Unions at Poland's PKN Orlen walk away from 9 pct pay offer

Pay talks at Poland's largest oil refiner PKN Orlen have collapsed, with unions walking away from its latest offer of a 9 pct pay rise, the company said in a statement today.

'During the negotiations, the board decided to offer unions a extraordinarily advantageous proposal,' the company said. 'The proposed sum was a rise of more than 9 pct, given average monthly wages at PKN Orlen of 6,100 zlotys.'

The company said it was obliged by Polish law only to negotiate with unions until March 10 and to give workers only a 3.5 pct pay rise in line with average inflation.

But it said it was still prepared to raise wages by 9 pct if unions come back to the table. Average wages at PKN Orlen are more than double the national average wage, according to statistics office figures.

Trade unions at PKN earlier filed for a 10.5 pct pay rise this year, threatening the company with strikes should their demands be rejected.
Source: By Adrian Krajewski,
forbes.com