Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Workers' Representatives Convention, 1971 (No. 135) - Poland (Ratification: 1977)

The Committee notes the observations of the NSZZ “Solidarność”, received on 1 September 2022, on the application of the Convention, which relate to issues examined by the Committee in the present comment, and the Government’s comments thereon.

Article 1 of the Convention.Adequate protection of workers’ representatives against acts of discrimination related to their representative functions. Protection of representatives working under civil law contracts and self-employed persons. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the allegations made by the NSZZ “Solidarność”, referring to the lack of protection against anti-union discrimination of trade union activists employed on civil law contracts or self-employed, and had noted, in this respect, that the Government had initiated the procedure for amending the Law on Trade Unions with a view to extending the protection to such persons. The Committee notes with interest that, as part of the extension of the right to establish and join trade union organizations to the “persons working for money”, the provisions of the Act, in particular section 32 that grants special protection to certain workers due to their trade union status, functions or activities, also applies to “persons working for money”. The Committee refers in this respect to its comments under Article 1 of the Right to organize and collective bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

Protection of non-union representatives. The Committee had previously noted that the NSZZ “Solidarność” allegations relating to the lack of effective protection of non-union representatives such as staff delegates and requested the Government to provide its comments in this regard. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the protection of employees’ representatives who do not belong to trade unions is regulated in various acts that regulate the establishment of employees’ representations, but that the protection under these acts does not apply to ad hoc representatives, i.e.the persons who perform representative functions on a one-time basis where it is necessary to cooperate with the employer in order to solve a given case.

Article 2. Facilities to be afforded to workers’ representatives. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication that in connection with the extension of the right to organize to “persons working for money”, the provisions of the Act, in particular section 25, related to the facilities granted to trade unions in the work establishment also apply to “persons working for money” who fulfil trade union functions.

The Committee further notes that, in its reply to the specific allegations of the NSZZ “Solidarność” relating to the absence of regulation of the right of trade union representatives to enter the work establishment, the Government confirms that this issue is not regulated and that a potential regulation requires consultations with social partners. Recalling that according to para, 12 of the Workers’ representatives Recommendation, 1971 (No. 143), workers' representatives in the undertaking should be granted access to all workplaces in the undertaking, where such access is necessary to enable them to carry out their representation function, the Committee requests the Government to adopt, in consultation with the representative social partners, provisions that recognize and regulate the right of trade union representatives to access the workplaces. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in this respect.