Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2013, publiée 103ème session CIT (2014)

Convention (n° 140) sur le congé-éducation payé, 1974 - Pologne (Ratification: 1979)

Granting paid educational leave. The Committee notes the Government’s reports received in August and October 2013 including replies to the remarks made by the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union (NSZZ) “Solidarność”. The Committee takes note of the concerns raised by the NSZZ “Solidarność” in relation to the amendments introduced in 2010 to the Labour Code with regard to paid educational leave for employees upgrading their vocational qualifications. The concerns of NSZZ “Solidarność” include the fact that Polish law does not contain specific regulations concerning paid educational leave for trade union training and education, that access to paid educational leave or paid time off depends on the employer’s initiative or agreement, that the number of training funds established by employers is scarce and that social partners have no impact on the development of training policy and disbursements of the labour fund resources. The Government highlights that the Labour Code cannot be regarded as the only legal act implementing the Convention and the Paid Educational Leave Recommendation, 1974 (No. 148). The question of paid educational leave for employees upgrading their vocational qualifications is regulated in the Labour Code. In relation to other aspects relating to education, special acts regulate the right to paid educational leave. The Government does not disagree that general, social and civic education as well as trade union education exist outside of the substantive scope of regulations of the Labour Code. Due to its substantive scope, the Labour Code cannot regulate these issues in detail. The Government emphasizes that there are other mechanisms in the Polish labour law which indicate that the Convention is implemented by Poland. The Government makes reference to the creation of a national training fund and indicates that to increase the role of the social partners in the management of the labour fund resources and programming and monitoring of labour market policy, it is planned to establish labour market boards that will be created in place of employment boards. The Committee invites the Government to describe, in its next report, how the right to paid educational leave for trade union education is ensured in practice (Article 2(c) of the Convention). Please also include documentation such as reports, studies and statistics that would allow an appreciation of the application of the Convention in practice (Part V of the report form) and describe the manner in which employers’ and workers’ organizations are involved in the formulation and application of the policy for the promotion of paid educational leave, including information on the establishment of the labour market boards (Article 6).