Polish unions call for legal changes

The three main union confederations in Poland, Solidarnosc, OPZZ and Forum ZZ, are calling for a change in the law that will strengthen their position.

Poland has a large number of small and very small unions, often only operating in a single plant or organisation.

The large confederations argue that this makes negotiations with employers very difficult or almost impossible.

So they propose that they alone should be able to negotiate collective agreements, the arrangements for collective redundancies and rules covering pay.

The smaller bodies would be limited to dealing with individual disciplinary cases where their own members were involved.

The proposal is currently being discussed in the country’s tripartite body in which the large unions, employers and government take part.