Municipal police officers represented by new trade union

A new National Section of Community and Municipal Police Officers was established within the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union ‘Solidarity’ in June 2008. The stated goal of this organisation is to protect the rights of municipal police officers, who are employed by local authorities and lack many of the benefits enjoyed by members of the national police force – including the option of early retirement.

Municipal police officers seek work with national police

The municipal police officers are a uniformed service formed by Polish local authorities to maintain public order in the community. There are about 7,600 municipal police officers in Poland at present.

While the municipal police officers are employees of the local authority, many of their daily duties overlap with those of the national police force. Increasingly, municipal police officers are leaving work and seeking employment with the national police force. Work with the national police provides greater opportunities and the national police force enjoys greater powers. The competencies of municipal police officers are limited to the public order sphere, while the police service operates within the wider dimension of public security. Some municipal police officers reportedly believe that the national police service is a more prestigious force and that the work is more interesting, for example involving the prevention and investigation of crimes.

However, the most important issue is the growing difference in pay between the municipal and national police force, with the latter enjoying more favourable conditions.

Issue of early retirement

Considerable differences also exist between the two forces in relation to social privileges, such as early retirement. After 15 years of work, members of the national police force are entitled to opt for early retirement. No such privileges exist for municipal police officers.

This disparity is due to the differing employment status of the two forces. Municipal police officers are employed on the basis of the Polish Labour Code and local authorities can voluntarily decide whether or not to establish a municipal police service. National police officers, on the other hand, are employed under a separate act regulating working and employment conditions; they serve the general public and are financed by the state budget.

Early retirement is a privilege reserved for the national ‘uniformed services’ and municipal police officers are excluded from this regulation. In practice, when older municipal officers are no longer deemed fit for outside duties following their annual medical examination, they can take on desk jobs, although these positions are limited in number.

Strength in unity

Several trade union organisations represent the interests of municipal police officers active at the level of the local community. These unions negotiate the officers’ employment and working conditions with their employer, that is, the local authorities. However, early retirement is excluded from the negotiation agenda; such a regulation can only be implemented on the basis of a parliamentary decision. As the individual trade unions are not an equal partner of the government, they identified the need for a legitimate ‘umbrella’ organisation to negotiate the interests of municipal police officers with the state.

In June 2008, members of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union ‘Solidarity’ (Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy ‘Solidarność’, NSZZ ‘Solidarność’) who work in the municipal police service of five Polish towns established a new organisation – the National Section of Community and Municipal Police Officers. As a spokesperson for the organisation states, ‘working towards securing early retirement rights will be our main objective and, for this reason, we have established the Section as our representative body’.

Commentary

Increasingly, Polish trade unions seem to be recognising the advantages of joint action, the present case being an example of yet another new initiative targeting a particular professional group. To date, it is not clear with whom the National Section of Community and Municipal Police Officers intends to pursue social dialogue. In terms of the issue of early retirement, the government would be the appropriate institutional partner. However, matters are more complicated with regard to issue of pay: as the remuneration of municipal police officers is determined by the local communities, it varies between the municipalities depending on their financial situation. In these instances, the negotiating power of such an umbrella organisation may be less effective.

Rafał Towalski, Institute of Public Affairs (ISP)