The nail in the coffin? Pandemic and social dialogue in Poland

Abstract

PurposeIn the context of debates on the role of social partners in shaping anti-crisis policies, the article explores the developments of social dialogue in Poland following the outbreak of the pandemic. The central research question is whether the crisis has helped to revitalise social dialogue or has it further revealed its weaknesses that were apparent before it.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on the combination of literature review and the analysis of primary data derived from 22 expert interviews with the representatives of trade unions, employers and ministries collected in 2020–2021 in four essential industries (education, health care, social care and logistics).FindingsThe analysis suggests that the pandemic led to reinforcement of “illusory corporatism” in Poland, deepened mistrust among social partners and triggered a shift to informal channels of influencing policymaking. The weakness of the social partners and the strong position of the right-wing populist government meant that fears of recession and a health crisis were insufficient to develop “crisis” corporatism. While business interests were represented better than labour in policymaking, limited labour-friendly outcomes have been achieved as a result of workers’ mobilisation and unilateral decisions of the government rather than tripartite social dialogue.Originality/valueBased on original empirical research, the article contributes to the discussion on the impact of the crisis on social dialogue under patchwork capitalism. It points to the role of strong governments and informality in circumventing tripartite structures and the importance of essential workers’ mobilisation in response to the lack of social dialogue.

20 years after. Changing perspectives on industrial relations in Central and Eastern Europe two decades after EU enlargement: from transition to transformation

“…The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on industrial relations in the CEE new Member States has received fairly wide coverage so far, although the long-term effects remain to be seen. The pandemic's directly observable impact was manifest in the disruption of tripartite talks, and illiberal governments and employers seizing the chance to restrict employee rights, but also in quite unexpected opportunities for micro-bargaining and increasing mobilisation of peripheral workers (including platform workers) (Bohle et al, 2022;Czarzasty and Mrozowicki, 2023).…”