Poland: Draft legislation would require companies to engage in collective bargaining

Employer Action Code: Monitor

A draft bill that would replace section XI of the Labor Code on collective bargaining aims to “revive collective bargaining practice and increase the scope of application of agreements” by, among other things, requiring certain companies to engage in collective bargaining. The proposal includes a broad list of matters that collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) may cover and establishes maximum durations for new and existing CBAs.

Key details

The proposed legislation, which has a target effective date of January 1, 2025, would:

• Require employers that have 50 or more employees, are not already party to a CBA and where a labor union is present to enter into negotiations once every two years with the goal of concluding a CBA
• Broaden the scope of matters that CBAs may cover (specific areas noted in the draft legislation include worktime, flexible work schedules, overtime work, work organization, annual leave, and occupational health and safety, including psychosocial risks)
• Introduce a maximum duration of five years for enterprise CBAs — 10 years for industry-level CBAs — with a possible extension for another five years — 10 years for industry-level CBAs (currently, CBAs may be concluded for a definite or an indefinite period, and those with no specified duration are presumed to remain valid until revoked; the proposed maximums would also apply to existing indefinite-period CBAs, measured from the date the legislation comes into force)
• Enable parties to utilize a mediator in situations where the labor union (or unions) and the employer cannot agree on the CBA provisions
• Simplify the steps for extending (industry or enterprise) CBAs to additional entities, and ease the procedure for a company to withdraw from a multi-company CBA (which, for economic reasons, the company is unable to implement)
• Streamline the process for registering CBAs with the labor authorities by means of an electronic system

Employer implications

It’s estimated that well under 20% of the workforce are covered by CBAs or are members of a union. Where they exist, CBAs are generally limited to current or former state-owned enterprises. Unionization rates in other large European Union economies such as Germany, France and Italy are similarly low, but CBA coverage is much more widespread (and nearly universal in France and Italy). If approved, affected employers should be prepared to undertake negotiations toward the conclusion of a CBA within two years of the legislation taking effect.

Contact

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Krzysztof Gugała

email Email phone +48 501 130 007

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