Risks to health in the workplace and occupational accidents and diseases have declined significantly in Poland in the 15 years from 1991 to 2005. Nevertheless, there are still a number of risk factors prevailing, with certain sectors being particularly vulnerable. At least 12% of the workforce is
The project on Social Dialogue Capacity Building at sectoral and company levels is a follow-up of a similar project held at a national level in 2005. The methodology used included carrying out interviews with members of the nationally recognised representative organisations of employers and
The Institute of Labour and Social Affairs (Instytut Pracy i Spraw Socjalnych, IPiSS [1]) published an article in the /Social Policy/ (Polityka Społeczna [2]) periodical (No. 3/2009) by a member of the Labour Law Codification Committee, Jerzy Wratny, outlining and evaluating selected provisions of
At the beginning of 2009, President Lech Kaczyński called two social summit meetings to discuss solutions in relation to the current economic stagnation and the demand expressed by 95% of Polish people, according to public opinion polls, to protect their jobs. The summit meetings sought to bring
The Silesian branch of the All-Poland Trade Union of Physicians (Ogólnopolski Związek Zawodowy Lekarzy, OZZL [1]), the largest organisation of this type in Poland, commenced protest action on 5 January 2009 against the government’s plan to reduce financing for medical services provided in hospitals
The National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, PIP [1]) is an authority established to supervise and inspect the observance of labour law – in particular, occupational health and safety [2] rules, as well as regulations on the legality of employment and other paid labour, as specified
The Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń SA (PZU [1]) group is Poland’s largest insurer. At present, the main shareholders of PZU SA are the State Treasury, which holds a 55% stake in the company, and the Netherlands-based bank insurance consortium Eureko BV. The process of privatising PZU got underway in
On 24 and 25 September 2008, most courts around Poland were affected by protests held by judges, which were carried out under the slogan ‘A day without case lists’. During the two-day protest, judges presided only over a limited number of hearings, namely those that could not possibly be rescheduled
Article 943, paragraph 2, of the Polish Labour Code defines ‘mobbing’ as actions or behaviour referring to an employee, or directed against an employee, comprising persistent and drawn-out harassment or intimidation of that employee. Such actions or behaviour have the effect that the employee’s own
On 23 June 2008, the National Trade Union of Medical Rescue Personnel (Krajowy Związek Zawodowy Pracowników Ratownictwa Medycznego, KZZPRM [1]) launched a nationwide strike. The trade union activists are calling for: [1] http://www.ratownictwomedyczne.org/
On 29 July 2008, talks on healthcare provisions took place between trade unions and the Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. The talks were attended by representatives of the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (Ogólnopolskie Porozumienie Związków Zawodowych, OPZZ
The acrimonious dispute between management and employees of the Polish postal authority, Poczta Polska [1] – a state-controlled company with a total workforce of 100,000 employees – dates back to early 2006. The first strike was initiated by postal workers in the Gdańsk region in northern Poland in