There is a shortage of manual workers in Lower Silesia. How do employers react and who will fill the staff gaps?
Despite a significant increase in the minimum wage in almost all of Poland, there is a shortage of people willing to perform basic physical work. The situation is similar also in those provinces where the highest earnings are earned. We are talking about Lower Silesia, among others. How do entrepreneurs react? Not everyone can afford further increases. Therefore, the so-called blue collar employees compete by offering a number of benefits that have so far been reserved only for office employees. Staff gaps are increasingly being filled by foreigners from distant countries of Eastern Europe and Asia.
Lower Silesia is at the forefront of voivodeships where the most money is earned. According to estimates, higher salaries are received only by people employed in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. The average salary of the inhabitants of Lower Silesia is PLN 7,754.27 gross. Production workers without special qualifications earn PLN 3,600-5,000 gross, forklift operators PLN 4,000-5,200 gross, while warehouse workers, in the case of an hourly rate, earn PLN 23.50-29.00 gross. Despite this, there is a shortage of people willing to carry out basic physical work in the region. Therefore, more and more employers are looking for solutions that will allow them to attract and then retain new staff for longer.
“In Lower Silesia, many of our clients have decided to change their wage conditions above the national minimum wage, effective from July 2023, in order to gain an advantage over the competition in the high season. Many of the companies we work with have decided to go out with a rate 5-6% higher, without delaying and without risking that it will not be possible to recruit enough people to work. Those who can afford it offer higher salaries, while others encourage with a number of non-wage benefits – informs Marta Pilipowicz, Director for Development of the Southern and South-Eastern Region at LeasingTeam Group.
Benefits for blue-collar workers
Non-wage benefits, such as gym memberships, medical care packages, co-financing of commuting or life insurance, are no longer reserved only for specialists and managers. Such solutions are often cheaper for the employer than an increase in the basic salary for work, and they bring the desired effect. Provided, however, that the offer of non-wage benefits is properly profiled.
“Our observations in Lower Silesia show that employees pay special attention to the issues of commuting to the place of employment. The key is whether its organization is on the employer’s side, whether it is free and how much time it takes, and whether it does not require complicated transfers. In production areas, a very appreciated benefit is also co-financing of meals or a free meal – says Marta Pilipowicz, Director of the Southern Region at LeasingTeam Group.
The fact that commuting to the place of employment is important was already shown in the June report of LeasingTeam Group “Poles on commuting to work”. The survey shows that for the vast majority of Poles (81 per cent) it is of key importance, because it influences the decision to accept a job offer.
Who will fill the staff gaps?
There is a shortage of workforce almost everywhere in the country. Staff gaps are recorded in industry, construction, trade and logistics. According to experts, it is currently difficult to recruit an employee, but it is even more difficult to retain them. Currently, the scale of the problem has returned to the pre-pandemic period – there are many physical job offers, and fewer and fewer people willing to do so. For this reason, entrepreneurs are looking for support outside Polish.
“Although there are currently about 1.2 million Ukrainian citizens in our country, this is not enough for the needs of the labor market. Employers, including temporary employment agencies, are looking for employees from distant countries in Eastern Europe and Asia. In the coming years, the employment of people from locations such as Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines will grow – says Wojciech Rybicki, Director of Centre Region Development at LeasingTeam Group.
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