The lower house of Poland’s parliament, the Sejm, has unanimously approved a bill that will grant a monthly benefit to the families of uniformed personnel who have died in the line of duty.
The legislation, which now passes to the upper-house Senate, promises to guarantee financial support to relatives of those “who have sacrificed their lives saving the lives, health and property of others”, says the prime minister’s office.
After it was supported by all 449 MPs present in the chamber on Wednesday, interior minister Mariusz Kaminski thanked the Sejm for its cross-party support.
Przed chwilą Sejm jednogłośnie przyjął ustawę o świadczeniu pieniężnym dla rodzin poległych funkcjonariuszy lub żołnierzy zawodowych. Dziękuję posłom za poparcie tych ważnych i społecznie oczekiwanych rozwiązań.
— Mariusz Kamiński (@Kaminski_M_) February 8, 2023
Those entitled to the new benefit include the spouses, children and parents of personnel serving in the armed forces, police, border guard, fire service as well as certain other agencies, including the Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW), Internal Security Agency (ABW) and the Foreign Intelligence Agency (AW).
Relatives will be eligible for support if an officer is killed while performing official duties in dangerous conditions, undertaking off-duty activities connected with the protection of public safety, human life or property, or while serving in wartime or in a zone of armed conflict.
The payment will be made to the deceased’s spouse for the rest of their life in the monthly amount of 100% of the average earnings of an officer of the force in which they served.
Almost 14,000 new recruits joined Poland’s armed forces last year, the highest number since the end of compulsory military service, says the defence minister.
He released the figures in response to media claims that record numbers of soldiers are quitting https://t.co/Aj483jPxL7
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) January 30, 2023
Children will receive 50% of the average salary until they are 18 years old (or until 24 or 25 years if they continue in education). If a child is orphaned by the death, they receive 100%. Parents of the deceased would get 50% of their salary, which they would begin to receive after they retire.
Family members of uniformed officers who died before the law is passed will also be entitled to its benefits. The interior ministry estimates that up to 200 families would currently benefit, though it notes that this does not include relatives of personnel under the authority of the defence ministry.
The Senate can in theory reject the law or make amendments, though any such decision can be overturned by the more powerful Sejm. Once passed by parliament, the bill would go to the desk of President Andrzej Duda, who can sign it into law, veto it or send it to the constitutional court for assessment.
Members of Poland’s uniformed services – including police, border guards and firefighters – protested in front of the prime minister’s office in Warsaw.
They are demanding pay rises that would compensate for soaring inflation, which has reached almost 18% https://t.co/QQ5hnYDLwE
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 10, 2022
Main image credit: Katarzyn Link/LUW (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL))
Anna Hackett is an assistant editor at Notes from Poland. She is a recent graduate of European Studies from Trinity College Dublin and has had previous journalistic experience with the Irish Independent News & Media group.
