Unions, employers appeal to gov't for mandatory COVID jabs

Poland's biggest trade unions and employers have issued a joint appeal to the government to introduce mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations as the infections curve grows, threatening the country's economic recovery.

The signatories of the appeal represent Poland's nine largest unions and employer organisations all of which are members of the Council for Social Dialogue, a tri-lateral consultation body also comprising the government.

In the appeal, the unions and employers stressed the efficiency of vaccines and remarked that now only medics are officially obliged to get vaccinated in Poland.

They also pointed out that Poland's vaccination statistics were much worse than Western Europe's, with only 54 percent of Poles having been fully vaccinated.

"The figure is definitely too small to efficiently reduce the growing number of fatalities and serious symptoms of the disease," they wrote.

"We appeal to the government to introduce mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for the general public, except for people with medical contraindications, and to introduce preferences for vaccinated people," the organisations wrote.

Cases growing in Europe, some states introducing compulsory vaccination

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry announced 32,835 new confirmed COVID-19 infections in Poland, increasing the total number of cases recorded in the country to 4,406,553 including 489,457 still active. The number of active cases increased from 462,567 yesterday.

The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has stopped short of introducing a tougher regime for those who refuse to get a COVID vaccine, unlike most other EU countries. On Wednesday, following the announcement of 112,323 new COVID-19 cases, Germany’s single-day record, the country’s health minister said the peak had not been reached and compulsory vaccination should be introduced by May. On Monday, a regulation came into force in Greece, that compels people over 60 years old to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Those who fail to do so will be fined.

Some smaller allies of PiS, and even some of the party's own members, are openly against such measures. With only a fragile majority in the lower house of parliament, any more wide gapping internal conflict could shake the foundations of the government.