Labor law is constantly changing. In April 2023, a major amendment implementing European directives entered into force. It turns out that Poland is not doing well in the world ranking. The countries of Asia and Africa are ahead of us.

ITUC – International Trade Union Confederation is the International Trade Union Confederation (hereinafter: ITUC). It is a confederation of national trade union centres, each of which brings together trade unions in a given country. It is the global voice of working people around the world. ITUC represents 200 million workers in 163 countries and has 332 national affiliates. Research was conducted by the ITUC (as a result of data collected from various trade union organizations representing employees), in which it was determined whether labor rights are respected in a given country, especially in the field of collective labor law (i.e. the right to strike, to bargain for concluding collective labor agreements). Then, on a scale of 1 to 5, the extent to which these rights are implemented was assessed.

The ITUC Global Index of Labor Rights presents the worst and best rated countries in the world in terms of respecting workers’ rights, especially in the field of collective rights. The ITUC rated 148 countries on a scale from 1 to 5+ in terms of the degree of respect for workers’ rights. Violations are recorded each year from April to March. Information on violations of labor rights in countries is published throughout the year in the ITUC survey.

The ITUC documents violations of internationally recognized collective labor rights by governments and employers. The methodology is based on standards of fundamental rights at work, in particular the right to freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike – i.e. collective labor rights, within collective labor relations.

Questionnaires are sent to 331 national unions in 163 countries to report violations of labor rights by providing the relevant details. As emphasized by the ITUC, in order to collect reliable information, regional meetings with human rights and trade union experts are held, during which the questionnaire is distributed, explained and completed. Lawyers analyze national legislation and identify regulations or social events that do not adequately protect internationally recognized collective labor rights. The research methodology is based on the standards of fundamental rights at work, based on international human rights law, in particular ILO Conventions No. 87 and 98, as well as on case law and the oversight mechanism developed by the International Labor Organization.

Documented information is summarized and consolidated by ITUC staff. The text under each country in the ITUC survey is compared with a list of 97 indicators derived from ILO conventions and jurisprudence, and represents violations of labor rights in law and practice. A country receives a point each time the textual information matches the indicator. Each point has a value of 1. After the country text is encoded, the number of points is added together to determine the total score.

Countries are rated on a scale of 1 to 5+ depending on their adherence to collective labor rights. There are five ratings, with 1 being the highest rating and 5+ being the worst rating a country can get. The level of economic development, size or location of the country are not taken into account, because fundamental rights are universal and workers in all parts of the world must have access to them. A highly rated cluster means that workers in the country are not entitled to their collective voice due to the government’s failure to guarantee rights.

Description of ratings

• 1 Occasional violations of rights – Collective employment rights are generally guaranteed. Workers are free to associate and jointly defend their rights with the government and/or companies, and can improve their working conditions through collective bargaining. Violations against employees are not absent, but they do not occur regularly.

• 2 Repeated violations of rights – Rated 2 countries have slightly weaker collective labor rights than Rated 1 countries. Some rights are repeatedly attacked by governments and/or companies and weaken the fight for better working conditions.

• 3 Regular violations of rights – Governments and/or companies regularly interfere with collective labor rights or do not fully guarantee important aspects of these rights. There are deficiencies in the law and/or certain practices that allow for frequent violations.

• 4 Systematic violations – Employees in countries rated 4 reported systematic violations. The government and/or companies are engaged in serious actions to suppress the collective voice of workers, thereby threatening fundamental rights.

• 5 No rights guaranteed – Countries ranked 5 are the worst-rated countries in the world for compliance with labor laws. While legislation may prescribe certain rights, workers do not actually have access to those rights and are therefore vulnerable to autocratic regimes and unfair labor practices.

• 5+ Rights not guaranteed due to rule of law breakdown – Workers in 5+ countries have the same limited rights as in 5+ countries. However, in 5+ countries this is associated with institutional dysfunctions as a result of internal conflicts and/or military occupation. In these cases, the country is assigned a 5+ rating by default.

According to the ITUC report, in general, workers’ rights are guaranteed in Poland, but they are not respected, and they are even regularly violated. The ITUC was based on the fact that there are laws guaranteeing: freedom of association / right to organize. According to ITIC, although the law prohibits discrimination against trade unions, it does not provide adequate protection against it.

What are the restrictions on the right of employees to create and join organizations of their choice? There is a uniform system of trade unions imposed by law or a system that prohibits or restricts organization at a certain level (enterprise, industry and/or sector, regional and/or territory, national). A uniform trade union system applies to police officers, border guards and prison guards, members of the State Fire Service and employees of the Supreme Chamber of Supervision. Firefighters of the State Fire Service may become members of a trade union on general terms, but firefighters appointed to their position may not perform trade union functions. So there are categories of workers, who have been prohibited or restricted from forming or joining trade unions or exercising trade union functions – members of the so-called „high positions” in the civil service, e.g. directors and deputy directors in civil service institutions or ministries, cannot hold trade union functions. However, they can become members of trade unions.

The right to collective bargaining was also assessed. Again, the ITUC stated that there are restrictions or prohibitions on collective bargaining in certain sectors, e.g. other civil servants and public employees – key civil servants, appointed or elected employees of state and local authorities, court judges and prosecutors do not have the right to collective bargaining.

Right to strike – The ITUC has indicated that there are barriers to legal strike action. The obligation to maintain an excessive quorum or to obtain an excessive majority of votes in the strike vote was stressed. In the event of a strike at company level, at least 50% of employees must vote in favor of the strike. In the event of an industry-level strike, 50% of workers in the companies affected by the proposed strike must vote in favor of it. Before declaring a legal strike, the union must organize a vote involving all affected workers, not just union members.

Mandatory recourse to arbitration or to lengthy and complex pre-strike procedures. Mandatory conciliation and mediation procedures of at least 14 days must be exhausted before a legal strike can be declared. However, while a dispute is being resolved, a warning of up to two hours may be ordered if there is a reasonable belief that no settlement will be reached. A regular strike may also be organized without following these procedures if conciliation and mediation become impossible due to unlawful conduct by the employer, or if the employer dismisses a union official who represents workers in a dispute. The trade union must declare a strike five days in advance.

Restrictions or bans on strikes in certain sectors. In Poland, according to the ITUC, there are unjustified restrictions on „government officials”. Persons employed in state and local government administration, courts and prosecutor’s offices, as well as in the Internal Security Agency, the Foreign Intelligence Agency, in units of the police, armed forces, prison service, border guard, customs and fire brigade do not have the right to strike (Article 78 para. 3 of the Civil Service Act: a member of the civil service corps is not allowed to participate in a strike or protest action that disrupts the normal functioning of the office). These groups of workers must use alternative forms of protest.

In addition, branches of the Polish national trade union center NSZZ Solidarność reported to the ITUC serious violations of trade union rights in many retail companies, including dismissals of trade union leaders and members, discrimination against trade union representatives and members, marginalization of the role of trade unions, disregard for trade union rights, limited and access to workers and a lack of genuine dialogue and consultation. Much of the country’s retail sector is dominated by multinational corporations, but there is no single collective bargaining agreement with multinational corporations. The largest retailers operating in Poland include Amazon, Auchan, Carrefour, Castorama, H&M, Jysk, Lidl and Metro.

All this contributed to the 3 rating for 2022, although in 2021 it was also a 3 rating.

Many countries, even from Africa and Asia, were rated higher than Poland in terms of respecting employee rights. On the scale of research, the following countries rank 2 are better than Poland: Barbados, Congo (Republic), Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, Ghana, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malawi, Moldova, Montenegro, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Togo, Uruguay.

Of course, in the Scandinavian countries, workers’ rights are respected the most, in addition, several other European countries were rated the highest, i.e. 1: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Sweden.

Which countries have been given a rating of 5+, i.e. no guarantee of rights due to the collapse of the rule of law? The countries with the worst rating are mainly Middle East and North African countries: Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Libya, Myanmar, Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen.

Source:https://kadry.infor.pl/kadry/zbiorowe_prawo_pracy/5736491,polska-regularnie-viola-prawa-pracownicze.html

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