Report from the Study Visit in Swidnica

Day I (Monday, December 4th 2006):
Arrival of the participants, accommodation.

Day II (Tuesday, December 5th 2006):

1. Powiat Starosty in Swidnica.
- 8 units – dependent districts w make-up the powiat (including the Municipality of Swidnica)
- the following were distinguished in the organizational structure of the Starosty:

2. Powiat Labour Office in Swidnica.
- labour offices in Poland function from 1990. As part of the starosty as powiat labour offices – from 1998. Their basic activity is a help in scope of finding job positions for unemployed;
- The Powiat Labour Office (Powiatowy Urząd Pracy -PUP) has two branches – in Świebodzice and in Strzegom, and three Customer Service Points – in Żarów, Dobromierz and Jaworzyna Śląska;
- the number of unemployed in the Powiat of Swidnica according to data on November 30th 2006 was 11811 people (for comparison on December 31st 2005 there were 14340 persons registered, on December 31st 2004 – 16154), including about 500 people with disabilities. Unemployed are covered with free health insurance (assuming that the spouse did not get a family insurance card);
- PUP functions as part of the European Network of Employment Services (EURES). There is a EURES adviser employed in the Office, where one can find job offers from employers from EU countries. The EURES intermediary plays rather an information role than of a typical mediator in taking up employment. As we found from the Office's workers, a frequent barrier in taking up the job abroad is lack of knowledge of foreign languages;
- Sources for its activity PUP acquires from UE Funds – since the moment of joining EU by Poland (01.05.2004) one has managed to accomplish several thanks to the support from EU. PUP acquires sources mainly from the European Social Fund – 6 projects already has been finished, two are on course of realization:
o "Good beginning" – a project directed towards people below 25, who are registered in PUP shorter than 24 months – from which one can acquire sources to start up one's own business activity, to cover costs of traineeship (persons directed to employers), for trainings, return of costs of commutes for the participants of trainings and traineeships,
o "Better tomorrow" – a project directed towards people over 25, who are registered in PUP not longer than 24 months– sources dedicated to start up one's own business activity, professional preparation in a workplace, trainings return of costs of commutes for the people participating in trainings or given professional preparation;
- PUP provides services of professional consultancy and mediation. There are workshops organized, during which an unemployed learns how to write cover letters, CVs, how to talk and behave during the interview. Employees, who are leading such a consultancy, go also to the branches to provide these services directly there;
- An unemployed person, who meets the requirements defined by the regulations of the act, has a right to receive an unemployment benefit. In the Powiat of Swidnica, the benefit is due for the period of 12 months (the lengths of paying the benefit depends on the unemployment rate on the area of given powiat). The amount of the benefit depends on the number of worked years by the unemployed person – if less than 5 years – a person will get 80% of entitled benefit, if the person worked between 5 and 20 yeas – 100%, whereas after working over 20 years – 120%. The benefit is as follows (as the day of visit in PUP) – 80% - PLN 385,63 net, 100% - PLN 470,27 net, 120% - PLN 555,54 net;
- financial sources, the PUP has at its disposal, come from the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (for the active forms of preventing the unemployment), from the Marshall of a Voivodship from the pool passed by the Ministry do ivied among individual powiats, as well as from the Union sources at a disposal in a competition mode by the Voivodship Labour Offices;
- The Control of Employment Legality, functioning by voivodship labour offices helps in fight against so-called "black working". If, during the control of the employer, it comes out that there are illegally working persons registered as unemployed, than a case of this unemployed is directed towards the magistrates' court and, mainly the fine punishment is inflicted and exclusion by PUP from the group of unemployed persons;
- PUP may take out a right to benefits and exclude from the group of unemployed for the period of 3 months the unemployed, who refuses to participate in trainings without u justified cause;
- On August 1st 2004, a payment of pre-pension benefits, that until then labour offices took care of, was moved to the competences of Social Insurances Institution, and from 2005 a payment of family benefits, that also belonged to tasks of labour office, was moved to the competences of district (municipal) offices (in the Czech Republic we met with the reverse situation – competences concerning payment of family benefits and other social care sources from 1995 belong to labour offices, and it is they that deal with their granting and payments);
- one of the PUP divisions, named Department of Labour Market Instruments takes care of support for the employers and people wanting to start their own business activity – it has at its disposal sources for:

Powiat Labour Office in Swidnica and its branches work in the same computer system, on the same database, named PULS (the PULS system functions in labour offices all over the country). Prior to 2002 every branch had its separate database, now there is one database functioning, what facilitates work and flow of information very much. The Powiat of Swidnica is one of the few powiats in the country, who obtained an approval of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy for printing registration cards directly from the system, which means that an unemployed person only once – at the moment of first registration – must fill in the registration card – next time during the registration in PUP, the data will be updated in the system and the registration card will be printed;
- PUP has its own web page – www.praca.powiat.swidnica.pl – on which one can find up to date job offers and documents, that people encounter during visits to the Labour office. One can print them and fill in before a visit to PUP. It is planned to introduce next year a possibility of registering through Internet – filling in the documents and sending them via e-mail. Following the receipt of documents, a labour office would appoint a date of reporting personally to the labour office for the purpose of complying with formalities;
- In the corridor of PUP there is a multimedia kiosk available for all people coming to the office, where one can find out many information and job offers.


Day III (Wednesday, December 6th 2006):

I. Municipal Council in Swidnica.

The Municipal Council in Swidnica deals with the matter of Town District of Swidnica. It results from the local authorities reform led in the Republic of Poland in 1990. The Council distinguishing following Departments and Offices:

1. Department of Civic Affairs

1. Carries out the tasks commissioned to the district by the State:
- census,
- personal IDs,
- military matters (conscription, benefits during the service – financial help for the families of conscripts, army mobility – in case of threat).
2. In Poland there functions a registration of person from abroad for the residence in following variants:
- temporal stay (up to 3 months – registration in the Municipal Council – so-called residence; above 3 months – necessary permit of the Voivode, because the Municipal Council does not possess proper competences; also a PESEL number is then given);
- permanent stay (a person obtains after 5 years; in individual cases this period may be shortened).

Recently, one observes increased number of foreigners coming to the town; it is caused by the development of companies in the Zone – Germans (5 persons took part in recent elections), Irishmen, Spaniards, Portugueses, and Japanese. Greeks (historic conditions – 40s/50s, an immigration wave). In Swidnica, there have been also for a long time many Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians, who are registered and lead their own business activities. Their stay was connected at the beginning with a presence of Soviet army in Swidnica since the times after II World War until the beginning of 90s of the XX century.

3. In 2001, the Department of Civic Affairs was implementing a program concerning personal Ids and registration issues, who followed the Hungarian program.

2. Office of Council Property

One distinguishes following divisions:
 Geodesy (geodetic protocols approval with the participation of the geodetist with an approval in the Municipal Council, lands regulations, change, sale, and resale of land for the purpose of realization of the district's objectives),
 Council property management (management of council flats and apartments),
 Privatization of the council property (sale),
 the municipal conservation officer (giving opinions on initiatives related to historic areas, dividing subsidized for renovations – mainly, the churches)

The Office of Council Property carries out such tasks, as change, sale, and purchase of land (e.g. to build a road). It is this office, which acquires land for e.g. building a plant in the Special Economic Zone (subzone Swidnica). Before 1990 binding was renting of flats passed already by the old system. In 1990, the State handed over these flats to the districts being formed. The objective of the town is their sale to private persons with a reduction included, since the system of tenement - council houses carry negative effects. At first, there were 10 000 of them, today the Municipality own not much more than 4000 flats. The objective of the Municipal Council is to privatize all the flats, since rents in these buildings are low, and costs of maintenance of flats - high. Persons, who most often repurchase these flats, are those living there to date, because the town has a special reduction for them to repurchase the flat.
The reduction for repurchasing a single flat:
o Buildings constructed after 1980 – the price is equal to 20% of the flat's value,
o Buildings constructed before 1980 – the price is equal to 5% of the flat's value,
Yet, there is also a special reduction, in case all tenants of a given building repurchase the flats, the price of the flat is following:
o Buildings constructed after 1980 – the price is equal to 10% of the flat's value,
o Buildings constructed before 1980 – the price is equal to 1% of the flat's value,
In Poland, there is guaranteed a significant protection of citizens against the homelessness. If the office wants to evict a given person from the flat, it must guarantee another flat. This protection is so strong that, some people do not pay a rent knowing that the moment the housing association evicts them; the district will have to guarantee them a flat. It has a negative influence on the flats' privatisation, because people prefer not to repurchase the flats and live without paying rents.
The district gives also its citizens social flats, which can be obtained by the people with small incomes, or if the flat rooms are too crowded. It has a negative influence on the renting market, because people try to "drag out" flats from the district presenting various certificates.
The town is the major supplier of flats and lands. Flats are being sold on free market auctions. Today, there is noticeable an increase of prices, as well as the interest in purchasing caused by the opportunity of getting credits, e.g. in Swiss franks.
The flats sold on auctions cost from 250 do 500 – 600 euro/sq. m

The prices of land in Swidnica are following:

here occur coincidences when foreigners buy flats in Swidnica and rent them.

3. Office of Trade, Industry and Services

It deals with registration of persons leading business activities (natural persons leading business activities, civil companies). A legislation change in 2003 caused that enterprises functioning before as partners in civil companies (created one body under one identification number are currently being registered differently. Currently, every natural person is registered in the district individually. Each subject in the civil company has its separate record in evidence with same data.
The activity is declared to evidence in the Council by filling in only one application containing data concerning the scope, place, and starting date of the activity. Aside from this, registration is also made in: Tax Office, Statistical Office, Social Insurances Institutions. The amendment to an act caused that the entrepreneurship coming with the application to the Municipal Council may leave remaining documents to above-mentioned institutions, because they are going to be handed over to them by the Council (within three days). The only document necessary to register is the personal ID. Qualification, residence, rights to the flat (where one wants to lead the activity), documents, etc. are not required. The evidence of activity is open, what means that everyone can call the council and find out whether "Mr. Kowalski" has his activity registered.
Rules for registering an activity for UE citizens:
- evidence of small companies takes place in the district,
- registration takes place according to the place of leading the activity.
Persons coming from outside UE will encounter numerous stipulations! First of all, a status of the foreigner is checked and on what conditions does he/she stay in Poland.
Trade law companies (joint-stock, ltd., commandite) are registered in the regional court.
Polish law gives a full freedom to create business activity. Detailed legislative regulations regulate an activity requiring concession. This includes:
- producing pyrotechnic materials,
- extracting ore,
- fuels and energy (any activity and use),
- personal and property security,
- Popularizing TV and radio programs,
- air transport,
- turnover of alcohol goods (not everyone can obtain such a permit – it requires additional permits).


4. Office of Public Affairs

The Office was created when in 1998 the law on preventing the alcohol addiction came into effect. Every district had to employ a person to protect the family and a person abusing alcohol. The activities of this office are that the person addicting alcohol should not be left on his/her own with the addiction problem.
The Office deals with:
- supervising works of the Town Centre for Social Help,
- immeasurable help (psychologist, teacher, lawyer, place to live),
- carrying out therapies for addicted persons and their families,
- providing funds and flats by the town to so-called autotherapic groups,
- carrying out interviews with addicted persons and their families (application for inclusion in the drying-out program, motivating activities (so-called cornering), legal, psychological advice, probation officer) – PLN 1 million from the town budget,
- prevention in scope of other pathological units (cervical and breast cancer, prostate cancer) – huge engagement of the town – 35 thousand of questionnaires carried out in Swidnica.
For its activities, the Office acquires sources from UE. Aid programs used in functioning of the Office come from North America. A pattern of the program concerning alcohol problems, on which the Office works, was taken from the US, and a pattern of the program concerning harassment – from Canada.


5. Office of Family Benefits

1. The Office deals with granting following aid sources:
- family benefits,
- allowances for single mothers (both widows bringing up children on their own, as well as mothers of children, whose father remains unknown – guaranteed by the Act from 2003),
- educational allowances (an allowance for beginning the school year, that is entitled from the so-called "zero" class to the age of 21),
- allowance to family benefits, according to the income per one family member: to PLN 504 or 583 – if there is a child present in the family with stated (rehabilitation allowance to benefits + attendance allowance),
- allowance for journey to school (PLN 50/month),
- attendance allowance,
- attendance benefits,
- school maintenance grant
The Office assigns PLN 1 million monthly for all allowances.

Our presence in European Union caused that the Polish citizen staying abroad gets there benefits of euro 150, while in Poland it is PLN 63, whereas one can take benefits only from one source. On account of this, recently 250 families stopped taken the benefit and many of these families want to turn back a benefit obtained in Poland, since they can lose higher one from EU.


II. The Henryk Sienkiewicz primary school no.4

The primary school no.4 (SP 4) counts 940 pupils – it is the biggest school in Swidnica. Founded in 1986. There are 40 classes, with 65 teachers and 27 service workers employed. Everyone in the group of teachers possesses professional qualifications regulated by the Teacher's Charter.
A school budget is projected the end of August the beginning of November. Finances for schools are handed over from the educational subvention, which is provided by the Ministry of Education. The subvention is calculated according to the set key, but the number of pupils at school influences its quantity. A yearly budget of SP 4 is about PLN 4 million. The subvention is not enough to cover all school's expenses; therefore to guarantee proper functioning, additionally the school is subsidized in 30% from the budget of the Town of Swidnica. Finances, which are incoming to school must secure teachers' salaries, and cover expenses for media (gas, energy, heating). Remaining part of money is used to purchase equipment, teaching aids, to fulfil current needs of the school. Additional forms of financial support constitute sources given to the institution based on creating preventive programs, which largely come from EU sources. Additionally, the school leads a profitable activity – rents the gym, makes the pool available after the lessons for town citizens. Leading this sort of activity is possible thanks to the resolution of Town Council in Swidnica allowing for leading a profitable activity by he school. The income from the activity is allotted for the activity of interest groups, excursions of pupils, purchase of teaching materials and aids (in 2006 income from this source was about PLN 32 000).
The school is directed mainly towards preparing grade 6 pupils to start their learning in the gymnasium – during exams pupils of the school get one of the best results in the region.
Pupils have a school library at their disposal, counting about 15 thousand volumes, and a reading room. This year, thanks to the sources acquired from the project submitted to EU, preparing a multimedia reading room (computers with Internet connection) was successful.
There are 3 Internet rooms at school – one – funded by the Ministry of Education, two – created thanks to the cooperation with the BMW company from Munchen, which donated about 45 computers to the school.
Pupils have also a swimming pool and a gym at their disposal. All the children at school, beginning from grade 2, are covered with compulsory swimming lessons.
The school pays a lot of attention to after-school activities – during the school year 2005/2006 there took place 2721 hours of various after-school activities (about 25 hours a week). The classes are held in several thematic blocks, adapted to the interests of pupils – these are: painting, mathematic, natural, journalistic classes. Each of the blocks is carried based on original programs written by teachers, which are then accepted by the Office of Education, Culture and Social Affairs of the Municipal Council.
For two years there has been a psychologist employed at school, which means that now not only a teacher, but also a psychologist deals with the problems of pupils.
SP no. 4 cooperates with Základní Škola Mladeznicka from Trutnov (Czech Republic). The cooperation began on October 5th 2000. The aim of this cooperation is the interest in exchange of mutual experiences and propagation among the young generation of ideals of common Europe, forming friendships, building contacts, and getting to know the culture. As part of common actions, management of both schools meets at the beginning of school year and decides a schedule of cooperation for a given year. Each year there are at least 4 meetings of children and one meeting of teachers. There are also family meetings organized – pupils together with their parents take part in common activities. Also, exhibitions of pupils' works are organized – children from Swidnica take their works to Trutnov and vice versa. During 6 years of the cooperation there took place:

Day IV (Thursday, December 7th 2006):
1. Lower Silesian Association for Protection of Unemployed

it is a non-governmental organisation created on March 23rd 2000, with 6 persons employed there (initially they worked as volunteers, now they are employed by the Municipal Council with transfer to the Association, two persons are employed by the District Council). Initially, the Association was open to people over 40 years of age only, not being able to find themselves on the labour market. Currently the Association is open to all unemployed persons, who come forward. For today there are about 700 members. The Association lives off memberships, equal to PLN 3 monthly per person, and from sponsors' donations and 1% of tax handed by citizens.
Since 2001 the Association leads the Swidnica Food Bank constituting an element of the international network. The food is acquired from the World Food Bank and from collections in shops. The food is handed over to school canteens, after-school local clubs, etc. Nearly 75 organizations from Lower Silesia make use of the Food Bank led by the Association.
In 2001 DSOB the Association obtained a permit for leading a Job Office – currently under the name of the Employment Agency. The Employment Agency managed to find jobs in Spain for 120 people in grape harvests and for 4 persons in construction. Each year there are persons sent abroad to seasonal work as a strawberry picker. The Association takes and verifies job offers from Spanish employers.
The are trainings organized enabling the retraining – last such a training was the one organized jointly with the "Wagony Swidnica S.A." company (one of the plants of the Greenbrier Europe company) – a welder course, after which a part of persons was given a job in this plant. They also organize courses for forest sawyers.
Subsidizing:
- initially based on subsidies from the Municipal Council and Powiat Starosty;
- currently there are tenders organized – the Municipal Council defines conditions necessary for the participation in tenders, by the end of the year there is an accounting made for the money granted by tenders;
- as a public benefit organization it can count on the payment of 1% of taxes.


2. Local Work Club – Voluntary Labour Corps (OHP)

1. OHP deals with:
- placement for unemployed, for the persons learning;
- professional consultancy;
- leading school work workshops for the studying youth (preventing the unemployment, preparing to enter a labour market, finding oneself on the labour market, making out application documents);
- giving advice to all unemployed persons;
- organizing job fairs.
In 2005 there was an agreement signed with the prison system bodies, aiming at activating prisoners and making easier for them to find themselves on the labour market after serving the sentence (8-10 training meetings in the prison; including a help in writing CV, preparing the candidate for meetings, job interviews).
OHP takes part in EU project cofinanced by the European Social Fund – "Your knowledge – your success" (yearly workshops for the difficult and problematic youth, concerning the labour market, active searching for the job; psychological, educational, language, computer workshops).
On the Wrocław level, the OHP leads an exchange with the Czechs (Volunteer Centre, Lower Silesian OHP Headquarters).
Apart from the local institutions, like the one in Swidnica, since 2004 there have been functioning Mobile Professional Information Centres at the Voluntary Work Clubs, the employees of which reach unemployed in the furthest and hardly accessible places of the Voivodship.


Day V (Friday, December 8th 2006):
1. Lower Silesian Centre of Agricultural Consultancy
it has 4 units in the Voivodship, i.e.: Wrocław, Jelenia Góra, Swidnica, Legnica. There are headquarters in Wrocław. In each of the units there are working specialists from the powiats, who cooperate directly with the farmers. There are 7 types of sectors, in which this specialists support farmers:

Specialists lead group or individual trainings, professional improvements and passing the information on the area of the district. They also help in submitting applications for subsidies from EU funds.
Lower Silesian Centre of Agricultural Consultancy also cooperates with foreign partners within the RENE project. There are 15 countries participating in it and it is a consultancy network, exchange of experiences among agricultural advisers and agricultural institutions. They also take part in projects cofinanced by INTERREG IIIA.

2. IMP COMFORT LTD.
IMP Comfort ltd., a part of Italian group Industrie Maurizio Peruzzo, has been functioning in Swidnica since 1991. The factory at Bystrzycka Street produces high fluffy polyester nonwoven fabrics /OVATA/, special nonwoven fabrics /e.g. anti-skidding/, upholstered felts /VALTEX/ and nonwoven fabrics for an automotive industry.
On September 29th 2006 in Swidnica there was officially and ceremonially opened a new production plant of IMP Comfort, raised from the prestressed concrete within 9 months. This investment, worth of PLN 100 million, has been financed from own sources, a bank credit and thanks to a subsidy of the "EkoFundusz" Foundation. At the corner of Przemysłowa and Inżynierska Street there was built a hall, a storehouse, and offices of the area of over 10 thousand sq.m. There was installed one of the most modern in Europe lines for producing polyester fibre based on PET slices, which are produced from waste PET bottles and a production line of geo nonwoven fabrics. Production line assembly was done mainly by workers from Austria and Germany, to support Polish workers with their experience. Whereas, workers from Swidnica were sent to Italy on trainings. This way – as part of the IMP Group in Poland /PET slices are produced by IMP POLOWAT in Bielsko-Biała/ – the production cycle of technical nonwoven fabrics was closed, i.e.: from the bottle taken from the rubbish damp to a technical nonwoven fabric that may constitute an upholstered layer of the furniture, clothes padding, ceiling lining's cover in cars, or even the geo nonwoven fabric for the road construction.
There, on place, the company has at its disposal a large laboratory with the most modern equipment for studying geo nonwoven fabrics and polyester fibres.
The production launched of the cut fibre is based on the "Short-spinning" technology. The production process, as opposed to two-stage technologies used to date (separate spinning and processing), in our plant is one-stage. As a material, there are used PET bottles utilized in form of slices, with are melted in the extruder. From the extruder, melted polyester flows through the filter, and further it is transported to individual spinning sections. The fibre group coming out of the filier must be cooled. Next, a formed tape of fibre is passed to another elements of the chain; a processing part, where the "cable" formed is being stretched, fixed, and cut into given length. Ready product is rolled, fastened with a polyester tape and wrapped with a polyethylene foil.
Majority of the fibre produced is "consumed" by IMP Comfort for the nonwoven fabric production, and the surplus is sold to other producers of fabrics, sheeting articles, etc.
IMP Comfort is a proecological company, taking care of environment – production in a new plant is based on waste PET bottles, and in the old plant on Bystrzycka Street there are also fibre scraps being processed.
Products of the IMP Comfort Ltd reach all the markets of Europe. The company has a SZJISO 9001 and numerous certificates confirming the highest quality of products.
IMP Comfort employs currently 211 persons in Swidnica.

In 2005 the company received the statuette of Swidnica Griffin –awarded to the best company of the Swidnica Region.


Day VIII (Monday, December 11th 2006):
Municipal Council in Swidnica.
Office of Education, Culture and Social Affairs
The Office was created from joining 4 units and its most important objective is education. The office fulfils statutory tasks regarding the gymnasium, primary school and kindergarten. In Swidnica there are:

The tasks related to secondary schools lie within powiat's competences.
Pre-school education in Poland starts from the age of 3 and lasts to the age of 6 and is facultative. Only the so-called "zero class" is compulsory for children aged 6. Next:
- from the age of 7 to 13 – a primary school;
- from the age of 13 to 16 – a gymnasium;
- from the age of 16 to 19 – a secondary school finished with a matura exam;
The obligation to learn exists until the age of 18. Education is free of charge up to the secondary level – to the matura exam. Public daily studies are free, while external and private are paid.

The Town Culture House in Swidnica established a fruitful cooperation with its counterpart in Trutnov.

Whereas, the Kindergarten no. 14 cooperates with a partner from Police nad Metuja

The primary school no.4 cooperates with a school in Trutnov. There are projects being carried out from EU funds (Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci).