SOCIAL DIALOGUE UNUSED RESERVE FOR SMEs DEVELOPMENT Industrial relations vs the problems of security

1
SOCIAL DIALOGUEUNUSED RESERVE FOR SMEs
DEVELOPMENTIndustrial relations vs the problems
of securityTHE POLISH PERSPECTIVEEdyta
DoboszynskaPolish Craft Association
PHARE Business Support Programme of the European
Union UEAPME - SME FIT II
2
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectivePOLISH
CRAFT ASSOCIATION

• Established 1933
• Organisation of craft economic self-government
• Law on crafts (1989 / 2001/ 2003/2008)
• voluntary membership in general / 1 exemption
• Employers Organisation
• Law on Tripartite Commission for social and
  economic issues (2001)

3
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveDEFINITION
OF THE CRAFT ENETRPRISE

• Economic activity conducted by a natural person
  or a civil partnership of natural persons
• Personal involvement of a craftperson in work
• Certified craft qualifications / skills
• Activity on a craftpersons behalf and account
• Up to 50 employees

4
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveCRAFT
ENTERPRISES

• Majority micro-enterprises
• Over 100 craft professions
• Growing number of service-providers
• Decreasing number of manufacturing enterprises
• the strongest craft branches building,
  automotive, food-processing, carpentering,
  metalworking, personal services

5
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveZRP
STRUCTURE
POLISH CRAFT ASSOCIATION Tripartite Commission
for Social Economic Affairs
27 CRAFT AND SMALL BUSINESS CHAMBERS Social
Dialogue Commissions at a voivodeship level
483 CRAFT GUILDS
Craft co-operatives
300 000 ENTERPRISES
6
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspective
Since 1991 Member of
7
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveREPRESENTA
TIVE SOCIAL PARTNERS

• EMPLOYERS ORGANISATIONS
• Polish Craft Association (ZRP)
• Polish Confederation of Private Employers (PKPP)
• Confederation of Polish Employers (KPP)
• Business Centre Club (BCC)
• TRADE UNIONS
• Independent Self-governing Trade Union
  Solidarity
• All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (OPZZ)
• Forum of Trade Unions (FZZ)

8
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveSOCIAL
PARTNERS

• According to EC data for 2006
• The level of participation in trade unions (union
  density) around 6 /vs 30 -an average in EU-25/
• The representativeness of employers organizations
  (measured as number of wage-earners employed in
  the membercompanies) is one of the lowest in
  the EU and amounts to 20 /comparing to average
  60/

9
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveZRP AS A
SOCIAL PARTNER

• ZRP represents exclusively SMEs
• In general, craft employers are not involved in
  social dialogue at the company level
• They are involved in other forms of relations
  with employees (e.g. family businesses
  not-formalized dialogue master apprentice
  relations)
• ZRP has to seek other forms of engagement of
  small companies in the social dialogue e.g. via
  voivodeship social dialogue commissions
• The mediating role of ZRP

10
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspective

• It was built from scratch after collapse of
  communist regime (1989)
• 1994 - first tripartite agreement between
  employers organisations, trade unions and
  government, establishing amongst others legal
  framework for social dialogue
• 1997 Polands new Constitution according to
  which the dialogue between social partners
  constitutes a pillar of the social market economy

11
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveDO WE
HAVE A POLISH MODEL OF SOCIAL DIALOGUE ?

• The law
• Institutions
• Procedures
• The practice

12
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveTHE LEGAL
BASIS

• EU Treaty
• Constitution of the Republic of Poland
• Legal acts
• Law on trade unions
• Law on employers organisations
• Law on settlement of collective disputes
• Labour Code
• Law on the Tripartite Committee for social and
  economic issues and for provincial social
  dialogue committees
• (.)

13
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveTRIPARTITE
INSTITUTIONS national level

• TRIPARTITE COMMISSION
• FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
• nation-wide operations,
• the greatest scope of competences
• main goals
• reconciliation of the interests of
• employees, employers and the public good
• maintaining social peace

14
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveTRIPARTITE
INSTITUTIONS national level

• TRIPARTITE COMMISSION
• FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
• Presidium
• Secretaries
• 13 tripartite teams incl. 3 related to specific
  branches Labour law and collective bargaining
  Social security Economic and labour market
  policy Development of social dialogue State
  budget, wages and social benefits Public
  services Cooperation with ILO Structural funds,
  UE, Healthcare, Construction, Shipbuilding
  industry.

15
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveTRIPARTITE
INSTITUTIONS sectoral level

• TRIPARTITE COMMITTIES
• Operating outside the Tripartite Committee
• Responsible for restructuring, privatisation and
  organisational change in given sectors
• Different levels of activity and visibility
• Sectors (around 11)
• Mining industry, metallurgy, power engineering
  industry, military, light industry, chemical
  industry, shipping trade and fishery, railways

16
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveINSTITUTIO
NS regional level

• VOIVODSHIP COMMISSIONS FOR SOCIAL DIALOGUE
• operate at the level of voivodeships
• parties (4)
• Representatives of the Tripartite Commission
  members
• Government represented by the voivode
• Self-government party represented by the marshal
  of the voivodeship
• give opinions in matters under the competence of
  the government and self-government administration
  from the territory of the voivodeship.

17
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveINSTITUTIO
NS regional level

• DIFFICULTIES within VOIVODESHIP COMMISSIONS
• lack of organizational, material and expert basis
  for their activities
• lack of legal instruments allowing them to
  influence the situation in regions
• unclear division of competences between regional
  administration and self-government, which makes
  the cooperation with partners difficult.

18
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveBIPARTITE
INSTITUTIONS national level

• Lack of such institutions
• Phare 2000 Social Dialogue Twinning project
• One of the goals to establish bilateral forum
  for EU issues established
• some success, no continuity
• rather non-institutionalised initiatives of
  social partners to be presented to the government
  as a third party of the Tripartite Commission
• e.g. Package of activities to combat the
  crisis consequences

19
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveBIPARTITE
INSTITUTIONS sectoral level

• Committee for Metal Industry Employees
  officially appointed
• Some preparations to establish bipartite
  committee for construction industry
  unsuccessful
• Phare 2000 Social Dialogue twinning project
• one of the goals to establish 2 new committees -
  in light and chemical industries no long-term
  continuity

20
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveNON-INSTIT
UTIONALIZED DIALOGUE

• Concluding collective labour agreements
• Law on reconciliation of collective disputes
• Decentralised system of collective bargaining and
  based on the company or sectoral level
  negotiations
• Consultations and giving an opinion
• both institutionalised and non-institutionalised
  formula - according to social partners rights
  given by various legal acts

21
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveCHALLENGES

• Tripartite structure predominant at national,
  sectoral and regional level
• Lack of developed tools for autonomous dialogue
  at interprofessional level
• Bilateral - autonomous social dialogue
• incidental ad hoc initiatives
• At regional / local level the situation is not
  encouraging

22
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveCHALLENGES

• No institutions and/or procedures for autonomous
  negotiations of social partners positions on
  issues discussed at EU level
• Important role of membership in European social
  partners organisations and implementation of
  their agreements at national level
• The density challenge for all parties

23
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveCHALLENGES

• A dialog within one organisation
• Readiness of the members to accept decisions
  taken by their representatives and follow
  commitments
• An attitude of SMEs (especially micro Es) to the
  social dialogue
• Development of skills and competences
  indispensable for social partners at any level
• Changes in mentality of the Polish society
  including social partners from confrontation to
  cooperation

24
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspectiveCHALLENGES

• Cooperation as the resultant of 3 main elements
• Mutual trust
• Common interests
• Good communication

25
SOCIAL DIALOGUE the Polish perspective

• DO WE HAVE A POLISH MODEL OF Social Dialogue?
• WHERE IS THERE A PLACE FOR SMEs ?
• The law
• Institutions
• Procedures
• The practice

26
SOCIAL DIALOGUE

THANK YOU! Edyta Doboszynska POLISH CRAFT
ASSOCIATION Tel. [phone] Fax. 48 22 50
44 270 e-mail nza_at_zrp.pl