“We will find better ways to protect workers,” wrote Donald Tusk in his latest post on the X platform. The head of government was referring to the decision to halt work on a reform strengthening the powers of the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP). Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Law and Justice (PiS), described Tusk’s decision as “another unfulfilled promise, a broken promise.”
Donald Tusk announced on Tuesday that he had decided not to continue work on the reform of the National Labour Inspectorate. He stressed that excessive power for officials, which would be introduced by the reform, would be destructive for companies and would mean job losses for many people.
Work on the PIP reform was – according to media reports – the subject of a dispute between the prime minister and the ministers responsible for labour and funds. The reform strengthening PIP is one of the milestones under the National Recovery Plan.
Recently, TVN24.pl reported that the issue of the draft law became the subject of a heated row at the government’s final meeting of the old year. Donald Tusk was said to have accused the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, and the Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, of including provisions in the draft to which “the government had not agreed.” The tense discussion reportedly lasted about an hour, and ultimately the prime minister was said to have “lost his temper” over the “lengthy and vague” explanations given by the two ministers.
“I believe that excessive power for officials who would decide how and by whom people are employed would be very destructive for many companies and could also mean job losses for many people. That is what my analysis shows. That is why I spoke about it very firmly and with justified emotions and explained to the ministers why I see risks associated with this and made the decision not to continue work on this type of reform. From my point of view, I consider the matter closed,” Tusk said during a Tuesday press briefing.
Tusk on X: we will find better ways…
Despite the PIP reform being a “closed” issue for Tusk, a meeting between the prime minister and Włodzimierz Czarzasty was reportedly planned. The Speaker of the Sejm said on Wednesday morning on Radio Zet that he would meet the prime minister later that day to discuss the PIP reform. Government spokesperson Adam Szłapka later said that such a meeting would take place in the near future.
Asked on Thursday at a press conference ahead of a sitting of the Sejm about a meeting with the head of government, Czarzasty said that it had not taken place on Wednesday. “But as you probably noticed, the prime minister also did not chair the meeting of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday. Simply put, matters arose that had to absorb him in another area.” Although Tusk did not find time to meet with his coalition partner, he posted a new message on social media devoted specifically to the issue of PIP.
“Allowing an official to change the form of employment without asking the employer or the employee and without a court ruling is a bad idea. Our task is to free the economy and citizens from excessive regulation and bureaucracy. We will find better ways to protect workers,” he wrote.
Kaczyński: another unfulfilled promise
Not only coalition partners from the New Left but also part of the opposition disagree with the prime minister’s decision. Asked whether he supported the PIP reform, Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Law and Justice (PiS), replied in the affirmative.
“I am aware of this, and I know that on the one hand it is another unfulfilled promise, a broken promise, and on the other hand it is simply one example of how anti-social this coalition is, because after all the New Left, which put this forward, will not leave the coalition,” he told journalists in the Sejm.
The reform of the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) in its current form envisaged allowing regional inspectors to change contracts for specific work, mandate contracts or B2B arrangements into employment contracts. The draft provided that an appeal against a regional inspector’s decision could be lodged with the Chief Labour Inspector, with the labour court as the final stage of the appeals process.
The draft law on the PIP reform also assumed the exchange of information and data between the Social Insurance Institution, PIP and the National Revenue Administration or inspection and risk analysis purposes; streamlining PIP inspections by introducing remote inspections and the use of technical devices enabling inspection activities to be carried out at a distance; and introducing electronic documentation produced during inspections, in particular inspection reports.
The regulation also introduced solutions concerning the level of fines for offences against employee rights, aimed at ensuring more effective protection of workers and serving as a deterrent for employers who fail to comply with labour law.