In July 2005, the employees of a number of French-owned companies in Poland protested against these investors’ policies. The trade unions concerned accuse the French employers of lowering wages, making mass redundancies and cutting employment conditions..
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In July 2005, the employees of a number of French-owned companies in Poland protested against these investors’ policies. The trade unions concerned accuse the French employers of lowering wages, making mass redundancies and cutting employment conditions..
Public opinion of the privatization processes in Poland has been deteriorating every year. According to polls conducted by the The Public Opinion Research Center (Centrum Badań Opinii Społecznej, CBOS) in February 2004 nearly 40% of adults believed the privatisation was a disadvantage to the economy. Also 40% of the adult population claimed that the privatization was most prosperous for foreign investors.
This negative opinion is now being confirmed by employees of French-owned companies, who held protests in July 2005. The main organizer was the National Section of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union 'Solidarność' of the Telecommunication Employees (Sekcja Krajowa Niezależnego Samorządnego Związku Zawodowego "Solidarność" Pracowników Telekomunikacji, SKPT). The participants were trade union members from Telekomunikacja Polska S.A., TP SA (owned by France Telecom), Orbis S.A. (owned by Accor Group), Rybnik S.A. Electricity Plant (owned by Electricite de France) and Wyborowa S.A. distillery (owned by Pernod Ricard).
The unions accuse the French employers of lowering wages, mass lay-offs and deterioration of labour conditions. The demonstration echoed the tensions that have occurred in the abovementioned companies.
The protest action is still ongoing at Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. In 2005 the corporate management planned to reduce employment by 3,500 persons. And although it has later modified these plans - due to the unions’ protests, according to commentators - and the anticipated number of lay-offs dropped to 2,800, the matter of employment reduction is still a hot topic widely disputed by the staff.
The situation is no different at Orbis S.A., where after the privatisation the employment was reduced from 20,000 to a little more than 5,000. In May 2005 the staffs of several Orbis hotels went on strike, claiming the employer did not undertake any dialogue with the unions, made unjustified lay-off decisions and showed no respect for employees’ dignity. Lay-offs were the main subject of dispute in the other two enterprises as well.
The demonstration in Warsaw counted 1,500 people, who made protests against job reductions and alleged law-breaking, and called for respect for the dignity of work and equal treatment of Polish employees with French ones. The protesters marched to the French Embassy and interrupted the 14 July celebrations. The Ambassador received the delegation of trade unions who brought a petition to the French government. In the meantime the crowd burnt a banner with a picture of the Bastille, symbolising French investment in Poland, and shouted 'Thievery, Thievery!'. However, the demonstration was generally assessed as peaceful. The picketers’ leaders told reporters that the sale of Polish enterprises to French investors had had disastrous effects.
Commentators ask whether - based on these cases - it can be said that French corporations treat Poland as a land of unrestrained economic freedom, where no employment standards are to be observed? Their answer is not unequivocal. They state that not all foreign companies that have invested capital in Poland are infringing labour law and privatisation deals. Many of these companies apply more beneficial solutions than the ones enforced in Poland. However, more and more is heard of negative cases, as in hypermarket chains. Further, the problem is not limited to French-owned enterprises.
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Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2005), Workers protest against French investors, article.
