There are two popular sayings in Poland: ''Your point of view depends on where you are sitting'' and ''Many Poles – as many opinions''. It is important to bear these in mind, because the picture of ordinary people's lives gleaned from sociologists can be very different from what can be discovered on the ground among people in Polish towns and villages.
Journalists and analysts are saying that the economic and societal situation in Poland is very good and is still improving. They are also saying that the economy was not too badly affected by the global economic crisis. On the other hand, elderly people and those who listen to controversial catholic, conservative radio station Radio Maryja will tell you that conditions in Poland are catastrophic.
It is obvious that there are many different opinions, but why are they so diverse? To answer this question, one must delve into the history of the country in the last 20 years. We asked Stanislaw (71), who lives in Warsaw, what the difference is between his life now and his life in communist Poland.
''Before 1989 I worked for the Unitra factory, which doesn't exist any more. We produced radios and tape recorders and even sold them in the West. I had a good life, because I travelled to Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Russia, and it was free for the factory workers. We could also take holidays by the sea or in the mountains in Poland and stay in a hotel. We didn't have to pay, as the hotels were also property of Unitra and there was a special holiday fund run by the state," he said.
"There were many clubs, sport clubs and others, at the factory and I had many friends there. I was really happy. We had physicians, a dining room for the workers, everything paid for by the factory. Now I can't afford to travel abroad. I stay at home all the time. I only go for walks with my dog, watch TV and sometimes visit my neighbours,'' Stanislaw explained.
There are a lot of people who worked in defunct factories. When the socialist system collapsed, they were too old to adapt to the free market economy. Many young people are now under the impression that they have to pay for people like Stanislaw, who watches TV at home. But the impression of lazy pensioners and hard-working young people is also far from the truth. Because what Stanislaw didn't say is that he has his life secured – he's got his flat, furniture, etc. and has at least enough money (his pension is about €470) to pay the rent, which is about €105 for his flat).
Younger people often require loans to pay for things like mortgages on a flat or to purchase essential household equipment or car credit. One new trend among the lower middle class is to secure some private education for children, so parents have to pay for kindergarten (ca. €130 per month), music or language lessons (ca. €13 per lesson), sport clubs (a family swimming pool ticket for 20 hours costs €41), etc.
The older generation has fewer such requirements. But because they already are secure, they often feel obliged to help their grandchildren. Many households in mostly-catholic Poland are shared between various family members – something that can be quite different in protestant societies, where parents at least try not to be too generous in giving money to their children.
In Poland, as in Western Europe, the situation depends on social status. Wealthy people in general rarely use the national health system, despite having to pay for it too. They go to private clinics, where a visit to a specialist costs about €26. They do this because the normal procedure to see to a specialist in a state hospital takes many weeks, sometimes months. A friend of this correspondent broke her leg this week and was told by a doctor that she could expect to wait around six months for rehabilitation.
The reality seems rather brutal and somewhat grotesque: if you are young and need your legs to work, it's better not to wait if you can pay for a private physician instead. Elderly people who are less wealthy or do not have wealthy children go early in the morning to hospital and patiently wait in line, which takes hours.
So if you visit a state hospital in Poland, you will see mostly older people. If you see young people, you can be sure that they are seriously ill. This is because for more serious situations than broken legs – illnesses like cancer – private clinics will not be able to help you. Only state hospitals have the necessary expensive medical equipment.
Stanislaw Kubielas from Lewiatan, the Polish Conference of Private Employers, says that the salaries of young employees are now slightly worse than they were a few years ago. Salaries are growing more slowly. Only one in 10 young people earn €780 per month in their first job, which is a good salary in Poland. On average, young people start work at the age of 23 and increase their income in the following seven years, but even then, 1 in 4 still earn the minimum wage of €340 (Source: www.wp.pl).
The problem with the cost of living in Poland is not prices, but salaries. At traditional markets in Warsaw, you can buy vegetables that are cheaper and better than in Western Europe. But the middle class has become used to buying products in new shopping centres. In such places, the prices are the same as elsewhere in the EU, because the products are mostly the same as in the West. A pint of beer or a coffee costs the same in the centre of Warsaw as it does in London or Paris, sometimes even more.
However, shopping centres and high streets in the capital do not represent the whole of Poland. Even in Warsaw, in areas just a few bus stops away from the main buildings where people live and work, you can find a lot of second-hand shops that seem to be very popular. Instead of buying a new sweatshirt for €55, you can buy a similar used one in a second-hand shop for €1.30.
This is one example of how Poles try to strike a balance between receiving lower salaries than in the West despite being faced with the same high prices.
