Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

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

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The Committee notes the observations made by the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarność”, received on 1 September 2022. The Committee also notes the Government’s reply to these observations, received on 2 November 2022.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Active employment policy and labour market measures. The Committee notes the adoption of Poland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) in 2021 in the framework of the European Union (EU) Plan “NextGenerationEU” providing funds to EU Member States to implement ambitious reforms and investments. Poland’s RRP includes a strong combination of reforms addressing bottlenecks to lasting and sustainable growth, and investments targeting at decarbonising the Polish economy, accelerating the digital transition and reinforcing Poland’s economic and social resilience. According to information available in the European Commission website, the green transition and digital transformation of the economy are at the core of the RRP’s policy response, representing 42.7 per cent and 21.3 per cent of the RRP’s investment streams and reforms, respectively. The RRP include measures that aim at improving the resilience of the labour market by, inter alia, improving the quality and adequacy of the functioning of labour market institutions, reaching out to and activating older workers or people from disadvantaged groups through upskilling and reskilling programmes, contributing to improving the labour market participation of women, and introducing incentives to remain active in the labour market after reaching the statutory retirement age. The RRP also includes a number of relevant measures to improve the business environment and investment climate. While noting the comprehensive reforms and measures envisaged in the RRP, the Committee recalls that the national employment policy shall take due account of mutual relationships between employment objectives and other economic and social objectives (Article 1(3) of the Convention). In this regard, the Committee wishes to recall also that, as a set of policies that have an impact on labour markets, employment policies not only include classical labour market and skills policies, but also sectoral, macroeconomic, investment, enterprise, social protection and other economic and social policies. Governments need to monitor all these policy areas together to genuinely understand their impact on employment creation and seek to ensure coordination across the various ministries involved. In the current times made of transformation and labour market transitions, governments, together with the social partners, need to analyse the impact of the drivers of the future of work (such as digitalization, structural shifts in labour markets, labour market transitions and gender impacts of automation) on social justice and how integrated employment policies can be harnessed to participate to this objective.

Furthermore, the Committee notes the approval of the 2022/2023 National Reform Programme (NRP) on 26 April 2022, in the framework of the economic and budgetary policy: the “European Semester”. The NRP envisages the adoption of measures to ensure effective institutions for the labour market, such as introducing new or improving the existing support instruments, reaching the inactive, supporting lifelong learning and improving the competences of public employment services (PES). Moreover, the Government refers to the implementation of the Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development (OP KED) and regional operational programmes (ROP) with the support of the European Social Fund (ESF). The OP KED focuses on the integration in the labour market of young people, vocational education and training and on participation of women in the labour market. The Government reports that the implementation of a set of measures is also envisaged to modernize the PES related to raising competences and lifelong learning, such as expanding the labour offices’ offer to include new groups of clients (including jobseekers and employees), and introducing a lifelong learning voucher, a partially redeemable education loan as well as a new apprenticeship formula. In addition, measures have been taken to promote the participation in the labour market of persons with family responsibilities, including providing assistance for childcare to parents and carers of children under the age of three, and grants to employers hiring unemployed carers of persons with disabilities. Changes to the National Training Fund are also planned, including extending the access to the National Training Fund to self-employed and persons working under civil law contracts. Lastly, the Government reports that the draft Labour Market Act was not adopted and that a draft Act on professional activity has been prepared in order to replace the 2004 Act on Employment Promotion and Labour Market Institutions (hereinafter the 2004 Act).

The Committee also notes that, in its observations, Solidarność reiterates that, while the implementation of the employment policy has improved, more efficient measures are needed notably as regards adopting more effective legislative action and allocating greater financial resources to the Labour Fund dedicated to the professional activation of the long-term unemployed. It stresses the need to identify the skills demands of the labour market to ensure adequate industry training and observes that, under the new legislative reform, the obligation of developing a National Programme for Employment will be removed. In this regard, the Government observes that the National Programme will be replaced by the Public Employment Service Development Plan, which will be consulted with the Labour Market Council. It also indicates that the demands of the labour market are analysed by the Occupational Barometer and the Polish labour market forecasting system. With regards to the professional activation of the long-term unemployed, the Government indicates that they constitute one of the priority groups of labour offices, that the number of registered long-term unemployed is taken into consideration in the distribution of Labour Fund resources among the district labour offices and that a new proposed legislation will enable the transfer of larger amounts of resources to district labour offices where there is a high proportion of long-term unemployed. The Government further reports that, at the end of 2021, 9,300 long-term unemployed were registered in the labour offices. In 2021, 74,400 long-term unemployed benefited from active forms of support (non-subsidized work, internships or vocational training) and represented 26.7 per cent of the total activated unemployed. The Committee invites the Government to supply in its future reports details on how it prioritizes and tackles the above-mentioned challenges provoked by the transformations taking place in the world of work and labour market transitions at the national level, including in the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), such as information on how the challenges associated to work on digital platforms have been addressed. It requests the Government to continue providing updated detailed information on the impact of the measures that are being taken to support the objectives of the national employment policy, including newly adopted laws and regulations adopted in the future, such as the Act on professional activity, as well as of the measures taken to promote the integration of the long-term unemployed in the labour market.

Employment trends. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that, despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the labour market trends remained stable thanks to the support measures taken to address its impact. The employment rate for persons aged 15 to 64 increased from 67.4 per cent in 2018 to 70.3 per cent in 2021 (63.8 per cent for women and 76.8 per cent for men), the economic activity rate increased from 70.1 per cent to 72.8 per cent (66.1 per cent for women and 79.5 per cent for men). The unemployment rate slightly decreased from 3.9 per cent to 3.4 per cent. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information, including updated statistics, disaggregated by sex and age, on the situation and trends of the labour market in the country, including information on employment, unemployment and visible sub-employment.

Workers under self-employment, civil law and fixed-term contracts. The Government indicates that the practice of concluding civil contracts with persons who are in fact in an employment relationship is subjected to fines ranging from 1,000–30,000 Polish Zloty (PLN). It adds that compliance with laws and regulations concerning the employment relationship is ensured through the National Labour Inspectorate (NLI) and the existence of an employment relationship can be asserted and recognized in court. Nonetheless, the Government indicates that the specific characteristics of the operation of some sectors and the need of certain employers, may justify the use of civil law contracts, the application of which requires complying with the minimum wage established and ensuring safe and healthy working conditions. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication the draft act amending the Labour Code envisages the introduction of changes to the provisions on fixed-term employment contracts, such as the employer’s obligation to indicate the reason justifying the termination of these contracts and to notify in writing the company’s trade union. Solidarność maintains that, despite the reduction of the abusive recourse to self-employment, civil law contracts and fixed-term contracts, there is still a high level of use of such contracts. The Committee further notes that Solidarność emphasizes once again the need for adopting legislative changes to promote the strict regulation, supervision and control of the operations of private employment agencies. Solidarność reiterates its concern that often private employment agencies are unprepared organizationally and lack the appropriate competencies. The Government indicates that private employment agencies need to meet certain requirements to be registered in the Register Employment Agencies. It adds that private employment agencies are regulated under the Entrepreneurs’ Law of 6 March 2018 and that no new legislative measures have been adopted in this regard. Therefore, a fixed-term employment contract remains the employment form of temporary workers used by private employment agencies (Act on the Employment of Temporary Workers of 2013). Those performing such work under civil law contracts are also covered by the definition of temporary work and the time limits established in the legislation for temporary arrangements. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the scale of the use of civil contracts and on whether and how the labour inspectorate is given the necessary means to monitor the application of the national legislation, combat misclassification of contracts and ensure that they are not used to mask the identity of an employer actually directing and monitoring the working activity in a way that is incompatible with the worker’s declared independent status. It also requests the Government to provide information on the status of the draft act amending the provisions of the Labour Code related to fixed-term contracts. The Committee further requests the Government to provide statistical information on the types of contracts (permanent, fixed term,self-employed) prevalent in the labour market.

Migrant workers. The Committee notes the adoption of the Act on assistance to Ukrainian citizens on 12 March 2022 and its subsequent amendments of 8 April 2022, which include measures to enable Ukrainian citizens which left the country in the context of the extremely difficult situation in the country since 24 February 2022 to access the Polish labour market and enhance their professional activation and social integration, including by: (i) introducing the possibility of registering with the labour offices and receiving assistance; (ii) taking up legal employment with no additional permits; and (iii) financing Polish language courses as well as the costs of the procedure to recognize the completion of studies. The Government reports that, in April 2022, over 20,000 unemployed Ukrainian citizens were registered with the labour offices, representing two per cent of the total number of registered unemployed. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the interminesterial Team for Migration adopted the document “Polish migration policy – diagnosis of the initial state”, which became the basis for the draft document “Poland’s Migration Policy – Action Directions for 2021–2022”. During the preparation of the document, public consultations were held, including with All-Poland Trade Unions Alliance (OPZZ). However, according to information available in the Government’s website, the work on the draft Policy was suspended due to the rapid changes taking place in Poland’s environment, affecting the characteristics of migration movements. For its part, Solidarność emphasizes the lack of a migration policy in the country and expresses a number of concerns regarding the amendments to the Law on Foreigners related to counteracting illegal employment and ensuring that migrants workers enjoy equal treatment with respect to working conditions and remuneration. In its reply, the Government indicates that, according to new rules introduced in the employment of migrants on 29 January 2022, employers cannot employ migrant workers at a wage lower to the one that it would be paid to Polish citizens performing the same job. The Government adds that it envisages adopting a new Act on the Employment of Foreigners, which will aim to reduce administrative barriers, streamline procedures related to the employment of migrants and preventing abuses against them. The Committee takes due note of the measures taken and envisaged in relation to migrant workers’ access to the national labour market and requests the Government to continue to provide information, including statistical data disaggregated by age and sex, on the nature, scope and impact of the measures adopted for the use of the labour potential of persons with a migration background, including Ukrainian citizens, to help them integrate sustainably into the labour market.

Persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the measures taken to promote employment of persons with disabilities, including in the framework of the OP KED (such as the implementation of new support tools for persons with disabilities and the development of assisted employment) and the ROPs (measures related to active integration, social services and the social economy). The Government reports the implementation until August 2023, under the OP KED, of the project “High Quality Policy for the Social and Professional Inclusion of People with Disabilities”. The project includes measures aimed at supporting employers in adapting employment, recruiting and maintaining employment for persons with disabilities; and supporting persons with disabilities in taking up employment, including the transition between social and vocational rehabilitation, and starting a business activity. The Government also indicates that, under the ROPs, a wide range of services are provided to persons with disabilities, such as personal assistance services, to support their participation in social, professional and educational areas. The Government adds that with the support of the ESF, jobs are created in social enterprises for persons with disabilities. The Government reports that, under different professional activation projects, including the OP KED, support was provided to over 15,000 women with disabilities and 13,400 men with disabilities and nearly 4,100 received support in entrepreneurship under the ROPs. The Committee wishes to highlight that employment placement services play a central role in promoting employment opportunities, especially for jobseekers who face particular obstacles in finding a job. The role of placement services and their strengthening in assisting persons with disabilities to enter the labour market has increasingly been the focus of growing attention globally. Inclusive employment placement services can support both employers and people with disabilities and include providing information on job vacancies, assessing the professional aspirations and skills of jobseekers, matching jobseekers to available jobs or referring them for further training, if needed. They can be a core part of a solid policy framework with a sound operational strategy backed by legislation, where necessary. To be effective and efficient in this respect, employment services need to form linkages with other government ministries and agencies at a policy level, to ensure that obstacles which persons with disabilities may face are minimized, and that the skills which they offer are relevant to labour market opportunities. Partnerships with disability organizations can help to reach out persons with disabilities and provide them with the necessary support, and can also assist employers and training organizations to implement reasonable accommodation. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provideupdated detailed information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex and age, on the nature and the impact of the specific measures taken to promote employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in the open labour market. It requests the Government to supply all relevant information on how the challenges associated with the placement of persons with disabilities are addressed, including measures taken at the inter-ministerial coordination level and in coordination with organizations of persons with disabilities.

Older workers. The Government indicates that, between 2019 and 2021, the economic activity rate of persons aged over 50 increased from 59.2 per cent to 64.6 per cent, and the employment rate from 57.5 per cent to 63.1 per cent, while the unemployment rate decreased from 2.8 to 2.4 per cent. The Government indicates, however, that these ratios are still lower than the European Union average. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the measures taken to promote employment among older workers, including the provision of wage subsidies and the exemptions from the payment of social contributions for companies employing persons older than 50. Moreover, older workers are identified as a priority group in employment programmes and services for unemployed. The Government points out that the activation of persons over 50 remains difficult due to the low occupational and geographical mobility of this group. The Government reports that, in April 2022, persons over 50 represented 26.7 per cent of the unemployed registered and 15.8 per cent of activated unemployed after joining active programmes. The Committee takes due note of this information and observes in this respect that such measures often include addressing discrimination in employment on the basis of age by taking measures, such as legislation preventing age discrimination and public-awareness campaigns, to eliminate discrimination in the recruitment, promotion and training process, and in employment retention in collaboration and consultation with employers’ and workers’ representatives. In the same way, encouraging employer and worker representatives to jointly identify mechanisms to facilitate the retention and hiring of all older workers, including those in vulnerable situations, is a good practice. Employers can also be encouraged to constitute an age-diverse workforce through initiatives that provide guidance on issues such as promoting a sharing of knowledge and experience across different age groups and adjusting work responsibilities and working-time arrangements to the changing capacities of workers and their family responsibilities over their life course as well as to take account of improvements in the education, health and physical capacities of older workers. The Committee asks the Government to supply updated information on the nature, the scope and the impact of measures adopted or envisaged targeting older workers, with a particular focus on the older persons facing long-term unemployment.

Youth employment. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the COVID-19 pandemic had the most profound impact on young people, often working based on easy-to-terminate employment contracts, and in sectors that were heavily affected by the social restrictions. The youth employment rate decreased from 31.7 per cent in 2019 to 27.3 per cent in 2021, while the youth unemployment rate increased from 9.9 per cent in 2019 to 11.9 per cent in 2021. The rate of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) was 13.4 per cent. The Committee observes that the OP KED envisages the adoption of measures to enhance the possibilities of permanent employment for young people in difficult situations in the labour market and for young NEET, by improving their practical skills and work experience and increasing their level of entrepreneurship. The OP KED also offers support to young persons in building social competences to strengthen their employability through their participation in social activities carried out by non-governmental organizations for local communities, youth centers, and so on. The Government indicates that, in the framework of the OP KED, comprehensive and personalize support in the form of job placement, career counselling, training or subsidized employment was provided to 368,900 young women under the age of 30 and 289,000 young men, including over 234,300 long-term unemployed. The participants also received non-returnable financial support for setting up a business. In addition, the Government refers to the implementation of the programme “First Business-Support to Start” under the agreement concluded with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, which grants preferential loans for starting a business and creating jobs for unemployed persons. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on the nature and the impact of the vocational education measures and active labour market policies targeted at young persons. It wishes to recall in this respect the existence of theYouthPOL database, an online inventory of current policies and legislation affecting youth employment and which provides policy makers, researchers and practitioners with relevant and up-to-date information on policy responses for youth employment and aims at contributing to the promotion of decent work for youth through the expansion and consolidation of the knowledge base on youth employment and legislation.

Article 3. Consultations with the social partners. The Committee observes that, according to the NRP report, the draft NRP 2022/2023 was submitted for consultation to workers’ and employers’ organizations. In its observations, Solidarność maintains that greater participation of the social partners should be ensured in the National Training Fund. The Government emphasizes in this respect that, in accordance with the 2004 Act, the tripartite Labour Market Council actively participates in setting the priorities for the allocation and the spending plans of the funds of the National Training Fund. The Committee recalls that the involvement of workers and employers in the design and implementation of employment policies is a key element to improve the design as well as the implementation of integrated employment policy frameworks. The Committee observes that social partners’ role is indeed vital as these actors rely on both their experience and practical understanding of the problems associated with work and business and can provide decision-makers with relevant information in the quest for decent employment creation. While most countries recognize the importance of the principle of social dialogue in employment policy formulation and implementation, having effective and institutionalized mechanisms in place guarantees an informed and effective dialogue on employment policy. It notes that, over the last years, with ILO support, a number of countries have thus gone beyond consultation to establish more deliberative and inclusive types of participation and have invited the most knowledgeable actors, including persons affected by the measures to be taken, to work together and jointly set the research agenda and then debate the options available for creating decent work. Another important element in this respect is to ensure active engagement and debate amongst stakeholders throughout the policymaking process as opposed to holding consultations only late in the formulation process to validate the proposed policy. The Committee therefore once again asks the Government to provide specific examples on the manner in which representative organizations of workers and employers and other stakeholders, such as representatives of the persons affected by the measures to be taken, are given the possibility to be consulted concerning the design and implementation of integrated employment policies so that their experience and views are fully taken into account with a view to securing their full cooperation and support for such policies.