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The two great wars that dominated the first half of the twentieth century forced world leaders to reflect deeply on how to organise social, economic and international relations to make the global community more resilient to conflict and war. The foundations of the new world order were described as early as 1919 in the Treaty of Versailles. One of its principles was: "Peace between nations can only be achieved by ensuring social peace".

 

The underlying conviction was that where people do not experience deprivation, violence or inequality, war is far less likely. The fact that one of the first consequences of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles was the creation of the International Labour Organisation is testament to the importance of equal access to decent work as an element of social peace understood in this way.

 

The values that were to underpin all industrial relations in the new post-war world were clarified in 1944 in the Philadelphia Declaration. The first three principles described were: 1) labour is not a commodity; 2) freedom of expression and association is an indispensable condition for sustainable progress; 3) poverty, wherever it exists, is a danger to the well-being of all. The fourth principle described the idea of social dialogue and ongoing cooperation between representatives of workers, employers and governments for universal access to decent work.

 

It has been 80 years since the signing of the Philadelphia Declaration and the International Labour Organisation now has 187 member states. Are the values on which the organisation is built still relevant? Has the time that has elapsed since the end of the Second World War really brought us closer to universal prosperity and social peace?

 

Polish law guarantees citizens a number of labour rights, including the right to work and decent pay, the right to safe working conditions, the right to rest or the right to professional development. The lawmaker has also ensured respect for dignity and personal rights, protection against discrimination and the right to form trade unions. However, is decent work really a universal good in Poland?

 

According to the Statistics Poland (GUS), almost 16.8 million people were working in Poland in Q4 2022, representing 75.7% of people of working age. The labour force participation rate (the percentage of people aged 15-89 who are working or looking for work) is currently 58.2%, which is quite a high figure given the results of recent decades. The current unemployment rate of 2.9 per cent is another reason to be optimistic. Polish wages have also been rising for many years, especially the minimum wage. However, when one delves into the detailed statistics of the labour market, the picture is not so rosy.

 

While the majority of people in paid employment in Poland have an employment contract (96.8%), in the group of the youngest workers (15-24 years old) 13.1% are already working on a mandate contract. The number of self-employed is also significant. In 2022, 3.1 million people were self-employed in Poland, representing 18.7% of all employees. In addition, almost 350,000 people will be engaged in undeclared work in 2022. If we add up these figures, we can see that in Poland almost 25% of the working population is not protected by the Labour Code, and this number is growing.

 

Furthermore, we are still an overworked nation. According to the Statistics Poland (GUS), as many as 71.4% of the people covered by the LFS survey worked more than 40 hours per week. However, this effort does not always translate into a stable financial situation. According to the Credit Information Bureau, in February 2024, non-bank institutions granted over one million loans, the value of which amounted to PLN 1.5 billion! This popularity of instant loans may indicate that many Polish families are struggling to meet their current needs.

 

Finally, the Polish labour market is still not equal and fair. Women are less likely to be in work than men, earn less, are less likely to hold managerial positions and have less disposable income. The youngest people who are just starting their careers are also in a difficult situation. Another group that should be mentioned when talking about inequalities in the Polish labour market are migrants.

 

In December 2022, when the Statistics Poland (GUS) survey quoted here was conducted, there were more than one million foreigners working in Poland. Despite the fact that the share of migrants in the Polish labour market is steadily increasing, we know little about their social and professional situation. What we can say, however, is that a large group of newcomers are doing work that is incompatible with their education and skills. This means that we are not making full use of their potential and, at the same time, we are not giving them opportunities for adequate and satisfying career development. Moreover, migrants are often employed on civil law contracts and/or short-term contracts, are often paid less than Poles employed in similar positions, and rarely have access to benefits beyond wages. In other words, migrant women and men are currently unable to enjoy the benefits of European social dialogue, described here as access to decent work.

 

How different is the situation of an experienced contract worker in a multinational or large industrial company from that of a young employee in a small advertising agency? How much security and comfort does an open-ended contract offer compared to an hourly minimum wage contract or forced self-employment? How far removed from the idea of a decent job is the situation of students working in restaurants or foreigners providing services in companies such as Uber or Glovo?

 

With ever-accelerating technological development and increasing globalisation, the values and ideas of the International Labour Organisation seem to be falling by the wayside. In many sectors of the economy, labour is once again becoming a commodity traded on the same free market basis as all other goods. Workers, in turn, are losing the protection of the state and with it financial, social and psychosocial security. Can we really afford this? Can we afford to deregulate the labour market? Finally, will we be able to maintain social peace if we allow inequalities and the impoverishment of large social groups to continue? Most readers will probably answer 'no' to all these questions. So, what can we do to halt the trends described here and return to the ideas and values that underpinned the 20th century understanding of industrial relations? The answer lies at the source - in the Philadelphia Declaration. Let's start by rebuilding social dialogue, strengthening trade unions, and educating the public about workers' rights!!

 

This article was written as part of the project "Enhancing the Potential for Decent Work Activities in the Social Dialogue: 2023-2024" implemented by Międzyzakładowy Samorządny Niezależny Związek Zawodowy Pracowników CMC Poland Sp. z o. o. i Spółek and Ogólnopolski Konwent Agencji Pracy. The project is implemented with the support of Norway through the the Norway Grants 2014-2021, in the frame of the Programme “Social Dialogue – Decent Work”.