Country Rating: 3

  • Regular violation of rights

  • Government and/or companies are regularly interfering in collective labour rights or are failling to fully guarantee important aspects of these rights. There are deficiencies in laws and/or certain practices which make frequent violations possible.

The Niezalezny Samorzadny Zwiazek Zawodowy "Solidarnosc" (NSZZ SOLIDARNOSC) reported the dismissal of a shop steward at ADO factory located in the special economic zone of Legnica in March 2013 for having hung a union flag at the factory's gate. The Polish National Forest company also sent a letter to a Solidarnosc to prohibit displaying flags during protests.

There have been numerous reports on discriminatory dismissal of trade unionists. In December 2013, Adam Guzy was dismissed from Fakos Ltd due to his trade union activities. A complaint asking for reinstatement and compensation has been filed with the courts. Trade unionist Robert Kluga who works for CCP "PREMA" SA in Kielce was dismissed during the negotiations of a collective agreement in March 2014 with a view to undermine the collective bargaining process. LG Electronics Wroclaw targeted union members in the company in order to crush the existence of the union by not renewing employment contracts of union activists and leaders. In November 2013, Leszek Rudzinski, a shop steward at Lubelskich Liniach Autobusowych and a union chairman, was dismissed during a collective dispute. Both the National Labour Inspection and the Court have deemed the dismissal unlawful, and M. Rudzinski has been reinstated and compensated.

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