With the participation of the President of the Republic of Poland – Andrzej Duda, on November 29, 2022, a plenary session of the Social Dialogue Council devoted to the future of social dialogue in Poland was held at the Presidential Palace.

The government side was represented by: Vice-President of the Social Dialogue Council Marlena Maląg – Minister of Family and Social Policy, Anna Moskwa – Minister of Climate and Environment, Waldemar Buda – Minister of Development and Technology, Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak – Secretary of State in the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Marzena Machałek – Secretary of State in the Ministry of Education and Science, Olga Semeniuk-Patkowska – Secretary of State in the Ministry of Development and Technology,  Maciej Małecki – Secretary of State in the Ministry of State Assets, Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński – Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Climate and Environment and Grzegorz Witkowski – Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Infrastructure.

In his speech, President Duda referred to the future of social dialogue in Poland. He noted that „the Social Dialogue Council is also of fundamental importance in the context of struggling with the effects of the pandemic.”  He referred to the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the scale of economic consequences affecting the entire energy market. He pointed to problems related to the supply of oil, coal and gas, which in turn affects the high prices of these raw materials.

Then he moved on to the amendments to the law on the Social Dialogue Council prepared by the social side… He declared his openness to discussion on the final shape of the proposed provisions. He appealed to conduct this work in the spirit of dialogue, to look for solutions to the problems that arise today in the forum of the Social Dialogue Council. He stressed that it is the Council’s duty to look into its functioning, draw conclusions and make a summary.

Minister M. Maląg in her speech pointed out that social dialogue is very necessary… „And he really gives you the strength and power to make good, effective decisions.” She stressed that representatives of the government are always present at the Council meeting, and Prime Minister Morawiecki repeatedly in his speeches at the Council of Ministers reminds how important this social dialogue is. She pointed out that the future of dialogue is closely linked to the shape of the law on the Social Dialogue Council… She reminded that we are in a difficult moment, where it is worth summarizing what is good, what should be changed and what possible changes should be introduced. She declared that the government is ready for dialogue and will look into the proposals developed by the social side to amend the RDS Act.

In addition, she mentioned the difficult period of the covid pandemic and the measures taken by the government to maintain jobs.  She pointed out that thanks to this we have a good situation on the labor market and historically low unemployment. She also referred to the situation in Ukraine, which translates into inflation and the energy crisis.

On behalf of the social side, Prof. Jacek Męcina took the floor, presenting proposals for amendments to the Act on the Social Dialogue Council.   He drew attention to the proposal to regulate the obligation to consult parliamentary projects. According to the social side, this would be a key change for the implementation of the principle of social dialogue. Among other changes, he mentioned the appointment of the office of the General Director for Social Dialogue, issues related to the adjustment of regulations regarding changes in the composition of the Council and the appointment of its chairman, and the introduction of provisions regarding the lustration obligation of RDS members, as well as the regulation of the issue of considering opinions and positions submitted by the Provincial Social Dialogue Councils.

At the end of the meeting, President Duda stressed that there is no other way for us to go through this difficult period than a peaceful dialogue at the state level.

Source: https://www.gov.pl/web/dialog/posiedzenie-plenarne-rady-dialogu-spolecznego-z-udzialem-prezydenta-rp