|
|
Act to amend the Labour Code and other Acts in respect of collective bargaining. Dated 29 September 1994. (Dziennik Ustaw, 26 October 1994, No. 113, Text No. 547, pp. 2017-2025.)
[Editor's Note: This Act replaces Title Eleven of the Labour Code of 26 June 1974, which was published in the Legislative Series under 1974-Pol. 1A. Section 1 contains the provisions of the new Title Eleven numbered as they will appear in the Labour Code, while other sections are comprised of transitional provisions and consequential amendments of other laws, and establish a Commission for Collective Labour Agreements.]
Section 1. Title Eleven of the Labour Code of 26 June 1974 shall read as follows:
TITLE ELEVEN. COLLECTIVE LABOUR AGREEMENTS
Chapter I. General provisions
Section 238. (1) In this Chapter, a supra-enterprise trade union organization means a trade union organization which is a national trade union, an association (federation) of trade unions or a national inter-trade union organization (confederation).
(2) Provisions of this Chapter which apply to:
Section 239. (1) Agreements shall be concluded on behalf of all workers employed by employers covered by its provisions, unless the parties to the agreement decide otherwise.
(2) Agreements may cover persons working on a basis other than that of an employment relationship, and may also cover pensioners and persons receiving a disability pension.
(3) Agreements may not be concluded for workers appointed to state administration, workers appointed to self-governmental authorities, and judges and prosecutors.
Section 240. (1) Agreements shall define:
(2) Agreements may define other matters than those covered by subsection (1), that are not regulated by unconditionally binding provisions of labour law.
(3) Agreements may not define:
Section 241. The provisions of agreements may not be less advantageous to workers than provisions of labour legislation or regulations issued under such provisions.
Section 241-1. In defining their mutual obligations concerning the application of an agreement the parties may specifically establish:
Section 241-2. (1) Agreements shall be concluded through collective bargaining.
(2) The subject initializing the conclusion of an agreement shall be obliged to inform thereof every trade union organization representing workers for whom the agreement will be concluded for the purpose of joint bargaining by all trade union organizations.
(3) A party entitled to conclude an agreement may not refuse the other party's request for bargaining:
Section 241-3. (1) Each party shall be obliged to bargain in good faith and with respect of the legitimate interests of the other party. This means, in particular:
(2) Parties to an agreement may determine procedures for settlement of disputes related to the subject of the bargaining or other controversial issues which may arise in the course of the bargaining. In such an event provisions relating to settlement of collective disputes shall not be applied, unless the parties decide on their application within a determined scope.
Section 241-4. (1) Employers shall be obliged to provide information on their financial situation to representatives of trade union organizations that are bargaining collectively, within the scope of the bargaining and when necessary for the conduct of responsible bargaining. This obligation shall concern in particular information covered by the reporting of the Main Statistical Office.
(2) Representatives of trade unions shall be obliged not to disclose information provided by employers which constitute corporate secrets within the meaning of legal provisions on combating of unfair competition.
(3) At the request of a party, an expert may be appointed to give his or her opinion on matters relating to the bargaining. The costs of such expertise shall be covered by the party which requested the appointment of the expert, unless the parties decide otherwise.
(4) Subsections (1) to (3) shall not violate legal provisions on the protection of state and public service secrets.
Section 241-5. (1) Agreements shall be concluded in writing for an unspecified or a specified period of time.
(2) Agreements shall specify the scope of their authority as well as the location of the headquarters of the parties.
(3) Prior to the expiry of agreements concluded for a specified period, the parties may extend their validity for a specified period or recognize the agreements as concluded for an unspecified period of time.
Section 241-6. (1) The parties to agreements shall jointly interpret their contents.
(2) Joint interpretation of the contents of agreements shall also bind parties to an accord on their application. The interpretation of the agreement shall be provided to the parties to such an accord.
Section 241-7. (1) An agreement shall be terminated:
(2) The declaration of the parties on the termination of an agreement and the notice of termination shall be made in writing.
(3) The period of a notice of termination shall be three calendar months, unless the parties decide otherwise.
(4) Where an agreement is terminated or a notice of termination has been given, the current agreement shall remain in force until a new agreement has been concluded, unless the parties declare that they do not intend to conclude a new agreement.
(5) Where the parties declare that they do not intend to conclude a new agreement, the provisions of the agreement shall expire on the date of its termination. The terms of employment contracts or other acts which constitute the basis for the establishment of an employment relationship that result from the agreement hitherto in force shall remain in force for the duration of the period of notice of termination of the application of the terms.
Section 241-8. (1) During a period of one year from the time of recruitment of workers by a new employer in accordance with provisions laid down in section 23 [1], the workers shall be covered by provisions of the agreement which applied to them prior to such new employment. The employer may apply to such workers more advantageous terms than those resulting from the agreement hitherto in force.
(2) After the expiry of the current agreement, the conditions of employment contracts or other acts which constitute the basis for the establishment of an employment relationship which result from that agreement shall continue to apply for the duration of the period of notice of termination of the application of the terms.
(3) Where in connection with the recruitment of new workers under conditions described in section 23[1], the new employer also recruits other persons covered by an agreement with the previous employer, the new employer shall apply provisions of that agreement concerning these persons for a period of one year from the date of the recruitment.
(4) Where workers prior to their recruitment were covered by a supra-enterprise agreement which is in force at the new enterprise, the provisions of subsections (1) to (3) shall be applied to the enterprise agreement.
Section 241-9. (1) Amendments to agreements shall be introduced by way of additional protocols. Legal provisions applicable to agreements shall be applied mutatis mutandis to additional protocols.
(2) Where an agreement has been concluded by more than one trade union organization, all action concerning the agreement during the period of its validity shall be taken by the trade union organizations which had concluded the agreement, subject to the reservations provided for under subsections (3) and (4).
(3) Parties to an agreement may express their consent to accession to an agreement by a trade union organization, which did not conclude the agreement or was created after the conclusion of the agreement.
(4) A trade union organization which did not conclude a supra-enterprise agreement or was created after its conclusion shall accede to the agreement once the representative character of the organization has been ascertained after the conclusion of the agreement.
(5) Information on the accession to an agreement by a trade union organization shall be subject to entry into the register of agreements.
Section 241-10. (1) Parties who are entitled to conclude an agreement may conclude an accord on the application of an agreement, or parts of it, to which they are not parties. Provisions relating to an agreement shall be applied to the accord mutatis mutandis.
(2) The agency which registers the accord referred to in subsection (1) shall inform the parties to the agreement about the registration of the accord.
(3) Amendments to provisions of an agreement by parties who have concluded it shall not result in amendments to an accord referred to in subsection (1).
Section 241-11. (1) An agreement shall be subject to entry into a register kept by the following:
(2) A lawfully concluded agreement shall be subject to registration within the following period of time from the date of filing an application in respect of this matter by one of the parties to the agreement:
(3) Where provisions of an agreement do not comply with the law, the registering agency may:
(4) Where the parties to an agreement do not consent to the registration of the agreement without the unlawful provisions or they fail to make appropriate changes to the agreement within the prescribed period of time, the registering agency shall refuse registration.
(5) Within 30 days of the refusal to register, the decision to refuse registration may be appealed by the parties to the agreement, as follows:
The court shall examine the case in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure pertaining to extra-judicial proceedings.
(6) The Minister of Labour and Social Policy shall determine, by order, the specific procedures for registration of agreements as well as the format of the agreement register.
Section 241-12. (1) An agreement shall enter into force as of the date specified in it, however not earlier than the date of registration.
(2) The employer shall be obliged to:
(iii) upon the request of a worker, provide the text of the agreement and explain its contents.
Section 241-13. (1) More advantageous provisions of an agreement shall, as of the date of its entry into force, replace ipso jure conditions of employment contracts or other acts that constitute the basis for the establishment of an employment relationship that result from existing provisions of labour law.
(2) Provisions that are less advantageous for workers shall be introduced by giving workers a notice of termination of the application of current terms of employment contracts or other acts that constitute the basis for the establishment of an employment relationship.
Chapter II. Supra-enterprise collective labour agreements
Section 241-14. (1) A supra-enterprise collective labour agreement, hereinafter "supra-enterprise agreement", shall be concluded by:
(2) The Minister of Labour and Social Policy shall define, by regulation, the national economic entities on behalf of whom a supra-enterprise agreement may be concluded by their statutory bodies.
Section 241-15. The following shall have the right to initialize the conclusion of a supra-enterprise agreement:
Section 241-16. (1) Where workers, for whom a supra-enterprise agreement shall be concluded, are represented by more than one trade union organization, bargaining in respect of the agreement shall be carried out by their common representation or by jointly acting individual trade union organizations.
(2) Where within 30 days from the date of the announcement of an initiative to conclude a supra-enterprise agreement, the trade union organizations do not commence bargaining in the manner defined in subsection (1), the trade union organizations that are representative within the meaning of section 241-17 shall have the right to bargain for the agreement.
(3) Representative trade union organizations shall bargain in the manner defined in subsection (1).
(4) Where prior to the conclusion of an agreement a supra-enterprise trade union organization is established, it shall have the right to commence bargaining if conducted in the manner specified in subsection (1).
(5) Where in the course of bargaining conducted in the manner defined in subsections (2) and (3) the representative character of a supra-enterprise trade union organization is established, the provisions of subsection (4) shall be applied mutatis mutandis.
(6) A supra-enterprise agreement shall be concluded by all trade union organizations which participated in the bargaining of the agreement.
Section 241-17. (1) A representative trade union organization is a trade union organization whose members include:
(2) A request to determine representative character shall be filed by the supra-enterprise trade union organization with the Provincial Court in Warsaw which shall render its decision within 30 days of the filing of the request in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure pertaining to extra-judicial proceedings.
(3) In the event the representative character of a national inter-trade union organization (confederation) is established, the national trade unions and associations (federations) of trade unions which belong to it shall be considered, ipso jure, to be representative.
Section 241-18. (1) Upon the request of a supra-enterprise trade union organization or an employers' organization, the Minister of Labour and Social Policy may, after consulting the organization which is entitled to conclude a supra-enterprise agreement with the requesting organization, extend by order the scope of application of a supra-enterprise agreement, or parts of it, to workers who are not covered by any agreement, in the event that this is dictated by an important social interest. The extension of the scope of application of an supra-enterprise agreement shall be effective only until these workers are covered by another supra-enterprise agreement.
(2) In the event that a request to desist from extending the application of an agreement is submitted, the first sentence of subsection (1), shall apply mutatis mutandis. The second sentence of section 241[7], shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 241-19. (1) In the event of a merger or a division of a trade union organization or an employers' organization or another subject which had concluded a supra-enterprise agreement, their rights and obligations shall be transferred to the organizations and subjects created as a result of the merger or division.
(2) In the event of dissolution of an employers' organization or all trade union organizations which are parties to a supra-enterprise agreement, an employer may, after serving the other party proper written notice, cease to apply a supra-enterprise agreement or parts of it after a period of time which is at least equal to the period of notice of termination of an agreement. The second sentence of section 241-7, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(3) In the event of the abolishment of the office of the minister who had concluded a supra-enterprise agreement, his or her rights and obligations shall be transferred to the office of the minister who is to assume responsibilities for the activities of the abolished office.
Section 241-20. (1) Where workers of enterprises that have been merged are covered by different supra-enterprise agreements, the new employer shall, jointly with the enterprise's trade union organization, submit a written declaration as to which of the agreements shall apply. Section 241-25 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) The declaration referred to in subsection (1), shall be made known to parties of the supra-enterprise agreements which covered the workers prior to the merger of the enterprises.
(3) During a period of one year from the merger of the enterprises, the terms of employment contracts or other acts which constitute the basis for the establishment of an employment relationship may not be less advantageous to workers than the terms resulting from the supra-enterprise agreements which covered the workers prior to the merger. The second sentence of section 241-7 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(4) In the event that not all workers of the merged enterprises were covered by supra-enterprise agreements, the supra-enterprise agreement shall apply to workers and other persons who were hitherto not covered by it. The employer may, jointly with the enterprise trade union organization, extend the application of the agreement to all or some workers who were hitherto not covered by the agreement and inform the parties to the agreement about it. Section 241-25 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 241-21. In the event that an enterprise which is covered by a supra-enterprise agreement is divided, the employers created as a result of the division shall be bound by the provisions of the agreement.
Chapter III. Enterprise collective labour agreements
Section 241-22. An enterprise collective labour agreement, hereinafter "enterprise agreement", may be concluded for workers, with the exception of those employed in units under the state budget.
Section 241-23. An enterprise agreement shall be concluded by the employer and the enterprise trade union organization.
Section 241-24. The following shall have the right to initialize the conclusion of a supra-enterprise agreement:
Section 241-25. (1) Where workers for whom an enterprise agreement shall be concluded are represented by more than one trade union organization, bargaining in respect of the conclusion of an agreement shall be conducted by their common representation.
(2) In the event that a common representation is not appointed, the negotiations shall be conducted jointly by:
Section 241-26. (1) Provisions of an enterprise agreement may not be less advantageous to workers than the provisions of the supra-enterprise which covers them.
(2) An enterprise agreement may not define the principles for remuneration of the management of the enterprise.
Section 241-27. (1) Parties to an enterprise agreement may conclude an accord on the suspension of the application of the agreement or some of its provisions for a period of no longer than one year, in order to avoid or limit the dismissal of workers for reasons associated with the employer. In such an event, subsection (1) of section 241-26 shall not apply.
(2) The accord referred to in subsection (1) above shall be subject to entry into the register of enterprise agreements.
(3) The terms of employment contracts or other acts which constitute the basis for the establishment of an employment relationship that result from a supra-enterprise agreement or an enterprise agreement shall, ipso jure, not apply within the scope and time-frame defined in an accord referred to in subsection (1) above.
Section 241-28. (1) An enterprise agreement may cover more than one employer if these employers are members of an economic organization.
(2) On the part of the employers, the enterprise agreement referred to in subsection (1) above shall be concluded by the statutory body of the economic organization.
Section 241-29. (1) In the event of a division of an enterprise or a trade union organization, the rights and obligations of the parties to the enterprise agreement shall be transferred to the employers or the trade union organizations created as a result of the division.
(2) In the event of a merger of enterprise trade union organizations of which at least one had concluded an enterprise agreement, the rights and obligations of the latter shall be transferred to the organization created as a result of the merger.
(3) In the event of a dissolution of all trade union organizations that had concluded an enterprise agreement, the employer may cease to apply the enterprise agreement or parts of it after a period of time which is at least equal to the period of notice of termination of the agreement. The second sentence of subsection (5) of section 241-7 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(4) Where the workers of merged enterprises were covered by different enterprise agreements, the new employer shall determine, jointly with the enterprise trade union organization, which of the agreements shall apply until a new enterprise agreement is concluded. The provisions of subsection (3) of section 241-20, and section 241-25 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(5) In the event that not all workers of merged enterprises were covered by enterprise agreements, the enterprise agreement shall be applied to workers and other persons who were hitherto not covered by it. The employer may, jointly with the enterprise trade union organization, extend the scope of application of the agreement to workers who were hitherto not covered by any enterprise agreement. Section 241-25 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 241-30. This Chapter shall apply mutatis mutandis to an inter-enterprise trade union organization which is active at an enterprise.
Section 2. In this Act an "employer" means an organizational unit, even without a legal personality, as well as an individual, if it employs workers.
Section 3. In this Act, "units under the state budget" means units for which the source of wages depends on other legal provisions.
Section 4. In sections 5 to 10, a "supra-enterprise collective labour agreement or an enterprise collective labour agreement" means collective labour agreements as defined in the Labour Code.
Section 5. [Agreements concluded prior to the entry into force of this Act, shall be converted, ipso jure, into enterprise collective agreements, subsequent to the entry into force of this Act.]
Section 6. [Similar registration for accords on remuneration.]
Sections 7-11. [Transitional provisions.]
Section 12. The agreement referred to in item (i) of subsection (3) of section 241[2] of the Labour Code, shall mean a collective labour agreement concluded after entry into force of this Act.
Sections 13-16. [Consequential amendments.]
Section 17. (1) A Commission for Collective Labour Agreements shall be set up at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.
(2) The purpose of the Commision shall be to support collective negotiations and to assist the parties striving to conclude a collective agreement.
(3) The Minister of Labour and Social Policy shall by order determine the manner of appointment, composition and the principles of activity of the Commission.
Sections 18-19. [Consequential repeals.]
Section 20. This Act shall enter into force 30 days after its publication, with the exception of sections 13, 17 and 19 which shall enter into force on the day of publication, and subsection 18(4) which shall enter into force as of 1 January 1995.
|
International Labour Organization NATLEX database Disclaimer infonorm@ilo.org |