of the missing persons
Main objectives of the programme:
-
Organising searches and assistance to families in searching for missing persons,
-
Comprehensive legal aid, psychological assistance and support for families of the missing
persons,
-
Informing the public on the missing persons problem,
-
Reintegration of the persons found with the family.
Programme implementation:
-
After declaration about person’s missing, a database is created, which is verified by the
General Headquarters of Police,
-
Preparation of a brochure with data and a photograph of the missing person,
-
Sending the brochures to all institutions providing assistance to the homeless all over the
country (homeless shelters, canteens for poor, Social Assistance Houses),
-
After finding a missing person, providing him/her with psychological support in order to
prepare them for the home return.
Results of the programme:
-
Sending annually 4-12 thousand brochures with photographs of the missing persons to
homeless shelters, canteens for poor, Social Assistance Houses all over the country,
56
-
100 persons have been found out of 450 published photographs, (in next editions 12, 14,
31, 32 persons),
-
The edition of two series of brochures per year is planned in the future.
Practice 4. Lending library of school textbooks for children
Name of the
organisation/institution
Catholic Association Civitas Christiana in Zabrze
Period of programme
Since the school year 2002/2003, continuation
Area of the programme
Zabrze and the neighbouring towns
Programme
beneficiaries
Children from families in a difficult financial situation
Main objectives of the programme:
-
Equalisation of educational opportunities of children from families with many children or
in a difficult financial situation,
-
Prevention of exclusion and alienation of children from families affected by poverty,
-
Increased involvement and integration of local societies, creation of social solidarity.
Programme implementation:
-
Families in a difficult financial situation may borrow school textbooks free of charge for
the period of the entire school year in the lending libraries, leaving a small deposit to be
paid back on return of the textbooks,
-
95% of textbooks come from public collection (4000 volumes), 3% is purchased and 2%
come from donations of educational publishers,
-
Free transport of textbooks from schools to the lending library site is provided by one of
the taxi corporations.
Results of the programme:
-
Every year the statistical family borrows more textbooks,
-
In the school year 2003/2004, the offer was expanded and textbooks for upper secondary
schools were launched. There is also the possibility for adult person, who takes up
learning in order to complete education, to borrow some textbooks.,
-
In the school year 2002/2003, 350 families were provided with the assistance, in the
school year 2003/2004 textbooks were lent to 524 families.
57
Annex 1
Notes:
EU-15 – The 15 Member States of European Union (EU)
EU-25 - The 25 Member States of EU
NMS10 – 10 New Member States of EU
NAT – currency, in case of Poland - in zloty
PPS – Purchasing Power Standard, the artificial common reference currency unit used to express the
volume of economic aggregates for the purpose of spatial comparisons in such a way that price level
differences between countries are eliminated
EUR – currency, in euro
hh – household
PL - Poland
Table 1 Total employment rate (age group 15-64, by gender ), in %
Total
Men
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1999
EU-25
61,9 62,4 62,8 62,8 62,9 70,9 71,3 71,3 71,0 70,8 52,9
EU-15
62,5 63,4 64,1 64,2 64,3 72,0 72,8 73,1 72,8 72,5 52,9
NMS10 59,0 57,4 56,6 55,8 55,8 65,6 63,6 62,5 61,7 61,6 52,6
PL
57,6 55,0 53,4 51,5 51,2 64,2 61,2 59,2 56,9 56,5 51,2
Source: Indicators for monitoring the Employment Guidelines, 2004/2005 Compendium.
2000
53,6
54,1
51,4
48,9
Women
2001 2002 2003
54,3 54,7 55,0
55,0 55,6 56,0
50,8 50,1 50,2
47,7 46,2 46,0
Table 2 Total unemployment rate (by gender), in %
Total
Men
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1999
EU-25
9,2
8,7
8,6
8,9
9,0
8,0
7,6
7,6
8,0
8,3 10,7
EU-15
8,7
7,8
7,4
7,7
8,0
7,5
6,7
6,5
6,9
7,3 10,2
NMS10 11,8 13,6 14,5 14,8
- 10,9 12,6 13,7 14,2
- 12,9
PL
13,4 16,4 18,5 19,8 19,2 11,8 14,6 17,1 19,0 18,6 15,3
Source: Indicators for monitoring the Employment Guidelines, 2004/2005 Compendium.
Women
2000 2001 2002 2003
10,2 9,8
9,9 10,0
9,2 8,6
8,7
8,9
14,8 15,5 15,6
18,6 20,2 20,7 20,0
Table 3 Total long-term unemployment rate [12 months or more], by gender, in %
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
5,8
7,6
9,3
10,8
10,7
Men
4,5
6,1
7,9
9,7
10,1
Women
7,4
9,3
10,9
12,2
11,5
Source: Indicators for monitoring the Employment Guidelines, 2004/2005 Compendium.
58
Table 4 Total unemployment rate (by age and gender), in %
Age
IQ
Less than 24
25 – 34
35 – 44
45 and more
Source: BAEL, CSO
2003
IV Q
Unemployment rate
in %
46,5
41,1
21,7
19,4
17,7
15,7
14,1
13,7
45,9
21,7
16,6
15,4
2004
IQ
+/- comparing to
I Q 2003
IV Q 2003
- 0,6
4,8
0,0
2,3
- 1,1
0,9
1,3
1,7
Table 5 Youth unemployment ratio (by gender), in %
Total
Men
Women
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
EU-25
8,4
8,2
8,1
8,2
8,1
8,5
8,3
8,3
8,6
8,6
8,3
8,1 7,8
7,7
7,7
EU-15
8,1
7,4
7,0
7,2
7,3
8,1
7,3
7,1
7,5
7,7
8,1
7,5 6,9
6,8
6,9
NMS10 10,0 11,3 12,3 12,1
- 10,7 12,1 13,2 13,0
9,3 10,6 11,4 11,1
PL
11,0 13,7 15,6 15,7 14,8 11,3 13,9 16,2 16,9 16,0 10,7 13,4 15,0 14,5 14,7
Source: Indicators for monitoring the Employment Guidelines, 2004/2005 Compendium
*total unemployed young people (15-24 years)as a share of total population in the same age bracket.
Table 6 Unemployment rate (by education level), in %
IQ
Education level
2003
2004
IQ
IV Q
+/- comparing with
Unemployment rate
in %
Tertiary
Vocational1)
General secondary
Basic vocational
Lower secondary, primary
and less than primary
1) with post-secondary
Source: BAEL, CSO
III Q 2003
IV Q 2003
6,7
18,1
23,7
25,3
7,7
16,9
22,9
23,5
7,1
18,6
22,8
25,3
0,4
0,5
- 0,9
0,0
- 0,6
1,7
- 0,1
1,8
28,0
26,0
30,1
2,1
4,1
Table 7 Employment and unemployment gender gap
[the difference in employment rates and unemployment rates between men and women in percentage points]
Employment rate gap
2000
2001
2002
2003
EU-25
17,7
17,0
16,3
15,8
EU-15
18,7
18,1
17,2
16,5
NMS10
12,2
11,7
11,6
11,4
PL
12,3
11,5
10,7
10,5
Unemployment rate gap
EU-25
2,7
2,6
2,2
1,9
1,7
EU-15
2,7
2,5
2,1
1,8
1,6
NMS10
2,0
2,2
1,8
1,4
PL
3,5
4,0
3,1
1,7
1,4
Source: Indicators for monitoring the Employment Guidelines, 2004/2005 Compendium.
1999
18,0
19,1
13,0
13,0
59
Table 8 Disabled persons by level of disability in 2002 (by gender and by place of residence)
Legally disabled persons , total
Disabled persons aged 16 or more;
Level of disability:
Severe
Moderate
Minor
Unknown
Disabled persons aged 15 or under
who have a right to receive nursing
benefit
Persons disabled only biologically;
Disabled:
Total
4450139
Men
2186483
Women
2263656
Urban
2650571
Rural
1799568
4315045
2109425
2205620
2571731
1743314
1064844
1426665
1571661
251875
460297
713928
814373
120827
604547
712737
757288
131048
638305
911319
917592
104515
426539
515346
654069
147360
135094
77058
58036
78840
56254
1006572
381737
624835
562533
444039
Entirely
123971
44150
79821
71610
52361
Severely
882601
337587
545014
490923
391678
Source: National Census Data 2002
Notes: persons legally disabled - they were granted disabled status officially, persons biologically disabled
only - they face significant incapacity to perform basic functions.
Table 9 Laeken indicators on the social situation in Poland
NAT
EUR
1.Mean equivalised
disposable income
2. Risk-of-poverty threshold
(illustrative values)
1 person hh
2 adults 2 dep.
children
Total
0-15
0-64
16+
by age and gender
!
16-64
16-24
25-49
50-64
65+
NAT
EUR
PPS
NAT
EUR
PPS
Total
M
F
Total
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
2000
11103,7
2770
5132
5760
1437
2662
12096
3018
5590
16
16
16
22
17
17
16
14
14
14
15
16
15
19
19
18
16
16
15
11
12
10
8
5
9
2001
11662,0
3176
5233
6090
1659
2733
12790
3483
5739
16
16
15
22
17
18
16
14
15
14
15
16
15
19
19
20
16
17
15
10
11
9
7
4
9
2002
11915,1
3089
6165
1598
12946
3356
17
17
16
23
18
19
17
15
16
14
16
17
16
21
21
20
17
17
17
11
13
10
7
4
8
60
4. Risk-of-poverty rate
by most frequent activity
by gender
Total
Total
(a) Of which:
At work
(b) Of which:
Salary/wage
employees
(c) Of which:
Self-employed
Total
(d) Not at work
(e) Of which:
Unemployed
(e) Of which:
Retired
(f) Of which:
Other inactive
All hh no dep. childr.
1 person hh
1 person hh <65yrs
1 person hh 65+
2 adults no dep. childr.
5. Risk-of-poverty rate
by household type
Other hh no dep.
childr.
All hh with dep. childr.
Single parent
2000
14
14
14
11
12
10
7
8
5
20
20
21
17
18
17
38
41
36
9
9
9
20
20
20
9
14
22
12
18
11
9
2001
14
15
14
11
12
10
7
9
6
20
19
21
17
18
16
37
39
35
8
7
8
19
19
19
10
12
19
10
16
9
9
2002
15
16
14
12
13
10
8
10
6
20
20
21
18
19
17
38
39
36
8
7
8
20
21
20
10
13
21
10
18
9
10
7
9
8
10
19
9
19
10
20
26
11
13
30
22
10
14
33
24
11
16
33
19
18
19
:
:
:
M
16
16
16
F
WI = 0
0 < WI < 1
WI = 1
WI = 0
0 < WI < 0.5
0.5 <= WI < 1
WI = 1
16
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
16
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
18
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
(both < 65)
(at least one
65+)
(at least 1
child)
2 adults 1 dep. child
2 adults 2 dep. childr.
2 adults 3+ dep. childr.
Other hh with dep.
childr.
Total
6. Risk-of-poverty rate
by tenure status
(a) Owner or rent-free
(b) Tenant
All hh no dep. childr.
7. Risk-of-poverty rate
by work intensity of
the household
All hh with dep. childr.
Total
61
8. Dispersion around the
risk-of-poverty threshold
(by gender )
9. Risk-of-poverty rate
before and after transfers
by age and gender
(a) 40% of median
(b) 50% of median
(c) 70% of median
Total
0-15
16+
(a) before all transfers
16-64
65+
Total
0-15
(b) including pensions
16+
16-64
65+
Total
0-15
10. Persistent risk-ofpoverty rate
by age and gender
16+
16-64
65+
11. Persistent risk-ofpoverty rate (50%
threshold)
by gender
12. Risk-of-poverty rate
anchored at a point
in time
by gender
Total
Total
Total
Total
M
F
Total
Total
M
F
Total
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
2000
5
9
10
9
24
47
46
48
41
49
47
50
43
42
44
85
85
84
30
31
30
36
29
29
28
30
31
29
19
17
21
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
2001
5
10
10
10
24
48
47
49
42
50
48
51
44
43
44
86
88
85
31
31
30
36
29
30
28
31
32
30
19
16
21
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
2002
6
10
11
10
24
50
48
51
44
51
50
52
45
44
46
86
87
85
32
32
31
37
30
31
29
32
33
31
18
16
20
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
Total
:
:
:
M
:
:
:
F
:
:
:
Total
:
:
:
M
:
:
:
F
:
:
:
62
Total
0-15
13. Relative median
risk-of-poverty gap
by age and gender
16+
16-64
65+
14. S80/S20 quintile share
ratio
15. Gini coefficient
16. Regional cohesion
17. Long term
unemployment share
by gender
18. Long term
unemployment rate
by gender
19. Very long
unemployment rate
by gender
20. Persons living in
jobless households
21. Early school-leavers not
in education or training
by gender
22. Persons with low
educational attainment
23. Life expectancy at birth
by gender
Total
M
F
Total
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
2000
22
22
21
23
21
22
20
22
22
21
15
15
15
2001
23
23
23
24
22
23
21
23
23
23
14
14
14
2002
23
23
22
25
22
22
22
23
23
22
14
14
14
4,7
4,7
4,8
30
6,9
30
7,2
31
7,3
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
Total
M
F
7,6
9,3
6,1
9,3
10,9
7,9
-
-
-
-
7,9
6,0
9,7
10,8
12,2
9,7
-
7,6
5,6
9,5
-
M
78,00
7,38
78,78
F
69,74
70,21
70,42
24. Self-defined health
status
by income level
Note: Laeken indicators: Results of 3rd Round, (Data request 12/03/04), Indicators mandatory for New
Member States, TYPE 2 As Type 1 but including income-in-kind
Source: CSO, provisional data
63
Table 10 Proportion of people below the poverty threshold fixed at the level of the minimum
of existence (subsistence minimum)
1996
1999
2002
% of population
4,3
6,9
11,1
7,0
17,4
Socio-economic group
3,2
4,7
8,5
household
TOTAL
Urban
Rural
Employed
Employed on private farms in
agriculture
5,4
9,2
Farmers
5,9
13,3
Own-account workers
0,7
3,2
Pensioners and retirees
3,9
6,1
Retirees
3,6
Pensioners
10,1
Population maintained from non-earned
sources
21,0
28,4
Biological type of household
Married couples without children
1,3
Married couples with 1 child
2,6
Married couples with 2 children
4,3
Married couples with 3 children
11,1
Married couples with 4 or more children
22,3
Single parent with dependants
9,8
Source: Living conditions, CSO
2003
11,7
7,5
18,0
8,6
14,2
16,7
4,5
9,9
5,9
16,4
14,8
17,5
7,2
10,4
6,4
17,2
32,4
34,0
2,3
4,6
8,6
17,4
37,1
13,4
2,4
5,4
10,2
17,9
41,6
13,0
Table 11 Poverty in Poland
Poverty threshold
Laeken threshold (60% of
median equivalised disposable
income)
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Proportion of population living below the poverty threshold
-
Relative (50% of average
12,0
monthly expenditure of hh)
Statutory
Subsistence minimum
Source: Living Conditions, CSO
-
-
-
-
-
-
16,0
16,0
17,0
-
13,5
12,8
14,0
15,3
15,8
16,5
17,1
17,0
18,4
19,7
6,4
-
4,3
13,3
5,4
12,1
5,6
14,4
6,9
13,6
8,1
15,0
9,5
18,5
11,1
19,2
11,7
Table 12 Persons aged 15 or more by educational level in 1988 and 2002
Level of education
Tertiary
General and post-secondary
Basic vocational
Primary
Less than primary and without
education
Unknown level of education
1988
Total
6,5
24,7
23,6
2002
Men
Women
7,2
5,9
20,6
28,4
31,5
16,2
Total
10,2
32,6
24,1
1988=100
Men
Women
9,3
10,4
27,6
35,1
30,1
16,9
Total
174,3
146,3
113,1
38,8
35,9
41,5
28,2
28,0
31,4
80,4
6,5
4,5
7,5
2,8
2,0
4,3
-
-
0,3
0,5
2,1
3,0
1,9
-
Source: National Census Data, 1988 and 2002, CSO
64
Table 13 Gross enrolment rate
Primary
Lower secondary
Basic vocational
Year
1990/1991
2001/2002
1990/1991
2001/2002
1990/1991
2001/2002
Total
101,3
100,6
X
98,4
34,1 (1)
27,1
1990/1991
2001/2002
1990/1991
2001/2002
1990/1991
2001/2002
1990/1991
2001/2002
18,9
42,4
61,8
48,2
3,5
10,6
12,9
43,6
Men
Women
x
101,0
x
99,0
x
35,1
x
100,2
x
97,7
x
18,7
x
33,4
x
54,4
x
7,9
x
36,9
x
51,7
x
41,6
x
13,5
x
50,5
Secondary :
- general secondary
- vocational
Post-secondary
Tertiary
Source: Statistical Yearbook, CSO
Table 14 Early school leavers (by gender), in %
Total
Men
Women
2001 2002 2003 2001 2002 2003 2001 2002 2003
EU-25
17,2p 16,5p 15,9p 19,5p 18,7p 17,9b 15,0p 14,2p 13,9b
EU-15
18,9p 18,5p 18,0b 21,2p 20,9p 20,2b 16,6p 16,1p 15,9b
NMS10
9,0e
8,4
7,5 10,7e
10,0
8,7 7,2e
6,9
6,2
PL
7,9
7,6
6,3
9,7
9,5
7,8
6,0
5,6
4,7
Notes: e – estimated value, b – break in time series, p – provisional data.
Source: Indicators for monitoring the Employment Guidelines, 2004/2005 Compendium.
Table 15 Participation in education and training (age group 25-64, by gender and age)
Total
Men
Women
2001 2002 2003 2001 2002 2003 2001 2002 2003
25-64
4,8
4,3
5,0
4,2
3,9
4,5
5,5
4,7
5,5
25-34
9,9
9,6
11,4
9,5
9,4
10,2
10,4
9,8
12,6
35-44
4,6
3,8
4,8
3,5
2,9
4,0
5,7
4,7
5,6
45-54
2,1
1,5
2,2
2,0
1,5
1,9
2,2
1,6
2,4
55-64
0,6
0,4
0,5
0,5
0,4
0,5
0,7
0,4
0,5
Source: Indicators for monitoring the Employment Guidelines, 2004/2005 Compendium.
65
Chart 1. Population in Poland in May, 2002 (by gender and by age)
66
Annex 2
Goals included in National Social Inclusion Strategy [NSIS]. The indicators should reach their
targets until year 2010. Targets specified below will by completed by experts of the Task
Force for NSIS.
No
1.
Goals
Increasing the number of children
participating in pre-school
education
Indicators
Share of children (at age 3-5)
participating in pre-school education
Target to be reached
until year 2010
[level of indicator]
60%
- among children in rural area
40%
-among disabled children
1/3
Share of youth (aged up to 18)
participating in education system
2.
Extending the education of good
quality at the level of lower and
upper secondary schools
- among disabled youth
Share of youth (at age 15) receiving
score of 1 or below of the PISA
combined reading literacy scale
Share of youth (aged up to 24)
participating in tertiary education
3.
Promoting higher tertiary
education and adjusting it to the
demands of the labour market
4.
Share of schools doing compensatory
Compensating deficits in children’s classes
intellectual and physical
Share of children participating in
development
compensatory classes
5.
Radically reducing extreme
poverty
7.
8.
9.
Improve scores of lowest
quintiles
[or decrease proportion
of children with poor
scores by 50% – down to
12%]
60%
Share of disabled youth (aged up to 24)
participating in tertiary education
Share of students participating in work
training during last year of education.
6.
90%
Share of population living below
subsistence minimum
Share of population living below
statutory poverty threshold
Reducing the tendency for the
Gini coefficient [estimated
income disparities growth
representatively]
Limiting the long-term
Long-term unemployment rate [12
unemployment rate
months or more]
Limiting unemployment among the Unemployment rate of people below
young
24-year-old
Increasing the level of employment Employment rate of disabled persons in
among the disabled
working age
2-3 months work training
during the last year of
education
100%
5%
Average level of the EU
countries
5%
25%
22 %
67
Increasing the number of
10. participants in the active labour
market programmes (ALMP)
11. Promoting lifelong learning
12.
Extending the average health life
expectancy
13. Promoting health insurance
Covering more women and
14. children with national health
programmes
Share of unemployed participating in
ALMP
Share of disabled participating in
ALMP
Share of population (at age 24-64)
participating in lifelong learning
HALE (Healthy Life Expectancy)
Proportion of persons having an
effective right to public health
insurance benefits
Share of pregnant women participating
in special programmes introduced for
them
Share of children and youth
participating in sifting examinations
20% - 30%
10 %
Average level of the EU
countries
100%
100%
100% of children (at age
6)
Share of participants of social and
protected housing programmes in
following groups:
Increasing access to housing for
15. groups most threatened with
homelessness
- people leaving public
institutions where they were
brought up (share of charges
receiving housing help out of
total number of people leaving
public institutions)
25 %
- people evicted
-people leaving hospitals for
mentally disabled
16.
Ensuring better access to social
workers
Developing community support
17. and increasing the number of
people covered by it
Increasing citizens’ involvement in
social activity
Implementation of the National
19 Social Inclusion Strategy by local
self-governments
18.
20
Increasing access to civic
information and counselling
Total number of social workers as a
share of total number of inhabitants
Statutory target: 1 social
worker per 2000
inhabitants
Total number of people covered by
community support as a share of total
number of people using in-place
services.
Share of people participating in NGOs’
and other social activities
do 25 %
Share of local governments working out
strategy and implementing its priorities
100%
Share of communes and provinces
where working information counselling
places are available
100%
68