Freedom of Association: The Case of Poland

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We start the chapter by comparing the relationship between trade unions and political parties in Central Eastern European and Western European Countries. We point to the fact that unions did not build the stable and long-term relationships with political parties as can be observed in the Western democracies. Through the combined analysis of the historical and symbolic background of the transition to a democratic civil society and free-market economy with the political preferences of the working class, trade union membership rates and public opinion polls we argue that the links between trade unions and political parties become even less stable with time. In particular, Polish trade unions never had a chance to become long-term intermediaries between society and political parties, making Poland an exception from the traditional models observed in other democracies. Almost the same is true for Lithuania. Despite the seemingly proactive and visible workings of many Lithuanian trade unions, they are still considered to be relatively weak and conformist. In Slovenia on the other hand trade unions, despite their declining membership, remain important and powerful actors in policy-making due to the neo-corporatist system. Consequently, we have to look into the replacement of traditional labour force representation in the democratic policy process.

Apart from the controversy surrounding the legal status of trade unions in Nigeria, there exist a further area of contention—i.e. the nature of criminal liability of trade unions. Though, the relevant statutes on the control of trade unions in Nigeria place several duties on trade unions, breaches of which attract criminal punishment, there is hardly prosecution in this direction in spite of gross violations of the laws. This apparently stems from the dilemma of the law on corporate criminal responsibility. The paper therefore seeks to examine the issue which is always associated with attaching criminal liability to a legal entity with particular reference to trade unions. It also discusses the basis and extent of corporate criminal punishment for actual crimes and regulatory offences and the effectiveness of criminal sanctions on a registered body like trade union as against natural person. The research finds that though trade unions are incorporated bodies, they are legal entities at least for the purpose of the Trade Union Act in Nigeria and enjoys some benefits which elevate trade unions above other unincorporated bodies enabling trade unions to enter into contract, sue and be sued in their own name. It recommends that since trade unions are suable entities and can answer to criminal charges, especially regulatory offences, more efforts should be made to bring trade unions to comply with their responsibilities under the law.

Although the national trade union movements in Europe face very similar challenges, considerable differences can be observed in their responses to these challenges and in the results achieved (Crouch/Traxler 1995). During the 1980s the Austrian trade unions' record in this respect was relatively good. In particular, they achieved positive developments in real wages and employment. Between 1979 and 1989 real pay in Austria rose by more than 1.1% a year, a rate higher than in most other OECD countries (Guger 1991); the rate of unemployment, meanwhile, was comparatively low (annual average of 3%). An important factor in these successes has been the formal corporatist arrangement which gives the trade unions a consultative role in all economic and social policy fields. It is an arrangement dependent on two fundamental features, namely, the specific organisational structure of the participating organisations and a political culture peculiar to Austria (Traxler 1992). In organisational terms, the principle of the single trade union confederation is strictly adhered to. All the 14 existing trade unions in Austria (four public service unions, nine private sector manual workers' unions and one trade union for private sector white-collar workers - the GPA) belong to the Austrian Trade Union Confederation (ÖGB). Even though the principle of industrial unionism is not fully established, this organisational structure does provide the high degree of centralisation and concentration required by corporatism.. The political culture peculiar to Austria has been an important factor in establishing the legitimacy of social partnership and of the policy pursued by the trade unions. Until the early 1980s Austria was divided into two political "camps": social democracy on the one hand and the Christian-conservative camp on the other. Though the ÖGB,has been, formally speaking, situated "above" all political parties, it managed to internalise the situation of political cleavage by the informal creation of political factions. In this way it was able to enlist in both camps ideologically grounded support for and solidarity with the technocratic policy which it pursued at several removes from its members' immediate interests. That this recipe for success ran up against limits is clear from trends in membership figures. During the eighties the ÖCB suffered an above-average drop in membership (compared with other countries); union density fell from 56.2% to 46.2% (OECD 1994). One important cause of this development is the erosion of the political camps. As a result of the structural changes which are affecting the whole nature and experience of work, collective aspirations are gradually being replaced by individualistic trends, thus making it increasingly difficult for the trade unions to maintain their legitimacy. At political level evidence of such trends is provided by the number of floating voters and the growing fragmentation and competition within the party system, making corporatist cooperation between the large organisations and the political parties (i.e. those currently in government) increasingly difficult. Another factor which has further helped to weaken corporatism is that, with the internationalisation of the economy, price policy, a traditional tool of policy implementation, has become obsolete. The effects of EU accession (in particular the need to meet the fiscal policy convergence criteria laid down at Maastricht), and the opening up of eastern Europe with its reservoir of cheap labour, are placing an increasing strain on corporatism in general and on the trade unions in particular. This article sets out to consider the most important areas of problem which together constitute this challenge. In relation to each area, we examine the nature of the trade unions' responses, assessing the extent to which they have altered their policies and their structures to adapt to the changing circumstances.

Trade unions in Poland have not built the stable and long–term relations with political parties as are observed in Western democracies. By analysing the historical and symbolic background of the transformation to a democratic civil society and free market economy, political preferences of working class, trade union membership rates, and public opinion polls, we argue that, in case of Poland, the initial links between political parties and trade unions weakened over time. Polish trade unions never had a chance to become a long–term intermediary between society and political parties, making the Polish case study a double exception from the traditional models.

The Trade Union Act 1984 compels trade unions with political funds to hold a ‘review ballot’ every 10 years if they wish to retain them. Unions argue that without a political fund they could not finance any of their political activities or campaigns. This would particularly affect the trade union movement's long association with the Labour Party, to which 35 unions currently affiliate. Between February 1993 and November 2000 all 40 unions with a political fund are obliged to have held a review ballot. By December 1997, 34 had done so. Using interview and questionnaire data, this article compares the results of the 1993/7 political funds review ballots with the results of the political funds ballots field in 1985/6. It also compares the 1993/7 trade union campaign to retain political funds with that mounted in 1985/6 and assesses what, if anything, trade unions learnt and/or reapplied from the earlier campaign. The article goes on to demonstrate that the results of the 1993/7 review ballots and the associated retention campaign have recently taken on added significance in light of the election of a Labour government in May 1997. The new Labour administration extended the remit of the Neill Committee of Enquiry into Standards in Public Life to include the issue of party political funding. Accordingly, the Committee looked into the use of political funds to help finance political parties and the legislation which presently regulates them. The article therefore concludes with a discussion of the research results in the context of a number of the recommendations contained in the Neill Committee's report ‘Standards in Public Life: The Funding of Political Parties in the UK’.

Topicality. The actuality of problem is due to the fact that over the years of the Ukrainian economy transformation, market institutions have been created, and development institutions have not.
 Aim and tasks. The aim of the study is to identify the basic institutions that promote development, and to study the specificity of their functioning in modern Ukraine. Research results. Research shows that in the institutional system of developed countries, the main social institution that initiates progress of the economy is trade union. Trade unions are seeking for a wage increase that encourages employers to introduce in their enterprises inventions that supplant labour, to raise the technical level of their companies. The creation of such trade unions in modern Ukraine is difficult, because this institutional niche is already occupied by trade unions inherited from the Soviet system, where they did not solve the problems of labour cost and working time, their activities were limited to mass cultural work. This is what they continue to do in modern Ukraine. This conclusion is based on a study of the status of collective labour disputes, wage arrears and real wage movements for the period 2013-2018. Comparison of these indicators shows that with a marked fall in real wages and rising debt, protest activity in the labour market did not increase. Ukrainian labour collectives very rarely use such form of resolution of labour conflicts as a strike. Despite the deterioration of the financial status of workers during this period, even the number of hours not worked on average per worker involved in the strike is insignificant. And in 2017, when statistics recorded the maximum number of businesses and organizations that went on strike, that is, 23, the average number of hours not worked per strike worker was only 66. Note that in 2015, extreme in terms of deterioration of the financial status of persons employed, the number of unresolved labour disputes decreased to a minimum value of 34.8% for the whole studied period. It is also significant that only one collective labour dispute was resolved in 2013 and one in 2015 as a result of the strike. Such paradoxical evidence that the deterioration of the financial position of workers, the growth of unresolved labor conflicts and demands of workers does not lead to an intensification of the struggle of trade unions and the radicalization of their actions, indicate that trade unions behave is radically different from the way known in developed countries. Economic development largely depends not only on economic institutions but also on political ones. Political parties are the most important among them. Political parties in Ukraine have not yet formed as ideological organizations. This has made political parties such a social institution that has little influence on economic development. Thus, in the modern institutional system of Ukraine, the main social institutions, that are trade unions and political parties, have little influence on economic development. Сinclusion. Changes in the institutional system are possible only if there are social forces interested in such changes and able to implement them.

Deep political involvement is commonly identified as a dominant characteristic of trade unions in the newly independent states of Southern Asia and Africa. Trade unions frequently are led by politicians, maintain intimate connections with political parties, and participate actively in the political process. The close association between trade unions and politics has been linked to the prevalent social and economic conditions which promote protest and alienation and weaken the bargaining power of workers, the existence of conspicuous social problems and inequities, the politicizing influence of national independence movements, the paramount role assumed by the state as an employer and regulator of employment conditions, and, with the advent of universal suffrage, the attractiveness of trade unions as mass organizations for politicians.' The present study of the political involvement of trade unions in Ceylon seeks to examine the partisan connections of trade unions, the advantages unions derive from accepting partisan leadership, the benefits parties obtain or expect from trade union sponsorship, and the behavior of unions and parties in a highly competitive political struggle. Ceylon's relatively strong and well-established trade union movement has existed for more than 50 years and has grown considerably in size, aggressiveness and influence in the two decades since independence. The general characteristics of trade unionism and problems and conditions confronting trade unions in Ceylon are fairly typical of those found in the new states. Ceylonese trade unionism is deeply enmeshed in politics. In common with other new states, voluntary associations are neither strong nor numerous. The trade union stands along with the political party as one of the few agencies mediating between the large mass of the population and the authoritative structure of the state.

The article, based on the analysis of the scientific views of scientists and the norms of the current legislation, emphasizes the special importance of trade unions among other subjects of labor law. It was determined that all trade unions have equal rights and are independent in their activities from authorities, local self-government, employers, their associations, political parties and other public associations. The main purpose of trade unions is to represent and protect the labor rights and interests of their members. It has been proven that today trade unions are an important social institution of modern civil society, which are created by employees in order to protect, protect and realize their labor rights, freedoms and legitimate interests. In the process of protection, protection and implementation of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests, trade unions actively influence the socio-economic policy of the state. The state, in turn, does not create a trade union organization, but is only obliged to recognize them under the condition of creation. In their activities, trade union organizations are independent of state authorities and local self-government bodies, employers, other public organizations, political parties, they are not accountable to them and not subject to their control. The social purpose of trade union representation is to represent the interests of employees, to take care of their fullest satisfaction, and, in necessary cases, to protect their rights and legitimate interests. It is emphasized that trade unions play an important role in the formation of public society in our country. It has been established that it is trade unions that allow protecting a very large number of citizens – persons who daily perform a labor function for the benefit of themselves, the enterprise and Ukraine as a whole, because the economic component is one of the most important in the process of conducting quality social policy.

The purpose of this article is to systematize and generalize information about the political right-conservative movement in modern Poland. In the course of the study, the potential for support for right-wing parties exists in every society. It can grow due to two groups of factors. The first concerns issues related to the difficult economic situation, the modernization of societies or cultural aspects, which are called demand-related in the literature. The second large group consists of supply factors: factors of possible political success (structure of political opportunities), electoral rules, inter-party competition, the role of the mass media, the structure of political divisions or the role of the winning ideology. Polish right-wing conservatism and nationalism is characterized, both in the past and in the present, by a powerful influence on the social and political life of the Republic of Poland, acting as a fundamental element of the unification of the Polish people. This movement retains its traditional features, which are reflected in the ideology of the Polish ruling party “Law and Justice”, which adheres to a national-conservative orientation with elements of clericalism, maintains close ties with the Catholic Church and organizations close to it. In the period after coming to power (2015), “PiS” slowly but steadily lost its Christian-democratic character and evolved into a conservative political force. This allowed “PiS” to win elections for a long time, and in 2023, it allows it to maintain leading positions in public opinion polls regarding support for political parties. In the field of international relations, supporters of “PiS” operated with judgments that expressed the ideas of nationalism, presenting the Poles as a strong nation that should occupy an important place among other countries. The process of creating right-wing conservative political parties and associations in Poland continues on an ongoing basis. The strengthening of nationalist movements in Poland takes place with the support of the state authorities of the Republic of Poland and is accompanied by a gradual shift of emphasis on controversial historical issues in the direction of nationalist ideology. Despite official Warsaw providing political support to Kyiv in the international arena in connection with the Russian military threat, the authorities of the Republic of Poland have no intention of blocking anti-Ukrainian activities carried out by Polish national-patriotic right-wing movements. This is due to the preparation of the ruling elite for the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the tragic events in Volyn in 2023, as well as the parliamentary election campaign. In the future, the activation of radical right-conservative formations on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth may lead to protest actions in Poland, the purpose of which will be the dissemination of information unfavorable to our state in the Polish information space, which will have a negative impact on the formation of the foreign policy vector of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Ukrainian direction.

In the less developed economies, trade union movements increasingly tend to be subordinated and tied to governing mass political parties. This tendency is evident throughout East Africa, where the existing independent trade union movements have been replaced by government controlled, all-embracing national trade union centers. These centers have become dominant despite a legacy of economic unionism from the British colonial period. The especially interesting aspect of the process of domination has been the parallels that have existed in spite of sharp differences in the historical relationships between the union movement and the mass party in each of the three countries. Perceived as an institution capable of performing certain useful economic or social control functions, the organization of viable trade unions has been an objective of British colonial policy since 1930, although it was only after World War II that a serious effort was made to encourage indigenous union growth in Africa.' The attempt to impose institutions deriving from a more advanced stage of industrial development onto the primitive economic and social organization of postwar East Africa was bound to present difficulties. The African worker felt no commitment to a wage-labor system; he lacked any class (as distinct from tribe) consciousness, possessed few skills or crafts, frequently had preconceived targets (period or monetary), and was generally unfamilar with the concept of voluntary organization. Despite the absence of sufficient economic prerequisites, an attempt was made (with foreign aid and under nonindigenous influences) to establish primarily economic-oriented unions. This attempt was initially successful; trade unions in most of East Africa (as distinguished from many of the other underdeveloped countries) were initially organized independently of the dominant nationalist movement or political party. The leadership of the unions was frequently selected and trained by British Trade Union advisors or representatives of the Western-dominated International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).

Conditions of Democracy in German Austria and Hungary, 1918–1919

Polish Workers: an Awakening Class. Blue collar workers in Poland have grown since the interwar period to a half of the total population and took over the numerical place of peasantry but with much more strategic location and at a definitively higher level of sophistication. During the 1950s and the 1960s still the peasant origin prevailed among blue collar workers but later on this has changed in favour of their own category plus the growing number of arrivals from the white collar stratum. Four basic factors: transformation of social mobility, failure of the industrial modernization based on the growing trade with the West, the food shortage and the developing sophistication of blue collar workers (especially the young generation) have contributed to the establishment of a free trade union movement and a considerable reform of the whole socio-economic model of the country. "Solidarity" has become a major innovative force in Poland but it does not have the ambition or power to seize full power from the ruling party. It does not want even to occupy the position emptied by the previous progovernmental trade unions and to take co-responsibility for running the socialized enterprises. The genuinely blue collar leadership of "Solidarity" defends primarily the workers' rights and avoids any such commitments which would redirect the whole movement from its original goal. The awareness of "Solidarity" leadership of the dangers and responsibilities related to the promotion of blue collar workers' cause under state socialism shows the maturity of the movement represented by them, that has its foundation in the relatively good learning gained by the young generation of workers. This learning comes from the formal schooling, the experience gained in the previous demonstrations of workers' strength (1956, 1970-71, 1976), growing mutual contact between various social strata, concentration of workers in big enterprises, travelling abroad, etc. The return in Poland to the previous authoritarian set-up is always possible due to the external pressure exercised by the U.S.S.R. and the other Soviet bloc members. However the results achieved by organized blue collar workers are big enough to remain as a historical phenomenon of a permanent importance.

A key objective of British unions is to develop their representative role so as to establish their relevance to the workforce and thereby reverse the overall decline in trade union membership. To many, the legislative reforms undertaken by New Labour since 1999 offer some hope that this can be achieved. These reforms seem to provide a pyramid of representation, whereby trade unions can establish their relevance when they ‘accompany’ individual employees in grievance and disciplinary proceedings, and when they act as recipients of information and consultation. By attracting members in this fashion, there would seem to be the promise that unions can reascend to the position of recognized and effective parties in collective bargaining. However, this paper suggests that a barrier to the achievement of this objective is the particular conception of ‘partnership’ adopted by New Labour, which deviates from that of the TUC. This ‘partnership’ is essentially individualistic in character, procedural in form, and unitary in specification. These characteristics are reflected in the relevant statutory and regulatory provisions and are therefore likely to inhibit the progression of a trade union to recognition in collective bargaining.