Today’s news round up in Poland

Start your day with a summary of today’s top stories from Poland’s leading news sites.

Wyborcza.pl – On Wednesday, an amendment to Poland's Labour Code came into force. It extends parental leave to 41 weeks after the birth of one child and 43 weeks after the birth of more than one child. Each parent must take at least nine weeks within these limits. A "leave of absence from work due to force majeure, for urgent family matters caused by illness or accident" was also introduced. Such time off can be taken for two days or 16 hours.

rp.pl - The rising costs of living are pushing Poles not only to seek additional employment in the country, but also to emigrate for work. Germany and the Netherlands are the main destinations, as they have higher wages than in Poland. In Germany the minimum wage per hour is EUR 12, in the Netherlands it is EUR 12.4, while in Poland it is EUR 5 per hour. Statistics from the Olx Praca portal show that in Q1 2023, Poles sent nearly 700,000 work applications abroad, up 90 percent ona year earlier. "High inflation in Poland and the economic slowdown visible in some sectors make Poles eager to look abroad for a chance to bolster their household budgets," said Tomasz Dudek, managing director of Otto Work Force Central Europe.

TVPInfo.pl - A record-breaking celebration is planned in Miedzyzdroje. On May 2, which is Polish National Flag Day, residents will carry on the local beach a red-and-white flag more than 2.5 kilometers long. "This is the largest piece of material I've had the opportunity to sew. The worst thing is the weight; we have to reposition it, and it's really heavy," Beata Holecka, one of the seamstresses, told TVPInfo.pl. Polish National Flag Day has been a national holiday in Poland since 2004.

RMF24.pl - The first Polish strawberries are already on sale, but they are expensive, costing approx. PLN 30-32 (EUR 6.53-6.97) per kilogram. At the end of April 2022, the price was PLN 18 to 22 (EUR 3.92-4.79). Strawberry season in Poland begins in May and lasts until as late as October, when autumn varieties are harvested. The largest rash of strawberries from the field is in mid-June. Poland is the third European producer of strawberries (after Germany and Spain). In 2021, Poland exported 102,000 tonnes of strawberries.