Rapport intérimaire - Rapport No. 11, 1954

A. A. The complainants' allegations

• Analysis of the Complaint
  120. 120 The complainant alleges that, under the present political régime, the principles of freedom of association have become a dead letter and that it is clearly apparent from legislative provisions and statements from official or trade union sources cited in the complaint that Polish legislation aims at the suppression of trade unions which do not accept the ideology and directives of the Government, and that the existing trade union organisation has been set up by the Government in power in order to facilitate the realisation of its objectives and functions under its control. The complainant considers that freedom of association is inconceivable under such a régime.
  121. 121 In support of this contention the complainant, while admitting that " as it is almost completely impossible to obtain detailed information on the situation in Poland, it is difficult to prepare a dossier containing a detailed description of the existing circumstances ", formulates a number of more precise allegations which may be grouped under the following heads.
• Impossibility for Trade Unions to Carry Out Their Normal Functions
  122. 122 Referring in particular to the Act of 1 July 1949 respecting trade unions the complainant argues that certain duties are assigned to the Polish trade unions which do not normally form part of the functions of trade unions, for example, the duty of strengthening the authority of the People's Government, the duty of mobilising the working class to fulfil production plans, the duty of building up competitive spirit among the workers, etc. These duties, imposed on the unions by the legislation in force, are intended to strengthen the authority of the Government and to protect the interests of the employer, in other words, the interests of the State.
  123. 123 Furthermore, credits allocated to social and cultural purposes, which represent almost one-third of the State budget, are handed over to the trade union's organisation, which, in the view of the complainant, proves that the trade unions have become quasi-governmental organisations with administrative responsibilities.
  124. 124 The practical consequence of this is that the trade unions are obliged to neglect their essential functions and, in particular, the unions have ceased to concern themselves with questions relating to wages and to put forward demands in this connection. The complainant refers to several statements from Polish trade union sources as demonstrating that, under the present régime, the trade unions are not free-and do not even try-to defend the real interests of the workers, but concern themselves above all with problems relating to increasing productivity and carrying out economic plans; in fact, the principal task of the trade unions today is to organise competition between the workers and to ensure that they reach and exceed the working norms or standards.
• The Monopoly of the Right of Association and Compulsory Trade Unionism
  125. 125 It is also alleged by the complainant that the Polish Federation of Trade Unions, of a Communist tendency, which, under the provisions of the Act of 1 July 1949, is " the principal body representing the trade union movement in Poland ", has a statutory monopoly of the right of association. In fact, by virtue of the system of registration in force, the Federation alone has power to decide which trade union organisation shall exist even down to the lowest levels.
  126. 126 In these circumstances, having regard also to the security police system existing in the country, trade unions are obliged to yield to the authority of the Federation and it is impossible to establish independent trade unions for the purpose of protecting the interests of the workers, as any attempt to do so is doomed to failure from the start.
  127. 127 In view, moreover, of the amount of the credits the management of which is entrusted to trade unions affiliated to the Federation and in view of their character as bodies exercising administrative functions, the workers are obliged to join them if they do not wish to be deprived of the advantages reserved to members. Recalling that, according to an official report presented to a congress of the World Federation of Trade Unions, the Polish Federation had as members, even in 1949, almost the whole of the Polish workers, the complainant concludes that, in fact, a system of unified and compulsory trade unionism has been established in Poland.
• Arrest of Independent Trade Union Leaders
  128. 128 It is alleged that, in order to guarantee to the Federation of Trade Unions the monopoly which it now enjoys, independent trade union leaders were removed from their posts, not by their members but by the police, who, in particular, arrested large numbers of trade union militants at the end of May and the beginning of June 1947.
• Control of Trade Unions by the Government and by the Communist Party
  129. 129 The Polish Federation of Trade Unions, moreover, is simply an instrument of the Communist Party which, according to a statement by Mr. Bierut, President of Poland, must carry out its " task of developing production and education through the intermediary of the trade unions and the affiliated organisations ". The Secretary-General of the Central Council of Trade Unions made a similar admission when he declared that he " fully accepted the dominant role of the Communist Party in the trade union movement ", adding that the Central Council of Trade Unions " insisted on the need to put an end to the tendency of the trade union movement towards disassociation from the political party of the Proletariat and its programme of action ". Consequently all trade unions in Poland are dominated and directed by the Communist Party. This Party being the only party in power, it is, in fact, the Government which controls the trade unions.
• Prohibition of Trade Unionism for Certain Categories of Workers
  130. 130 Finally, the complainant alleges that, by a decision of the Central Council of Trade Unions, members of production co-operatives and workers employed by such co-operatives were deprived, as from 1 January 1952, of the right to organise or belong to trade unions; this decision also resulted in the persons concerned losing the right to free medical care and other advantages under the social insurance scheme.
• Analysis of the Reply
  131. 131 In its reply dated 6 August 1953 the Polish Government states that it " has no intention of replying to the communications from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions relating to alleged infringements of trade union rights in Poland or to the insinuations made in those communications against the Polish Government and the trade union movement ".