Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Poland (Ratification: 1966)

The Committee notes the observations of the All-Poland Trade Unions Alliance (OPZZ), received on 31 August 2018, as well as the observations of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarność”, received together with the Government’s report. The Committee also notes the Government’s reply to these observations, received on 22 October 2018.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Active employment policy and labour market measures. The Government refers in its report to a number of legislative amendments, including a series of amendments to the 2004 Act on the promotion of employment and labour market institutions (“the 2004 Act”). The Committee also notes the measures taken by the Government in its continuing efforts to improve the labour market situation, including targeted measures to promote employment for specific groups, such as young persons, older workers and the long-term unemployed. The Committee notes the measures taken through the adoption of the Act of 22 June 2017, amending certain acts in connection with the “For Life” programme to facilitate access to employment for persons caring for persons with disabilities. It notes, however, that no information is provided regarding measures taken or envisaged to promote access to vocational rehabilitation and employment on the open labour market for persons with disabilities themselves. The Government also refers to improvements made by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy to the Central Database of Job Offers. In its observations, while Solidarność recognizes the improved implementation of the policy to promote full and effective employment, it nevertheless stresses the need for faster and more effective legislative action. Solidarność also maintains that more financial resources should be allocated from the Labour Fund towards the professional activation of the long-term unemployed. In its reply, the Government reports that 67,997.2 Polish zloty (PLN) were allocated from the Labour Fund for the implementation of activation programmes for the long-term unemployed in 2018. Solidarność also refers to abuses in relation to self-employment, civil law contracts and fixed-term employment contracts. In its reply, the Government reports that the proportion of vacancies to be filled under civil law contracts in 2015–17 out of the total number of job vacancies remained stable at between 29 to 34 per cent. It adds that, in 2017, a 3 per cent decrease in this type of contract was observed. The Committee notes that civil law contracts which do not provide for certain employment benefits and offer less occupational safety and health protection than employment contracts could constitute an abusive practice. Solidarność further indicates that the Parliament is preparing a new Act, the Labour Market Act, to replace the 2004 Act. It expresses concern that the draft Act proposes the deletion of a number of employment activation measures, including profiling assistance for every unemployed person, employment vouchers, as well as the Activation and Integration Programme (PAI), which targets the most disadvantaged persons in the labour market. The Government, in its reply, indicates that these solutions were abandoned as they were unsuccessful or inflexible in practice, and therefore, new forms of employment support and job creation are being proposed in the draft Labour Market Act. The Government refers to the National Training Fund (NTF), which was established in 2014, in the framework of the “Europe 2020” Strategy, to support investment in human resources. It adds that, in 2017, NTF funds were used by public employment services (PES) to support 5,000 employers and over 100,000 employees. Solidarność recognizes that the NTF’s scope of activities has been extended and now enables greater engagement of the social partners. Responding to the Committee’s request for information regarding measures taken to facilitate workers’ transition from temporary to permanent employment, the Government indicates that the Act of 7 April 2017 amending the Act on hiring temporary workers and certain other acts, introduced changes aiming to support the transition to permanent employment by imposing limits for temporary work arrangements, as well as penalties for temporary work agencies and user enterprises who violate these limits. Solidarność, on the other hand, expresses concern that current policies facilitate the activities of employment agencies, including temporary work agencies, often leading to situations where these entities are unprepared organizationally and lack the appropriate competencies. Solidarność therefore stresses the importance of adopting legislative changes to promote the strict regulation, supervision and control of the operations of such agencies. In its response, the Government indicates that the National Labour Inspectorate supervises the operation of private employment agencies (PEAs) in accordance with the conditions set out in the 2004 Act, which also introduced two types of certificates entitling PEAs to provide: (a) job placement services and counselling; and (b) temporary work services. It also reports that protection of the rights’ of employees of temporary employment agencies is provided by the 2004 Act and the Act on the Protection of Employee Claims. The Committee notes that, in the second quarter of 2018, three temporary work agencies were removed from the employment agency register because they were in arrears with payment of their social insurance premiums. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated detailed information on the impact of its national employment policy, including of the measures taken to promote the integration of the long-term unemployed in the labour market. Recalling its 2012 comments, the Committee also requests the Government to provide information regarding the nature and impact of measures taken or envisaged to promote the employment of persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups, including those in rural areas and in the undeclared economy. Referring to its 2016 comments on the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), notably regarding the use of civil law contracts instead of the appropriate employment contracts, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to regulate and supervise the operation of employment agencies and prevent abuses of workers in this respect (Article 1(1)(b) of Convention No. 181). It also requests the Government to communicate a copy of the new Labour Market Act once it has been adopted. Moreover, noting the proposed deletion of a number of employment activation measures, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the reasons for the suppression of these measures and to provide information on alternative employment activation measures taken or envisaged.

Article 2. Employment trends. The Government reports that the labour market situation continued to improve during the reporting period, which it attributes to a favourable economic situation and labour office activities. The Committee notes that the employment rate for persons aged 15–64 increased from 62.9 per cent in 2015 to 66.1 per cent in 2017, while the unemployment rate decreased from 7.6 per cent in 2015 to 5 per cent in 2017. The registered unemployment rate fell from 9.7 per cent in 2015 to 6.6 per cent in 2017. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information, including updated statistics, disaggregated by gender and age, on the situation and trends of the labour market in the country, including information on employment, unemployment and visible sub-employment.

Older workers. The Committee notes that the percentage of persons aged 45 and older among the registered unemployed increased from 32 per cent in 2013 to 36 per cent in 2017. The Government refers to a number of measures provided by PES to promote the employment of older persons, including the provision of financial support and encourage employers to recruit older workers. The Committee further notes the support provided to this group of workers through training courses and internships. The Government indicates that, in 2017, the Labour Fund allocated PLN458,752.5 to support the activation of persons aged 50+, with persons aged 45+ constituting the largest group among both employers and employees that benefited from the activities financed from the NTF. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of the measures adopted to increase the employability of older workers and promote their integration and retention in the labour market.

Youth employment. The Committee notes with interest the improvement of the situation of young people in the labour market. It notes that the unemployment rate among persons aged 15–24 fell from 20.8 per cent in 2015 to 14.8 per cent in 2017, reaching a low of 11 per cent at the end of April 2018. Correspondingly, the employment rate of young people rose from 29.1 per cent in 2017 to 31 per cent in 2018. The Government refers to a series of active employment measures implemented to assist young people in entering the labour market, including measures aimed at reducing skills mismatches by providing young people with the qualifications or professional experience needed in the labour market, such as training courses and internships. The Committee notes that the revision of the 2004 Act introduced a series of new measures targeted at young people up to the age of 30, including settlement, employment, placement and training vouchers, as well as financial assistance to employers who hire such young persons, through the Labour Fund and the “Work for Young People” programme. In response to the Committee’s previous request regarding the relationship between measures aimed at increasing employment for young people and those focused on retaining older workers in the labour market, the Government indicates that the 2004 Act includes both groups in the category of those who are unemployed in a special situation in the labour market. They are therefore given priority in terms of employment services and benefits. While the Government indicates that it does not have precise studies indicating the degree to which implementation of the Youth Guarantee has contributed to improving the situation of young people in the labour market, it refers in its report to the significant decrease in unemployment rates for young people. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information, including statistics disaggregated by age and sex, on the efforts made to improve the labour market situation of young persons, the results achieved and challenges encountered in implementing the youth employment policy objectives. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the contribution of the implementation of the Youth Guarantee to improving the situation of young people in the labour market.

Article 3. Consultations with the social partners. The Government reports that the tripartite Labour Market Council, established under the 2004 Act, enables the social partners to participate in setting the priorities for spending funds from the NTF reserve, and, thus, to decide on the allocation of funds to training for groups of employees, companies/industries or regions that are particularly in need. It adds that social partners participated actively in an assessment carried out to improve the functioning of the NTF and that the draft Labour Market Act includes new provisions aimed at improving the NTF and increasing the role of social partners in decision-making process regarding the allocation of NTF funding. In its observations, the OPZZ expresses concern regarding the lack of consultations in the area of migration policy. It indicates that, in March 2018, the Council of Ministers adopted a document entitled “Social-economic priorities of migration policy”, which provides that the new national migration policy must be adjusted to new labour market priorities and focuses on supplementing labour resources with persons from outside Poland, in professions which face skills gaps. The OPZZ maintains that the social partners were not consulted with regard to this policy. In its reply to the observations, the Government indicates that the document contains only the basic elements of the policy and that work on the Action Plan has not yet been completed, as the document is still being analysed by the relevant ministries involved in its development. The Committee reiterates its request that the Government provide specific information on the manner in which representative organizations of workers and employers and other stakeholders are consulted concerning active employment policies, and the manner in which their support is ensured in the development and implementation of such policies. It further requests the Government to provide information on any developments in relation to the migration policy, and to provide copies of any policy documents adopted in this area.