Unionists dismiss minister's calls for dialogue

Minister of Labour Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz in Poland's lower house of parliament. Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell

The alliance of three trade union associations had been invited by Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz to return to the government's so-called Trilateral Commission for talks this Friday.

“We regard dialogue within the Trilateral Commission as a sham,” the leaders of the Solidarity trade union, the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (OPZZ) and the Forum of Trade Unions retorted in a joint statement released on Monday.

The unionists stressed that the conditions for “any kind of talks” remained the government's withdrawal from prospective amendments to the Labour Code (see below) and the dismissal of Minister of Labour Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz himself.

“Since none of these conditions has been met, the invitation addressed to us is irrelevant,” the statement concluded.

The last session of the Trilateral Commission, attended by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, was held on 26 June.

Following an internal vote, the three trade union bodies paved the way for a four-day series of protests in the capital, culminating on Saturday 14 September, when up to 100, 000 people marched through Warsaw.

The original reason for the protests had been calls for the government to abandon its policy of introducing so-called 'junk contracts' - temporary contracts suited to casual labour, in which employment rights are limited.

However, during last week's protests, demonstrators also called for the government to repeal the increase of the national retirement age to 67 for both sexes, and for the adoption of a law that will create a faster rate of increase for the minimum wage.

Last week, Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz said that “one cannot get offended and break off dialogue... one can argue, discuss, but first of all one has to sit down at the table.” (nh)

Source: PAP