A return on the PIP reform. Tusk and Czarzasty announce the resumption of work

Today, the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk will receive a recommendation to work together with the Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek on the draft act on the National Labor Inspectorate – said Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday after a meeting with the Speaker of the Sejm.

The head of government stated this week that work on the National Labor Inspectorate reform project developed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy will not be continued. As he explained, excessive power for officials introduced by the reform would be destructive for companies and would mean many people losing their jobs. The project included, among others: enabling district inspectors to change contracts for specific work, mandate contracts or B2B contracts into employment contracts. Giving PIP these rights is one of the so-called milestones, the implementation of which determines the payment of funds from the National Reconstruction Plan.

The introduction of new regulations is an important issue for the Left, whose politician Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bak heads the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. The minister said in the Sejm on Wednesday that she would talk with coalition partners about an effective tool to combat the “pathology of junk contracts.”

On Friday, Tusk met with the leader of the Left, Speaker of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty. After the meeting, both politicians said that the matter of PIP reform would be continued. – It was obvious that we would find a way of proceeding that would create a good project that would not give full, arbitrary power to officials, but would at the same time protect employees against abuse and misuse of flexible forms of employment – said Tusk.

– We're going to work. We are resuming work on the project, the sooner the better – added Czarzasty. As Tusk pointed out, on Friday Minister Dziemianowicz-Bąk “will receive recommendations to start work” in cooperation with the Minister of Justice. The Prime Minister also assessed that the easiest way to carry out the project was through the government path; in this context, he pointed to the competences of the head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. – We had a difference of views and we found a way out of this situation – he added.

– I am confident that events will develop well and I am an optimist – said the head of government.

Czarzasty pointed to the proposed solutions that are to be included in the project. As he said, “definitely” the final instance regarding the decision to transform civil law contracts into employment contracts will be the court.. – We are moving in the direction that until the court issues a decision, the official's decision will not be binding in this case (…) We are interested in ending matters related to the unfair use of junk contracts – declared the Speaker of the Sejm.

The PIP reform planned in the Ministry of Labor, especially the possibility of transforming civil law contracts into employment contracts, has so far aroused discussions. Entrepreneurs were against this change and trade unions defended it.

The proposed solution was assessed negatively by, among others, Government Legislation Center. In comments to the draft, it wrote that the regulation violates the constitutional principles of freedom to conduct business activity, freedom to choose and pursue a profession, and choice of place of work.

In response, the Ministry of Labor emphasized that the project does not introduce arbitrary violations of the freedom to conduct a business, but specifies the procedure for detecting and correcting abuses in the use of civil law contracts in place of the employment relationship. According to the ministry, the reasons for introducing new powers for inspectors include: the scale of the phenomenon of concluding civil law contracts instead of employment contracts, which absolutely must be prevented.

The bill on the PIP reform also provided for: exchange of information and data between ZUS, PIP and KAS for the purposes of risk control and analysis; improving PIP inspections by introducing remote inspections and using technical devices enabling remote inspection activities, introducing electronic documentation prepared during inspections, in particular inspection protocols. The regulation also introduced, among others: solutions regarding the amount of fines for offenses against employee rights aimed at ensuring more effective protection of employees and acting as a deterrent for employers who do not comply with labor law provisions. (PAP)

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