Europe’s and Poland’s largest coal producer and employer, Polish Mining Group (PGG) with support from Instrat experts, is taking steps to create space for the development of new business areas, foster social dialogue and active participation amid changes faced by the Silesia region. A cooperation agreement was signed today (20.09) in Katowice.
– We employ nearly 37,000 people. Our mines are located in various parts of the Silesian Voivodeship, a region that has entered a difficult period of social and economic change. We are a responsible company, that is why, by the principles of the social agreement, we actively participate in the process of change – says Leszek Pietraszek, President of the Management Board of the Polish Mining Group, PGG – We still have many years of work ahead of us and ambitious tasks to complete. We want to use the knowledge and potential of our employees and the company’s resources to build the foundations for the development of new forms of activity – adds President Pietraszek.
A few days ago, the PGG signed a letter of intent with the Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ). In the following years, PGG wants, among other things, to cooperate actively not only with the armaments industry but also with social partners, e.g. trade unions and local governments, for the preservation and creation of new jobs for qualified employees or the implementation of development projects and raising funds for their implementation. One example of such cooperation is the launch of the Voluntary Redundancy Programme.
Instrat will support this process and dialogue, which is a natural but important element when implementing such projects. The role of the think-thank will be to explain the problems, plan the process of sustainable transition and help find solutions by preparing reliable fact- and data-based analyses. Notably, the support by Instrat is provided on pro-bono basis.
Our think tank has been supporting the process of planning and managing just transition and coal phase-out in Eastern Greater Poland, where lignite extraction and combustion will end over the next few years. Michał Hetmanski, Instrat’s CEO and Co-founder, and Visiting Senior Fellow at Just Transition Finance Lab at London School of Economics comments on the start of the cooperation with PGG. – We are pleased that Poland’s largest coal mining company is taking up the challenge of planning and carrying out a just transition. We are ready to share our experience of this process, which in the region of Eastern Greater Poland and Konin started almost 5 years ago. We are counting on transforming Upper Silesia’s coal sector to bring social and environmental benefits through harmonious cooperation between social partners, local governments and PGG S.A. The decreasing use of fossil fuels in the energy sector is unnecessarily presented as a threat, while a properly conducted transformation is a huge opportunity for the local community and the region.
