On the table: no less than 4,806 złoty. A decision must be made by September 15th. Or maybe today?

• On July 11, talks begin at the Social Dialogue Council regarding the minimum wage from January 1, 2026.
• The government proposes that the minimum wage should be PLN 4,806.
• The minimum wage must be set by September 15th

On June 12, the Council of Ministers adopted a proposal for a minimum wage and minimum hourly rate in 2026. According to the proposal, from January 1, 2026, the minimum wage will be PLN 4,806 gross . This represents an increase of PLN 140, or 3 percent, compared to the current amount. The hourly rate will increase to PLN 31.40.

According to the regulations, government proposals are presented to the Social Dialogue Council, which has 30 days to develop a common position.

Trade unions have been critical of the government's proposed minimum wage . NSZZ "Solidarność," OPZZ, and FZZ, in a joint statement, previously proposed that next year's minimum wage should be no less than PLN 5,015 gross .

Employers, however, are taking a moderate approach to the proposal . Before its announcement, in a joint statement, they advocated for the minimum wage increase in 2026 to be based on the index resulting from the current law, meaning it should not exceed PLN 50. Following the announcement, Jacek Męcina, advisor to the board of the Lewiatan Confederation, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that the government's proposal represents a compromise.

If representatives of employees, employers, and the government reach a common position, the minimum wage agreed upon by this group will be published in the Monitor Polski (Monitor Polski) as a notice from the Prime Minister by September 15th . If the RDS fails to agree on the minimum wage by that deadline, the government will set it by a regulation of the Council of Ministers, which will be published in the Journal of Laws by September 15th.

The Act guarantees an annual increase in the minimum wage by no less than the projected increase in the total price of consumer goods and services for that year . At the same time, if in the first quarter of the year in which negotiations take place, the minimum wage is lower than half the average wage in the national economy, this guarantee is increased by an additional two-thirds of the projected real GDP growth rate.

On Friday, the Social Dialogue Council will also discuss the proposal for average annual salary growth rates in the state budget sector for 2026 and an increase in the indexation rate of pensions and disability benefits from the Social Insurance Fund in 2026.

The Social Dialogue Council (RDS) is a forum for tripartite dialogue in Poland and cooperation between employees, employers, and the government, operating at the central level. The RDS replaced the Tripartite Commission for Social and Economic Affairs, which had been in operation since 1994.

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