12.1 General wage levels


In Poland, wages increased dramatically in nominal terms during the 1990s; however prices also rose very sharply, so on balance there was only a comparatively modest increase in real wages of about 25 per cent between 1992 and 2000 (Table 12.1).

In general there has been a slow but steady differentiation between the wages paid for different types of job. The most common tendency is to link pay with the qualifications required for a job. While the level of wage differentiation between men and women and between industries has remained more or less constant, salaries and wages have risen faster in public companies than in privately owned ones (Wolynka, 2001).

Table 12.1: Indices of nominal wages and salaries, price of consumer goods and services, and real wages and salaries, 1994 “2000
 

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

1992

1995

 

(previous year = 100)

           

(=100)

(=100)

Average monthly

gross nominal

wages and

salaries

134.5

131.6

126.5

121.9

115.7

112.5

111.1

532.1

223.0

Prices of consumer

goods and

services

132.3

128.0

119.9

115.1

112.0

107.4

110.0

418.2

182.6

Average monthly

gross real wages

and salaries

101.7

102.8

105.5

105.9

103.3

104.7

101.0

127.2

122.1

Source : Central Statistical Office (2001a), p. 165.

                 

Geographical location is a very important factor in wage differentiation. Within the same industry, the average wage for a certain job category often varies considerably from region to region. The highest wages are paid in the Warsaw region (Table 12.2), where the average pay for certain positions can be nearly 100 per cent above that in some other regions , mainly due to the fact that most large domestic and foreign corporations have their headquarters in the Warsaw region (FAZ-Institut, 1997, p. 25). The second position is held by the region of Silesia.

In 2000 the average Polish wage amounted to 1894 zloty. In sectors such as mining, electricity, gas, water and finance the pay was considerably above the national average, whereas in areas such as health, social work and fishing it was considerably below the average (Table 12.3).

Ownership is another important factor in variations in pay (Table 12.4). In 2000 state-owned companies paid an average salary of 2239 zloty. While local government bodies only paid 1778 zloty, this was slightly above the average in the private sector, where the lowest salaries were paid by private Polish companies and the highest by foreign-owned ones.

Despite many years of substantial pay increases , the pay gap between Poland and, for instance, the members of the European Union is still large. This difference is put into even greater relief by the fact that Poland shares a border with Germany, which is part of the so-called ˜high-pay zone . Polish middle managers or specialists still only earn 25 “30 per cent of the salaries of their counterparts in Western Europe (Watson Wyatt, 1999, p. 1), and the pay awarded to manual workers in Poland, as in the entire CEE region, is only a fraction of that in the EU, especially when productivity differences are taken into consideration. However the gap has narrowed at the top of the pay structure, and general managers and senior managers salaries are now reaching the levels in EU countries where pay levels are lower, such as Portugal (approximately 50 per cent of the neighbouring high-paying EU countries ). When the pay levels are adjusted for purchasing power the gap reduces further (ibid., p. 2).

Table 12.2: Average monthly gross wages and salaries, by region, 2000 (zloty)

Region

Total

Industry

Manufacturing

Trade and repair

Transport and storage

Financial intermediation

Poland

1894

1942

1757

1590

2144

3258

Dolnoslaskie

1811

1997

1660

1405

2031

2612

Kujawsko-pomorskie

1669

1693

1649

1306

1916

2514

Lubelskie

1679

1695

1558

1272

1938

2580

Lubuskie

1670

1623

1566

1294

1904

2306

Lodzkie

1669

1664

1457

1355

1975

2640

Malopolskie

1744

1824

1750

1416

1935

3126

Warsaw

2470

2291

2219

2289

2876

4735

Opolskie

1732

1813

1730

1342

1902

2622

Podkarpackie

1639

1694

1648

1230

1830

2538

Podlaskie

1676

1629

1560

1335

1958

2554

Pomorskie

1826

1862

1820

1451

2155

2698

Silesia

1954

2304

1775

1439

1965

2887

Swietokrzyskie

1718

1856

1732

1287

1880

2414

Warminsko-mazurskie

1671

1703

1660

1275

1946

2299

Wielkopolskie

1772

1767

1679

1507

2007

2797

Zachodno-pomorskie

1741

1808

1722

1342

2107

2540

Source : Central Statistical Office (2001b), p. 114f.

Table 12.3: Average monthly gross wages and salaries, by sector, 2000

Sector

Zloty

National average

1894

Public Service

1932

Agriculture

1712

Fishing

1355

Mining

3210

Manufacturing

1756

Electricity, gas and water supply

2563

Construction

1706

Trade and repairs

1560

Hotels and restaurants

1301

Transport, storage and communications

2144

Financial intermediation

3258

Real estate

2133

Public administration

2432

Education

1835

Health and social work

1480

Other community, social and personal service activities

1892

Source : Central Statistical Office (2001a), p. 163.

Table 12.4: Average monthly gross wages and salaries, by ownership category, 2000

Ownership category

Zloty

National average

1894

Public Service

2066

State

2239

Local government

1778

Private sector

1760

Private domestic

1520

Cooperatives

1554

Foreign

2729

Source : Central Statistical Office (2001a), p. 164.

Detailed and reliable information on managers and specialists pay in Poland is not easy to obtain. The quickest (and the most expensive) way to ascertain the relevant pay levels in different job markets is to obtain data from one of the major human resource consultancies. The salary surveys published from time to time in certain journals and newspapers also give some indication of the current pay levels in specific parts of the Polish job market. For example, one study carried out in 2001 reported that a sales director in an IT company earned between PLN 8100 and 23 000, PLN 14 600 being the average salary for this position (Wolynka, 2001). According to the same survey, a software engineer earned PLN 3500 on average, with PLN 2200 and PLN 4850 as the lowest and highest values, respectively. In general, managers receive much higher salaries than specialists, and specialists are paid considerably more than employees in posts requiring little or no specific education and experience. Thus, a financial director in a large company earns about PLN 11 600, a department head in human resources somewhat more than PLN 5600 and a specialist in purchasing a little over PLN 3500, whereas accounting clerks and secretaries earn only around PLN 2500. A survey carried out in 1997 revealed that the influence of a corporation s location on the level of executive and specialist remuneration is particularly strong (cf. F.A.Z.-Institut, 1997: 25). Thus, for most managing and specialist positions salaries in the Warsaw region reach easily 200 per cent of what is paid in the less central regions of the country. In other major cities, managers and specialists still earn about 50 per cent more than their colleagues in smaller cities and rural areas.




Change Management in Transition Economies. Integrating Corporate Strategy, Structure and Culture
Change Management in Transition Economies: Integrating Corporate Strategy, Structure and Culture
ISBN: 1403901635
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 121

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