Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Dock Work Convention, 1973 (No. 137) - Poland (Ratification: 1979)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Regular and casual employment of dockworkers. The Committee notes that, in response to its previous request regarding the national policy to encourage the provision of permanent or regular employment for dockworkers, the Government reiterates that companies hire dockworkers on the basis of a permanent employment contract in accordance with the law and that when the workload in a port is particularly high and the number of permanent dockworkers is no longer sufficient, port operators are obliged to turn to outsourcing companies to recruit experienced dockworkers who have a guarantee of a minimum guaranteed remuneration, including a minimum hourly wage, in accordance with a government regulation of 14 September 2023. While it can acknowledge that in certain circumstances there still may be a need for recourse to casual labour in a number of ports, the Committee wishes to draw attention to the fact that one of the foundations of the Convention is the objective of ensuring dockworkers permanent or regular employment or a stable income and, as a result, to extend the protection system to casual workers. The Committee recognizes that among the casual workers hired when the workload is particularly high, certain groups can be distinguished for whom irregular work is not a disadvantage, particularly for those who work in the docks to earn a secondary wage or those who work while they look for another job (see General Survey of 2002 on dock work, paragraph 135). In this case, The Committee does not have sufficient information that would enable it to assess the proportion of casual workers. Furthermore, the Committee has had occasion to recall that one of the reasons for registration systems is to ensure adequate training in new methods of cargo handling, and that the systematic use of casual labour cannot offer the same guarantees as a skilled, trained and responsible workforce (see General Survey, paragraph 137). The Committee requests the Government to specify whether outsourcing companies have established a register of casual dockworkers. To the extent possible, the Committee requests the Government to provide an estimate of the total number of casual dockworkers in comparison with the number of dockworkers with permanent job, as well as the average duration of their employment, and to indicate any measures taken or envisaged to assure casual dockworkers of minimum periods of employment or a minimum.

Article 6. Vocational training, safety, health and welfare of dockworkers. The Committee notes the information provided regarding the training of workers employed in ports under the 1993 Regulation on safety and health in sea and inland ports. The Committee requests the Government to clarify the extent to which the above-mentioned casual workers can avail themselves of proper training under the law.

Application in practice. The Committee recalls that the Government had previously been able to provide information on the number of dockworkers employed in companies operating in national ports, and had reported on the downward fluctuation in the number of dockworkers between 2012 and 2013. The Committee requests the Government to provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied, including copies of collective agreements or any regulations in force concerning dock work as well as the employment and working conditions of dockworkers; extracts of the reports provided by the authorities responsible for the application of measures giving effect to the Convention; and any other information available on the number of dockers, drawing on existing registers, as well as changes in this number.