Europejskie Obserwatorium Stosunków Przemysłowych (EIRO)
Obserwatorium (EIRO) powstało w 1997 roku i jest instrumentem monitorowania europejskich stosunków przemysłowych. Głównym jego celem jest gromadzenie, analizowanie i rozpowszechnianie wysokiej jakości aktualnych informacji na temat najważniejszych zmian w obszarze stosunków przemysłowych w Europie. Jego działania skierowane są w pierwszej kolejności do organizacji funkcjonujących na ogólnoeuropejskim poziomie: partnerów społecznych, organizacji rządowych i instytucji Unii Europejskiej.
Obiektywność i wysoką jakość informacji znajdujących się w bazach Europejskiego Obserwatorium Stosunków Przemysłowych zapewnia Komitet Doradczy złożony z przedstawicieli pracodawców, związków zawodowych, rządów państw członkowskich oraz Komisji Europejskiej. EIRO współpracuje także z innymi międzynarodowymi organizacjami tj. International Labour Organization (ILO) i Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
W celu uzupełnienia wiedzy z zakresu rozwoju stosunków przemysłowych w Europie, EIRO od 2000 roku współpracuje również z ekspertami z Japonii i USA. Efektem tej współpracy jest publikacja rocznych przeglądów porównawczych stosunków przemysłowych.
EIRO udostępnia swoje raporty powstałe od 1997 roku na stronie internetowej (obecnie jest ich ponad 11 tysięcy), która jest doskonałą bazą danych i opracowań na temat stosunków przemysłowych we wszystkich krajach Unii Europejskiej.
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RAPORTY Z POLSKI
24.04.2012
Employment and Industrial Relations in the Hotels and Restaurants - Jan Czarzasty
HORECA sector in Poland may be described as one of the mid-size sectors of the national economy in terms of NACE classification with some 250,000 persons in employment. Impact of the economic slowdown on the sector has been rather mild and industrial action has been almost non-existent since 2008. Industrial relations are weakly institutionalized. The extent of collective bargaining is modest, yet there is one multi-employer agreement. No institutional social dialogue takes place
05.04.2012
Poland: the representativeness of trade unions and employer associations in the insurance sector - Jan Czarzasty
The Polish insurance sector has been steadily growing in terms of economic performance since2000, yet the last two years have witnessed a period of restructuring and job cuts. Despite mandatory membership in the national economic chamber for the sector, no national-level employers’ organisation exists. Consequently, the chances of getting a multi-employer agreement are slim. Industrial relations are pluralistic, and the position of the trade unions is weak, yet collective bargaining coverage is relatively high.
27.03.2012
Poland: Representativeness of trade unions and employer association in the paper section - Piotr Sula
The Polish paper industry has been expanding over the past few years, as measured by employment growth, for example. However the trend has not been accompanied by strong social dialogue. Social dialogue in the paper sector is decentralised and operates exclusively at the company level. It is difficult to assess how many workers are covered by collective agreements, for reasons described in this report.
07.03.2012
Poland: The representativenes of trade unions and employer associations in the sea fisheries sector - Adam Mrozowicki
The sea fisheries sector in Poland has seriously declined over the last 10 years, both terms of employment and its relevance to the Polish economy. The sector consists of the Baltic Sea fishery segment based on small, non-unionised companies, and a deep-sea fishery segment which is the main site of the activity of trade unions and employer organisations. The density of social partners’ organisations in the sector is very low. Consequently, collective agreements of any kind do not exist and tri-partite concertation has been inefficient in solving sectoral problems and regulating employment conditions in the sector.
27.02.2012
Government to raise retirement age for women and men - Ewelina Kuźmicz
Poland’s new government, formed in November 2011, plans several important reforms, including raising the retirement age from 65 for men and 60 for women to 67 for both. The reform is to be introduced gradually from 2013. Trade unions strongly oppose the government’s pension proposals, but employer organisations are likely to support them. All the social partners are angry, however, about the government’s plan to introduce such important reforms without consultation.
21.02.2012
Outcome of parliamentary elections 2011 - Ewelina Kuźmicz
The new Polish parliament was elected in October 2011 and a government formed in mid-November. For the first time since 1989 the previous coalition has retained power. The reelected centre-right Civic Platform and Polish People’s Party is planning in-depth reforms of the Polish economy but is not interested in the significant participation of the social partners. However, social partners have unanimously demanded immediate social dialogue with the Prime Ministry.
09.01.2012
Protests mount over Polish "junk" contrasts - Maciej Pańków
Objections are growing in Poland to the use of temporary and civil contracts. Poland has the highest proportion of these ‘junk contracts’ in the European Union. An open letter has been sent to the Prime Minister, whose Civic Platform party promoted these contracts in its election programme. National celebrities are set to join a campaign organised by the union Solidarity. However, many employers believe that such flexible contracts are justified in the economic crisis.
22.12.2011
Minimum wage under debate - Jan Czarzasty
Two successive government decisions to set the Polish national minimum wage without the agreement of the social partners has led to an attempt to change the law. The rate had been set by tripartite consensus for six years, until 2010 when the government insisted on a rate lower than that agreed by the social partners. The government unilaterally set the rate again this year, and the Solidarity union has attempted to introduce legislation fixing it at 50% of average earnings.
17.11.2011
Unions join Euro-demonstration in Wroclaw - Marta Trawińska
Between 20,000–50,000 trade union members took part in a rally in Wroclaw, Poland on Saturday, 17 September 2011. The demonstration was organised by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) to coincide with a meeting of European finance ministers. ETUC’s slogan was ‘Yes to European solidarity, yes to jobs and workers’ rights, no to austerity’. Union leaders stressed that fighting the economic crisis should not be used an excuse to reduce workers’ rights.
07.10.2011
Regional railway workers go on strike over pay - Jan Czarzasty
In August 2011, trade unions in the Polish regional railway passenger transport company PKP PR announced a one-day strike, following a stalemate in pay talks with management and the unequivocal result of a strike referendum. The strike proved an effective means of pressure, as the company board eventually agreed to the unions’ demands. However, industrial relations in PKP PR remain tense, as the firm’s financial crisis deepens and it battles to keep its regional services.
30.09.2011
Massive teacher layoffs in education sector - Marta Trawińska
In September 2011, at the beginning of the 2011/2012 school year, some districts in Poland were planning to lay off up to 30% of their teaching staff. This is largely because the local governments responsible for supervising and funding public education up to secondary level are in financial difficulties, although a demographic slump has also caused a significant fall in pupil numbers. Unions, however, insisted that the cuts are being used to lower teachers’ pay and increase their working hours.
24.08.2011
Change of strategy in Solidarity - Juliusz Gardawski
The new leaders of Solidarity have loosened ties with Poland’s Law and Justice party and are organising demonstrations, hoping to radicalise members and influence the Polish government. They have also said they will focus on representing workers’ interests and move away from purely political activity. These actions suggest that the strategy of Solidarity, under new President Piotr Duda, is to regain the militant character that the workers’ movement had in the early 1980s.
11.08.2011
Unions and students act to help young workers - Marta Trawińska
Polish trade unions are acting with the country’s student movement in a pioneering campaign to alleviate the growing problems of young workers, especially graduates, more of whom are having to take temporary jobs. The campaign, called ‘Commission Contract Generation’ also wants to stop the increasing use of civil law agreements, which are not covered by Polish labour laws. The campaign has a website giving advice to employees who feel their rights have been breached.
01.08.2011
The representativeness of trade unions and employer associations in the banking sector - Jan Czarzasty
Poland’s banking sector is the largest in in the new Member States. In recent years, the consolidation process has advanced so that the vast majority of the market is controlled by large banks, mostly with foreign capital. Although the impact of the crisis has been relatively mild, total employment fell by about 6,000 (or 3%) in 2009, rising again in 2010. Industrial relations in the sector are pluralistic. Major organisations on the employer side have no formal status of employer organisation, as they are not involved in sector-related collective bargaining. There is no data available on unionisation rate in the sector. No multi-employer (sectoral) collective agreement exists, and company-level agreements cover about 30% of the workforce in the sector.
29.07.2011
‘Helping young workers during the crisis: contributions by social partners and public authorities’ - Adam Mrozowicki
In the last decade, the unemployment rates of young workers have been consistently higher than those noted in the general population. The economic crisis in 2008 only intensified labour market problems faced by young workers. In Poland, government plays the most important role in helping them. The significance of collective bargaining and social dialogue institutions in addressing the problems of young workers during the crisis has been limited. Activities of social partners were mostly focused on awareness raising campaigns, trainings in soft skills and consultation of legislative acts aimed at increasing employability of young people.
29.07.2011
Representativeness study of the European social partner organisations: Education sector – Poland - Piotr Sula
The aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the education sector in Poland. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining.
08.07.2011
New wave of spring protests sweeps across the country - Adam Mrozowicki
In April and May 2011, protests took place in Poland’s largest mining and copper companies. A demonstration over pay was organised in the copper mining holding company KGHM, and in the Jastrzębie Coal Company trade unions went on strike to protect jobs during its planned privatisation. Meanwhile, the independent trade union Solidarity (NSZZ Solidarność) announced street protests in response to declining living standards and the lack of social dialogue with the government.
21.06.2011
Discontent growing among fire fighters with government plans - Marta Trawińska
At the end of 2010 the Polish government introduced changes in the law that were expected to resolve problems regarding overtime and working hours of fire fighters. The problem arose after Polish accession to the EU in 2004 when working time standards were introduced. But trade unions are not satisfied and have been considering a class action lawsuit against the government, as the changes cover only a fraction of unpaid overtime hours and threaten to increase working hours.
15.06.2011
“SMEs in the crisis: Employment, Industrial Relations and Local Partnership” - Jan Czarzasty
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) account for 95% of establishments in Poland. As Poland has not experienced recession but only an economic slowdown, anti-crisis policy measures targeting SMEs are modest. Local partnerships aiming to improve the state of labour markets involving social partners are virtually absent. The extent of social dialogue is very limited in case of microenterprises.
14.06.2011
Representativeness study of the European social partners organisations – Public administration sector - Jan Czarzasty
Public administration is a relatively substantial sector of the national economy. However, collective regulation does not play significant role in the sector, because for the vast majority of its employees the issues usually included in the scope of collective agreements are regulated by law. Furthermore, the labour law explicitly excludes certain categories of employees (for example, civil servants and some employees of local government) from collective bargaining. Last but not least, multi-employer agreements are rare in general in the economy as a whole and in the public sector in particular, as single-employer bargaining still dominates. Tripartite sectoral dialogue is also underdeveloped.
11.05.2011
The representativeness of trade unions and employer associations in the commerce sector - Jan Czarzasty
Commerce is one of the leading sectors of the Polish economy in terms of employment. The consolidation process in the sector has advanced considerably in recent years. No sectoral (multiemployer) collective agreement has been signed and no sectoral tripartite social dialogue body exists. Single-employer collective agreements exist in cooperative segments of the sector. Trade unions have been slowly improving their position in the retail networks.
29.04.2011
Protests in the Polish rail sector- Ewelina Kuźmicz
Major trade unions are striking over the worsening situation in the Polish railways. The sector has been struggling for years, but its performance over the Christmas and New Year holidays in 2010–2011 drew widespread criticism. The government censured the railways for organisational chaos and failing to keep passengers informed. The strike by the trade unions has, however, provoked little reaction from the government. Tripartite dialogue in the sector is very limited.
15.03.2011
Government proposals for pension system reforms continue to spark controversy - Adam Mrozowicki
While reforms of the pension system for the police, prison officers and other uniformed services have been agreed, there is controversy over recent changes in the law on combining a full-time job with receipt of a pension. The social partners are also critical of the government’s return to proposals that most of the contributions currently given to privately owned pension funds should be put in individual accounts held by the state-owned Social Insurance Institution.
