Start

Start

"Gazeta Wyborcza": senator Bierecki's foundations tried to open deposits in Getin Noble Bank

Law and Justice senator Grzegorz Bierecki says he will file a lawsuit against "Gazeta Wyborcza" daily which wrote that the senator's two foundations unsuccesfully attempted to open deposits in Getin Noble Bank, when the prosecutor's office was already investigating siphoning money from SKOK Wołomin credit union. Senator Bierecki declares that he had no idea about such attempts, as he was only a founder of the organisations and wasn't managing them.

Empty classroom syndrome. Many teachers out on sick leaves in protest

Not only employees of the judicial system are asking for raises, as teachers are also requesting 1,000 zlotys more. Many of them went on sick leaves in protest against low wages. The employers are sending requests to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) for controls of sick leaves of some teachers. It's our duty to respond to each of the notifications, says the ZUS spokesman Wojciech Andrusiewicz.

"Gone in a snap of fingers". Controlled demolition of silos in Wrocław

It only took ten seconds to complete a controlled demolition of four concrete silos in Wrocław. The structures were one of the most characteristic sights in the city and were built in the 1960s. The biggest of the four was 38 meters tall. Seventeen kilograms of explosives were used for the demolition. Now a new housing development will be built on the site.

Polish Teachers' Union supports the protest of educators who went on sick leaves

The Polish Teachers' Union has announced a countrywide protest of educators. The unionists are demanding a 1000 zloty payrise for teachers. They are also critical of the new system of work that was introduced on the 1st of September. At the meeting of the board of the Polish Teachers' Union, its leader Sławomir Broniarz announced a protest. "We support the teachers who for their own good, as well the good of their students have been taking doctors' leave of absence. We're convinced that the status quo cannot continue," said Mr Broniarz.

Government says energy prices won't go up; opposition asks how?

There will be no increases in the price of electricity and several ministers are working on this, said the Polish PM. The opposition is asking how the higher prices will suddenly disappear. The minister of energy has reassured yet again that electricity costs won't go up and Poles will not be affected. He stressed that he had earmarked 5 billion zlotys to tackle this problem, thanks to the EU Commission's positive decision regarding using old certificates for emissions.

Air pollution in Poland may exceed norms even by 1400 percent

In some places in Poland, people are breathing air that's... not even meant for breathing. In just the last few days, in Kraków, air pollution has been exceeded by 7 times the norm. What's even worse, looking from the point of view of European standards, it was exceed by up 1400 percent. That's really taking toll on local residents. In the capital city of Warsaw, the situation isn't any better.

Minister and unions reached an agreement that the court employees rejected

The Ministry of Justice has reached an agreement with trade unions regarding raises for the employees of the courts. Before Christmas, all of them shall each receive a 1000 zloty gross bonus regardless of their function. However, the employees of courts in Kraków, Słupsk and Gdynia rejected the terms of the agreement. The deal was signed by the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice Michał Wójcik and representatives of 6 trade unions.

EU Commission wants U.S. visa waivers for 5 states including Poland

The European Commission wants U.S. visa waivers for 5 European Union countries whose citizens still require visas to travel across the Atlantic: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania. The EU executive announced on Wednesday further diplomatic action in that regard.

Zdzisław Sokal replaced as president's representative at financial regulator

Zdzisław Sokal in longer president's representative to the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF). President Andrzej Duda made the decision to entrust his position to Cezary Kochalski. Mr Sokal will remain in the KNF as the President of the Bank Guarantee Fund. He was one of the people discussed in the tapes of the so-called KNF scandal. The Chancellery of the President of Poland has said that the change was ordered on Zdzisław Sokal's personal request.

Nationwide teachers' strike. Some schools cancelled all classess for the week

A dozen or so closed pre-schools, cancelled trial exams in a few primary schools and classes cancelled until until the end week a few other. On Monday a nationwide teachers' strike began. In most schools classess are taking place as planned, but in singular cases nearly all teachers are on sick leaves. Teachers, just like the police or court employees, in this form of protest demand raises.

Medical marijuana available in Poland. Only in three pharmacies for starters

As of Monday, it is legal to buy medical marijuana in Poland. The medicine is available in a dried form and is imported from Canada. The law allowing the distribution of medical marijuana in Poland came into force in the beginning of November last year. This means that the process of implementing it to the Polish pharmacies took over 400 days. Scientists still cannot agree on the list of diseases it helps to cure, however, there is no doubt that the drug helps to relieve pain, reduces the number of seizures in patients with epilepsy and may may have positive impact on people suffering from depression.