POLAND - Polish trade unionists occupied the ministry of labour and social policy on Wednesday and Thursday in protest against the government's legislation to introduce bridge pensions.

In addition, the Solidarity trade union leadership also called a strike for 5 November and demanded a meeting with prime minister Donald Tusk (pictured, right).

The government-backed bill, which was approved by the parliamentary social security committee last week, gives some 250,000 people in defined hardship occupations the right to take early retirement and receive a temporary five-year bridge pension before reaching the statutory retirement age. (See earlier IPE story:Poland to bridge early retirement gap)

However, in an attempt to reduce the fiscal cost of early retirement the bill also imposes severe limits on the number of workers entitled to early retirement.

The overall cost of bridge pensions to the budget is calculated at PLN600m (€166m) a year and the current cost of early retirement is estimated at an annual PLN20bn.

An estimated 190,000 people would qualify for bridge pensions while some 1.3m people currently qualify for early retirement.

Consequently, it is estimated that more than one million people might attempt to pre-empt the new rules by taking early retirement before the end of this year when the new law is intended to come into force.

The Solidarity union responded to the bill by demanding that the right to a bridge pension be extended to a greater number of workers.

The union had demanded Tusk meet its leadership on Wednesday 29 October but he was in Szczecin and proposed instead to meet on Thursday morning at the Warsaw Centre of Social Partnership. Solidarity rejected the offer and the occupation of the ministry followed.

Tusk responded with a statement declaring ''a minority cannot terrorise the majority'' and pledged the government would push the bridge pension bill through parliament so that it could become law on 1 January 2009.

However, the bill's passage onto the stature book may not be that smooth. Earlier this month the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party signalled its rejection of the draft by walking out of its committee stage discussions.

The government's majority will ensure the passage of the measure through parliament but to become law it needs the signature of the president.

President Lech Kaczynski co-founded PiS with his twin brother Jaroslaw.

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