Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Poland (Ratification: 1954)

The Committee notes the observations of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc” received on 30 August 2021 and the response of the Government.

Articles 1 to 4 of the Convention. Gender pay gap and promotion of equal remuneration. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that: (1) according to the data of the European Institute for Gender Equality and Eurostat, the wage gap in Poland is 8.5 per cent (compared to an average of 14.1 per cent for the European Union); (2) according to the Ministry of Family and Social Policy (MFSP), the wage gap in the public sector is 2.5 per cent (the lowest in the European Union); (3) the National Action Programme for Equal Treatment 2021-2030 develops solutions to close the gender pay gap; (4) in particular, the MFSP developed a free application to measure wage inequality that will be promoted in the coming years, intended to increase knowledge about the wage gap as well as to help employers to set wage more fairly; (5) the MFSP also participates in the implementation of the Project “A good climate for good quality workplaces”, which aims at, inter alia, raising entrepreneurs’ awareness through actions directed at transparent remuneration and monitoring remuneration policies in enterprises; and (6) a package of relevant policy recommendations will be developed and a series of 10 workshops for employers and social partners will be held. The Committee also notes the observations by the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc” that: (1) the positive trend in equalizing opportunities for women on the labour market has been interrupted by the Covid-19 epidemic; and (2) the data provided by Eurostat differ from those provided by the Central Statistical Office according to which the wage gap is approximately 19 per cent. In its response to the observations of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc”, the Government emphasizes again that: (1) in terms of the amount of the salary gap, Poland compares well with other EU countries; and (2) that the situation is very different between the public and the private sectors, which is typical of all European countries and one of the reasons why European countries have decided to work on the elaboration of directive in this regard. The Government also stresses that there is no hard data at this stage to estimate the impact of Covid-19 on the salary gap. The situation needs to be monitored before conclusions can be drawn and remedial actions undertaken. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the steps taken regarding: (i) the implementation of the National Action Programme for Equal Treatment 2021-2030 and its impact on closing the gender pay gap; (ii) the dissemination and promotion of the use of the application developed to measure wage equality; (iii) the implementation of the Project “A good climate for good quality workplaces”, in particular with respect to pay transparency; and (iv) the policy recommendations developed by the Government. The Committee also asks the Government to continue to provide information on the evolution of the gender wage gap, in particular information on the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic in this regard and the measures taken to remedy any negative impact noted. Lastly, emphasizing the importance of collecting appropriate data in determining the nature, extent and causes of unequal remuneration, to set priorities and design appropriate measures, to monitor and evaluate the impact of such measures, and to make the necessary adjustments, the Committee requests the Government to monitor the impact of programs in place and make adjustments towards the reduction of the gender pay gap.

Articles 1(b) and 2. Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and scope of comparison. Legislation. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the indications by the Government that courts appeared to limit the scope of comparison provided for under section 183c of the Labour Code – that provides for equal pay for equal work or work of equal value - to the same enterprise. The Committee notes the indications by the Government that: (1) the draft of the new Labour Code developed by the Labour Law Codification Commission in 2018 did not receive recognition from the social partners and that there is no decision to resume this process; (2) the recommendations developed by the Codification Commission in the area of collective labour law will be used to develop further directions of the Government’s policy; and (3) work is currently in progress within the forum of the European Union to adopt a Directive on strengthening the application of the principle of equal pay for women and men for equal work or work of equal value, the possible adoption of which may have an impact on the equal pay solutions contained in the Labour Code. With regard to the ongoing legislative developments, the Committee further notes the observations of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc” that: (1) two parliamentary bills were submitted to the Sejm covering the issue of equality in remuneration for women and men, one amending the Labour Code and another one amending the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate; (2) a parliamentary draft of the Act on limiting the gender pay gap was also developed but not approved by the parliament – as the project presented a number of disadvantages, including that the role of trade unions was disregarded, and that it did not specify the consequences for the employers who failed to fulfil the obligations included in the draft act; and (3) the current legislative instruments do not equip workers and their representatives with effective tools to enforce the principle of the Convention. The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide information on any legislative development in relation to ensuring a broad scope of comparison between jobs to determine whether they are of equal value, such as ensuring that the application of the principle is not limited to the “same enterprise”. More generally, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on any legislative development on the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. Further to the Committee’s request in this respect, the Government indicates that the survey that had been envisaged to be undertaken in all the ministries has been delayed and will be implemented before the end of the third quarter of 2022. It also notes that the free application developed by the MSFP to measure wage inequality will help employers in the setting of fair wages. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any job evaluation exercise conducted in the public sector, including on the advancement of the survey planned to be conducted in the ministries in 2022, with detailed information on the method and criteria used to compare different jobs to determine whether they are of equal value. It also asks the Government to provide further information on the objective job evaluation methods used in the private sector, including detailed information on the application developed by the MSFP with specifics on the criteria and the measures used to compare jobs in the context of this application.

Awareness-raising. Further to the Committee’s request, the Government indicates that between 2017 and 2021, the topic was addressed in several continuing training courses for judges, court assessors, registrars, assistant judges in labour and social security divisions as well as civil divisions, and prosecutors and assistant prosecutors dealing with civil law cases. The Government also indicates that within the framework of its cooperation with the Academy of European Law ERA, Polish judges and prosecutors took part in several international trainings devoted to equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and wage discrimination. Taking note of this information, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on training and awareness-raising activities on the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value among workers, employers and their respective organizations.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Labour Inspectorate undertakes activities of a preventive and informative nature to raise awareness on the principle of the Convention. More specifically, labour inspectors organize and participate in conferences, seminars, and training sessions on the issue, addressed to workers, employers, trade unions and employers’ organizations. The National Labour Inspectorate also publishes and distributes publications on the issue. The Committee further notes the detailed information provided by the Government on cases of pay inequality addressed by the National Labour Inspectorate, indicating that in 2018, 31 complaints were filed, and that in 17 of these cases, the inequality was found unjustified. In 2019, 24 complaints were filed and in 13 of these cases, the inequality was found unjustified. In 2020, 21 complaints were filed and for five of them, the inequality was found unjustified. Between 1 January and 30 June 2021, 14 complaints were filed and for five of them, the inequality was found unjustified. The Committee also takes note of the records of labour law cases provided by the Government on the number of complaints filed and addressed by the courts on employment pay, compensation for infringement of the principle of equal treatment in employment and for discrimination in employment, disaggregated by sex. It notes however that the data provided is not specific to cases related to the pay inequality between men and women. Taking note of this information, the Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the awareness-raising activities conducted by the labour inspectors among employers and workers and the number of cases of pay inequality between men and women addressed by the labour inspectorates, the courts or any other competent authorities, and the outcomes of these cases, including: (i) the reasons given for finding pay inequality between men and women to be unjustified, or justified, in particular cases; and (ii) the nature of relief granted in cases where the inequality was unjustified (amount of back pay to individuals; any punitive damages awarded; any prospective injunctive relief for the affected positions etc.).