Trade unions called on the government and MPs from all parties to immediately adopt a law strengthening the competences of the National Labor Inspectorate. According to the authors of the appeal, without real powers of the National Labor Inspectorate, the state remains helpless in the face of the scale of abuses related to the so-called junk contracts.
The open letter to the government and parliamentarians was signed by representatives of several dozen company organizations from various industries, including trade, industry, logistics, culture, health care and science.
Trade unionists associated with, among others, in the Employee Initiative, WZZ August 80, OPZZ Confederation of Labor and KNSZZ “Ad Rem” called on the government and MPs of all groups to immediately adopt a law strengthening the competences of the National Labor Inspectorate (PIP).
Trade unionists are writing to the government
In an open letter, they emphasized that current regulations do not effectively protect employees against abuses related to fictitious forms of employment.
The authors of the letter pointed out that every day in their workplaces they observe the “helplessness of the Polish state” in the face of illegal practices used by some employers. According to them, through abused civil law contracts instead of employment contracts, employees are deprived of the right to holidays, overtime pay, paid sick leave and social security.
Trade unionists pointed out that fictitious forms of employment also limit the freedom of association. “In practice, they restrict trade union activity and deprive employees of the real right to be active within a trade union under the threat of immediate loss of job,” the appeal emphasized.
Nearly 2.5 million people on commission
According to the data of the Central Statistical Office, cited by the authors of the letter, the number of people working on mandate contracts and related contracts exceeded 2.4 million at the end of 2024 and in the first half of 2025, of which approximately 1.5 million people work exclusively on such contracts. According to trade unionists, the scale of the phenomenon results from the lack of real sanctions for employers who break the law.
Trade union organizations demand that labor inspectors be given the right to issue administrative decisions to transform civil law contracts into employment contracts without having to wait for a court decision. They also call for the introduction of a presumption of an employment relationship and the obligation to return to employees funds obtained by employers as a result of illegal forms of employment.
“Junk contracts are a profound regression of civilization. Entrepreneurs and MPs who try to weaken or block the current change in the PIP regulations are taking Poland back to the 19th century. What's worse, party members who usually invoke pro-European values, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, are now blocking pro-worker solutions that the European Union requires. They do this at the risk of even losing billions of zlotys from the National Reconstruction Plan intended for reconstruction and creating Poland's socio-economic resilience in times of crises. In return, in the name of billions of profits of dishonest entrepreneurs, politicians opposed to the PIP reform are pushing us into another deep crisis,” the open letter emphasized.
The Prime Minister blocked the PIP reform
The union's appeal is part of the ongoing debate around the PIP reform project prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy. The project included, among others: the possibility for a labor inspector to change a contract for specific work, a mandate contract or a B2B contract into an employment contract. At the beginning of December last year, the regulation was adopted by the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that work on the reform in this form would not be continued. However, on Thursday he said that “the possibility of an official changing the form of employment without asking the opinion of the employer or employee and without a court judgment is a bad idea” which – according to the Prime Minister – could be destructive for companies and result in job losses. At the same time, he announced the search for other ways to protect employees.
Government spokesman Adam Szłapka said that the Prime Minister would meet with the Speaker of the Sejm, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, on this matter. In turn, the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, announced talks with coalition partners on tools to combat the “pathology of junk contracts.”
Chief Labor Inspector Marcin Stanecki also declared his readiness to cooperate in clarifying doubts regarding the project, emphasizing that the reform – even without the most controversial provisions – would be beneficial both for the inspection and for entrepreneurs.
The draft PIP reform raises objections from some business circles. The Government Legislation Center also submitted critical comments, pointing to a possible violation of the constitutional principles of freedom of economic activity. The Ministry of Labor, in turn, took the position that the purpose of the regulations was solely to counteract abuses and the replacement of employment contracts with civil law contracts.
Mira Suchodolska (PAP)
mir/akar/
