Bonuses are meant to incentivize
- interview with Tomasz Cudny, President of the Management Board of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa by the Jastrzębski Węgiel monthly.
Why has the payment of the one-off bonus caused so many misunderstandings among JSW employees?
I am surprised by the discussion on the one-off incentive bonus. As the name suggests, the bonus that JSW employees received is intended to incentivize them.
In creating the catalog of eligibility criteria for the incentive bonus, the Management Board was guided by the assumption that people whose absence from work is compensated from other benefits should not receive double compensation. Let me remind you that JSW employees on sick leave receive a benefit of 100 percent for the sick time. By law, this benefit is 80 percent. Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa subsidizes its employees to make up for the difference so that they receive 100 percent of their salaries. In addition, please remember that a person on sick leave must be replaced by someone else and someone else must do the work for him. And it is to these employees, who, in addition to their duties, often perform the duties of those who are on sick leave that we wanted to show that we appreciate their commitment. Just to remind you, during the vacation season, absenteeism in some departments is as high as 50 percent.
The most confusion was caused by the reduction of the bonus to those who are honorary blood donors.
Their situation is similar to those who are on sick leave. A person who decides to donate blood, which is, of course, commendable and exemplary, receives in return two fully paid days off. The employer has no control over when a particular employee wants to donate blood. This is the employee's personal choice. On days when blood donors are not at work, someone else has to perform their duties for them as well.
JSW employees are most likely to donate blood on Thursday, which means that they have Thursday and Friday off. Hypothetically, there could be a situation where half of JSW's employees go to donate blood and the company is in a standstill for two days, with the employer unable to prepare for it. Together with the Henryk Sławik Municipal Club of Honorary Blood Donors in Jastrzębie-Zdrój, we are working to somehow plan the days on which JSW employees could donate blood. I think that then this problem will be solved.
The system for paying the bonus will have to be refined and we will have to think together with the trade unions about how to solve this in the future. As the President of the Management Board, I will not try to justify the fact that employees who perform their duties well receive a bonus, because the situation is starting to become quite preposterous. I'm counting on the common sense of the employees of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa.
Is it possible to reach an agreement with the protesters from the WZZ Sierpień 80 trade union?
As I have explained before, issues concerning JSW Szkolenie i Górnictwo should be resolved with the management of this company, in which I have full confidence. Please note that a small group of WZZ Sierpień 80 members protested in front of the Company's headquarters, and among them were mainly people who are employees of other mining companies. It seems that this protest is being controlled by the employees of PGG, headed by the chairman of the Murcki-Staszic Mine.
Besides, if WZZ Sierpień 80 thinks that the street is a good place to express their opinions, insult people and make fun of them, all in the language of hatred - it is wrong. In my opinion, this is not what an attempt to establish a dialogue with the employer should look like. In this way, this trade union will achieve nothing.
