JSW coal's inclusion in provisions of mining act amendment to be discussed further

The draft amendment to the act on the functioning of hard coal mining is intended, among other things, to enable the financing of protective benefits for employees of liquidated mines from budget subsidies.

The management board of JSW requested that the company be covered by the provisions of the amended act. At the current stage of the legislative process, the company is not included in the provisions, which means that employees leaving the company would not be able to benefit from the voluntary redundancy programme financed from the budget.

When asked whether it was possible to include JSW in the provisions of the act, Poland's energy minister replied that no decision has been made in this regard.

"(...) We have a bill adopted by the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers, and this version is binding. We will see what form the bill will take in the government. We are still discussing this issue. At this point, the solution proposed by JSW is not available," Motyka said on the sidelines of Energy Days in Katowice.

"We are ready for discussion. The Ministry of State Assets will talk to the trade unions, and then we will go to the Minister of Finance [and Economy - MI ed.]. At this point, the bill is in its final form," he added.

His statement suggests that the additional cost of including JSW is estimated at several hundred million zlotys.

When asked if there were any other ideas on how to help JSW, which is in a difficult financial situation, Motyka replied that there are such ideas, but is a matter for the Ministry of State Assets (MAP).

The energy minister also announced that the government would analyse the steel industry's proposals.

"This is one of our government's priorities. This week and early next week, we will analyse the proposals, because we can see that market competition is distorted, and we will definitely look for solutions," he declared.

When asked if there would be talks with the European Commission about introducing tariffs on steel imports, he replied: "The Ministry of Finance is responsible for tariffs, but we will certainly seek other possible protective mechanisms."

During a picket organised on Wednesday in Katowice, trade unionists protested in defence of the Polish steel industry. They are calling for, among other things, a halt to duty-free steel imports from Ukraine, support for the steel industry under EU regulations and the introduction of low network tariffs for energy for energy-intensive plants.

pel/ ao/