News

On 10th December 2012 unionists from NSZZ Trade Union Solidarnosc Commerce organised a protest against precarious work in commerce in Poland. It took place in the center of Bydgoszcz and was directed against „junk agreements” as people call civil code contracts that employers in commerce use instead of permanent contracts. People working In the commerce branch arrived to take part in this protest but also working in cleaning firms and in gastronomy.

Women working in shops repeated that after many years of work in the supermarket they work part-time ( 5/7 of working time) and 5/7 of minimum wage. So when they are fired they are not even able to get a unemployment benefit.

A cashier said that human being is not important. – „The most important is low cost of a person even though on 5/7 of the working time I work for two or three people when from the fish department I have to go to vegetables or to the cash desk”.

It is important to know that Poland has the highest rate of people working on civil code and temporary agreements. It is estimated that even 2 million people have such working condition. 27% of Poles have permanent and part time contracts while EU average is only 14%.

- „Employers say that In Poland labor costs are high while in fact they are one of the lowest in Europe! – says Jan Dopierala, secretary of The National Section of Commerce Sector Employees of NSZZ Solidarnosc. – The cost of work per hour in Poland is 7.1 euros while in the Netherlands , Norway, Sweden, Belgium or Germany it is over 30 euros. Austria, Ireland, Italy, Spain and UK have the cost of work per hour over 20 euros. So Polish workers are cheap labor force and the worse situation is in commerce.

This protest was in the frames of the Solidarnosc TU campaign against junk contracts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDHZeExnd_E



http://www.strefabiznesu.pomorska.pl/artykul/protest-w-bydgoszczy-nie-chcemy-pracowac-na-umowach-smieciowych-wideo