Poland - 2011

Freedom of association / Right to organize

Principles

Freedom of association :

• >The right to freedom of association is enshrined in the Constitution.

• >The right to freedom of association is regulated by law.

The government’s Labour Law Codification Commission has prepared two draft laws to replace the Labour Code: the draft Collective Labour Code and the Draft Individual Labour Code. Both drafts have been criticised by trade union experts. The draft laws would significantly reduce trade union rights at the workplace and introduce the right to lockouts and more rigid rules on the legal personality of trade unions. The draft laws had not been adopted by December 2009.

Anti-Union discrimination:

• >The law prohibits anti-union discrimination, but does not provide adequate means of protection against it.

For non-representative trade union organisations, i.e. those that cover less than 10% of the employees (or 7% of the employees in case of NSZZ Solidarnosc, OPZZ and FZZ members) in establishments where more than one trade union operate, only one union representative can be protected from dismissal. In other cases the number of protected members equals the number of management in the enterprise or is at least 2 for organisations up to 20 members.

Restrictions

Restrictions on workers' right to form and join organizations of their own choosing:

>Single trade union system imposed by law and/or a system banning or limiting organising at a certain level (enterprise, industry and/or sector, regional and/or territorial, national)

A single trade union system applies to policemen, border guards and guards in penitentiary institutions, members of the State fire brigades and employees of the Highest Supervision Chamber. Firemen of the State Firemen Service can become trade union members according to general rules but firemen nominated to their post cannot hold trade union office.

Categories of workers prohibited or limited in law from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office:

>Other civil servants and public employees

Members of so called “high posts” in the civil service, e.g. directors and the deputy directors in civil service institutions or in ministries may not hold trade union office. They can, however, become trade union members.

>Others categories

Self-employed workers cannot join or form a union.

Right to collective bargaining

Principles

Right to collective bargaining:

• >The right to collective bargaining is enshrined in the Constitution.

• >The right to collective bargaining is recognised by law.

Restrictions

Limitations or ban on collective bargaining in certain sectors:

>Other civil servants and public employees

Key civil servants, appointed or elected employees of state and municipal bodies, court judges and prosecutors do not have the right to bargain collectively.

Right to strike

Principles

Right to strike:

• >The right to strike is enshrined in the Constitution.

• >The right to strike is recognised in the Labour Law.

Restrictions

Legal barriers to lawful strike actions:

>Obligation to observe an excessive quorum or to obtain an excessive majority in a ballot to call a strike

For a strike at the company level, at least 50 % of the employees need to vote in favour of the strike. For a strike at the industry level, 50 % of the employees in enterprises covered by the proposed strike need to vote in favour of it. Before calling a lawful strike, a union must organise a ballot involving all workers concerned, and not only trade union members.

>Compulsory recourse to arbitration, or to long and complex conciliation and mediation procedures prior to strike actions

Compulsory conciliation and mediation procedures lasting at least 14 days must be exhausted before a lawful strike can be called. However, a warning strike of maximum two hours may be called during the course of the dispute resolution if there is a justified belief that a settlement will not be reached. A regular strike may also be organised without complying with these procedures if conciliation and mediation become impossible due to unlawful behavior on the part of the employer, or if the employer fires the trade union official who represents the workers in the dispute. A union must further announce a strike five days in advance.

Ban or limitations on certain types of strike actions:

>Restrictions with respect to the objective of a strike (e.g. industrial disputes, economic and social issues, political, sympathy and solidarity reasons)

The Act on the settlement of collective labour disputes defines a strike as a collective work stoppage by employees for the purpose of settling a dispute concerning interests such as conditions of work, wages or social benefits, as well as union rights and freedoms of employees or other groups of persons who have the right to form trade unions. Warning strikes and sympathy strikes are also defined in the Act. Strikes of a purely political nature are not regarded as strikes but as a form of public manifestation and fall outside the scope of the Act.

Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors:

>Discretionary determination or excessively long list of "essential services" in which the right to strike is prohibited or severely restricted

Persons employed in state administration and local government, courts and public prosecutor's offices, as well as in the Agency of Internal Security, the Intelligence Agency, in units of the police, the armed forces, the prison service, the border authorities, the customs service and the fire brigades do not have right to strike. These groups of workers must use alternative forms of protest.