Social Europe

  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

How Law and Justice (mis)used the pandemic to dismantle social dialogue in Poland

Adam Rogalewski 21st April 2020

With the independence of Poland’s judiciary already compromised, the autonomy of social partnership has become the latest target of the ruling populists.

social partnership Poland
Adam Rogalewski

On March 31st the Polish parliament adopted the Act on Special Solutions Related to the Prevention, Counteracting and Combating of Covid. Its title suggests the act’s focus should be on tackling the crisis caused by the coronavirus. In reality, however, the government and politicians of the Law and Justice Party (PiS) have used the pandemic to limit social dialogue in Poland.

Initially, the government intended the bill to exclude trade unions from representing workers if, during the crisis, employers planned to introduce special measures amending workers’ terms and conditions. Following union protests, the regulation was removed from the draft before submission to parliament.

But the unions’ relief was brief. To their and the employers’ surprise, a group of PiS MPs in the lower chamber (Sejm) introduced two amendments on the functioning of the Social Dialogue Council (the Polish tripartite body), which allowed the prime minster, Mateusz Morawiecki, to dismiss members of the council.

The bill was then debated in the upper chamber (Senate), dominated by the opposition, which rejected the amendments. It came back to the Sejm for final approval and—regardless of protests by the social partners, as well as of the higher majority required to reject Senate amendments—the Sejm approved the regulations restricting the independence of the council.

The same day, the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, also of the PiS party, signed the act. It came immediately into force.

Symbolic gesture

In a somewhat symbolic gesture, Duda later decided to submit the regulations on the council to the Constitutional Tribunal, to assess whether they were in line with the Polish constitution. The Constitutional Tribunal is however totally dependent on the PiS, which has appointed almost all of its judges (in a process heavily criticised by the European Commission). Involving the tribunal seems to have been little more like a smokescreen to divert public and social partners’ criticisms.

The act caused outrage among the Polish, and European, social partners, because of how it exploited the pandemic to dismantle social dialogue. In a joint letter, the European social partners told Morawiecki and Duda:

The autonomy of Social Partners is a founding element of social dialogue, guaranteed by international and European law. Furthermore, social dialogue is a key instrument to fight against the economic and social consequences of Covid-19 and Governments, all over Europe, should be supporting social partners for them to succeed in this endeavor. Therefore, we do not understand that a new legal act allowing the Prime Minister to dismiss at will members of the Social Dialogue Council during the Covid-19 pandemic was adopted in Poland.

Importantly, one of the two regulations on the council, article 46, has no time limit on its validity and will be still in force after the end of the pandemic. And while article 85 allows the prime minister to dismiss members of the council only during this emergency, article 46 allows him to do so under two circumstances: if they co-operated with the Communist security authorities under the former regime or engaged in inappropriate actions against the council which was unable to conduct transparent, substantive and regular dialogue among workers and employers’ organisations and the government side. The second reason, being extremely ambiguous, could be easily used to remove any member who did not support government policies in the future.

Difficult to comprehend

The logic behind the PiS decision remains difficult to comprehend. The party not only alienated the social partners and reduced their trust to the lowest possible level but offended its closest supporter—the Solidarność trade union. It was the first time during the lifetime of PiS governments that the union made such a strong anti-government statement:

Unfortunately—and this is the worst of all—trust has been undermined, and undermined trust cannot be easily rebuilt. Solidarność does not forget such things and this will have its negative consequences in the future.

Maybe what motivated the PiS is simple: it showed again its intention to build an authoritarian system, without democratic supervision, and so without independent social partners. It may have been a deliberate decision to introduce the regulation using its own MPs—as with some previously adopted controversial acts—to offer the government impunity.

Recently, a group of opposition MPs submitted a bill, which proposed to revise the act by removing the articles related to the council. The bill was remitted for its first reading in the relevant commission of the Sejm.

The PiS demonstrated that, within a couple of days, it was able to neuter social dialogue in Poland. While hoping that the Constitutional Tribunal will remove the regulations on the council or a corrective bill will be approved by the parliament, the social partners, in Poland and in Europe, need to remain vigilant. The Covid-19 crisis is just the beginning—and we can expect more attacks on social-partner autonomy.

Adam Rogalewski
Adam Rogalewski

Adam Rogalewski is policy officer for health and social services in the European Federation of Public Service Unions, having worked for the British public-services union Unison, the Swiss general union Unia and the Polish federation of trade unions, OPZZ. He has a PhD from London Metropolitan.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u421983467298feb62884 0 The Weak Strongman: How Trump’s Presidency Emboldens America’s EnemiesTimothy Snyder
u4201 af20 c4807b0e1724 3 Ballots or Bans: How Should Democracies Respond to Extremists?Katharina Pistor
u421983c824 240f 477c bc69 697bf625cb93 1 Mind the Gap: Can Europe Afford Its Green and Digital Future?Viktor Skyrman
u421983467b5 5df0 44d2 96fc ba344a10b546 0 Finland’s Austerity Gamble: Tax Cuts for the Rich, Pain for the PoorJussi Systä
u421983467 3f8a 4cbb 9da1 1db7f099aad7 0 The Enduring Appeal of the Hybrid WorkplaceJorge Cabrita

Most Popular Articles

startupsgovernment e1744799195663 Governments Are Not StartupsMariana Mazzucato
u421986cbef 2549 4e0c b6c4 b5bb01362b52 0 American SuicideJoschka Fischer
u42198346769d6584 1580 41fe 8c7d 3b9398aa5ec5 1 Why Trump Keeps Winning: The Truth No One AdmitsBo Rothstein
u421983467 a350a084 b098 4970 9834 739dc11b73a5 1 America Is About to Become the Next BrexitJ Bradford DeLong
u4219834676ba1b3a2 b4e1 4c79 960b 6770c60533fa 1 The End of the ‘West’ and Europe’s FutureGuillaume Duval
u421983462e c2ec 4dd2 90a4 b9cfb6856465 1 The Transatlantic Alliance Is Dying—What Comes Next for Europe?Frank Hoffer
u421983467 2a24 4c75 9482 03c99ea44770 3 Trump’s Trade War Tears North America Apart – Could Canada and Mexico Turn to Europe?Malcolm Fairbrother
u4219834676e2a479 85e9 435a bf3f 59c90bfe6225 3 Why Good Business Leaders Tune Out the Trump Noise and Stay FocusedStefan Stern
u42198346 4ba7 b898 27a9d72779f7 1 Confronting the Pandemic’s Toxic Political LegacyJan-Werner Müller
u4219834676574c9 df78 4d38 939b 929d7aea0c20 2 The End of Progess? The Dire Consequences of Trump’s ReturnJoseph Stiglitz

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Spring issue of The Progressive Post is out!


Since President Trump’s inauguration, the US – hitherto the cornerstone of Western security – is destabilising the world order it helped to build. The US security umbrella is apparently closing on Europe, Ukraine finds itself less and less protected, and the traditional defender of free trade is now shutting the door to foreign goods, sending stock markets on a rollercoaster. How will the European Union respond to this dramatic landscape change? .


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss European defence strategies, assess how the US president's recent announcements will impact international trade and explore the risks  and opportunities that algorithms pose for workers.


READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity”,

Cohesion Policy aims to promote harmonious development and reduce economic, social and territorial disparities between the regions of the Union, and the backwardness of the least favoured regions with a particular focus on rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition and regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as outermost regions, regions with very low population density, islands, cross-border and mountain regions.

READ THE FULL POSITION PAPER HERE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

What kind of impact is artificial intelligence (AI) having, or likely to have, on the way we work and the conditions we work under? Discover the latest issue of HesaMag, the ETUI’s health and safety magazine, which considers this question from many angles.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
How are minimum wage levels changing in Europe?

In a new Eurofound Talks podcast episode, host Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound expert Carlos Vacas Soriano about recent changes to minimum wages in Europe and their implications.

Listeners can delve into the intricacies of Europe's minimum wage dynamics and the driving factors behind these shifts. The conversation also highlights the broader effects of minimum wage changes on income inequality and gender equality.

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641