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Comments adopted by the CEACR: Poland

Adopted by the CEACR in 2021

C100 - Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

The Committee notes the observations of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc” received on 30 August 2021 and the response of the Government.
Articles 1 to 4 of the Convention. Gender pay gap and promotion of equal remuneration. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that: (1) according to the data of the European Institute for Gender Equality and Eurostat, the wage gap in Poland is 8.5 per cent (compared to an average of 14.1 per cent for the European Union); (2) according to the Ministry of Family and Social Policy (MFSP), the wage gap in the public sector is 2.5 per cent (the lowest in the European Union); (3) the National Action Programme for Equal Treatment 2021-2030 develops solutions to close the gender pay gap; (4) in particular, the MFSP developed a free application to measure wage inequality that will be promoted in the coming years, intended to increase knowledge about the wage gap as well as to help employers to set wage more fairly; (5) the MFSP also participates in the implementation of the Project “A good climate for good quality workplaces”, which aims at, inter alia, raising entrepreneurs’ awareness through actions directed at transparent remuneration and monitoring remuneration policies in enterprises; and (6) a package of relevant policy recommendations will be developed and a series of 10 workshops for employers and social partners will be held. The Committee also notes the observations by the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc” that: (1) the positive trend in equalizing opportunities for women on the labour market has been interrupted by the Covid-19 epidemic; and (2) the data provided by Eurostat differ from those provided by the Central Statistical Office according to which the wage gap is approximately 19 per cent. In its response to the observations of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc”, the Government emphasizes again that: (1) in terms of the amount of the salary gap, Poland compares well with other EU countries; and (2) that the situation is very different between the public and the private sectors, which is typical of all European countries and one of the reasons why European countries have decided to work on the elaboration of directive in this regard. The Government also stresses that there is no hard data at this stage to estimate the impact of Covid-19 on the salary gap. The situation needs to be monitored before conclusions can be drawn and remedial actions undertaken. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the steps taken regarding: (i) the implementation of the National Action Programme for Equal Treatment 2021-2030 and its impact on closing the gender pay gap; (ii) the dissemination and promotion of the use of the application developed to measure wage equality; (iii) the implementation of the Project “A good climate for good quality workplaces”, in particular with respect to pay transparency; and (iv) the policy recommendations developed by the Government. The Committee also asks the Government to continue to provide information on the evolution of the gender wage gap, in particular information on the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic in this regard and the measures taken to remedy any negative impact noted. Lastly, emphasizing the importance of collecting appropriate data in determining the nature, extent and causes of unequal remuneration, to set priorities and design appropriate measures, to monitor and evaluate the impact of such measures, and to make the necessary adjustments, the Committee requests the Government to monitor the impact of programs in place and make adjustments towards the reduction of the gender pay gap.
Articles 1(b) and 2. Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and scope of comparison. Legislation. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the indications by the Government that courts appeared to limit the scope of comparison provided for under section 183c of the Labour Code – that provides for equal pay for equal work or work of equal value - to the same enterprise. The Committee notes the indications by the Government that: (1) the draft of the new Labour Code developed by the Labour Law Codification Commission in 2018 did not receive recognition from the social partners and that there is no decision to resume this process; (2) the recommendations developed by the Codification Commission in the area of collective labour law will be used to develop further directions of the Government’s policy; and (3) work is currently in progress within the forum of the European Union to adopt a Directive on strengthening the application of the principle of equal pay for women and men for equal work or work of equal value, the possible adoption of which may have an impact on the equal pay solutions contained in the Labour Code. With regard to the ongoing legislative developments, the Committee further notes the observations of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc” that: (1) two parliamentary bills were submitted to the Sejm covering the issue of equality in remuneration for women and men, one amending the Labour Code and another one amending the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate; (2) a parliamentary draft of the Act on limiting the gender pay gap was also developed but not approved by the parliament – as the project presented a number of disadvantages, including that the role of trade unions was disregarded, and that it did not specify the consequences for the employers who failed to fulfil the obligations included in the draft act; and (3) the current legislative instruments do not equip workers and their representatives with effective tools to enforce the principle of the Convention. The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide information on any legislative development in relation to ensuring a broad scope of comparison between jobs to determine whether they are of equal value, such as ensuring that the application of the principle is not limited to the “same enterprise”. More generally, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on any legislative development on the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.
Article 3. Objective job evaluation. Further to the Committee’s request in this respect, the Government indicates that the survey that had been envisaged to be undertaken in all the ministries has been delayed and will be implemented before the end of the third quarter of 2022. It also notes that the free application developed by the MSFP to measure wage inequality will help employers in the setting of fair wages. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any job evaluation exercise conducted in the public sector, including on the advancement of the survey planned to be conducted in the ministries in 2022, with detailed information on the method and criteria used to compare different jobs to determine whether they are of equal value. It also asks the Government to provide further information on the objective job evaluation methods used in the private sector, including detailed information on the application developed by the MSFP with specifics on the criteria and the measures used to compare jobs in the context of this application.
Awareness-raising. Further to the Committee’s request, the Government indicates that between 2017 and 2021, the topic was addressed in several continuing training courses for judges, court assessors, registrars, assistant judges in labour and social security divisions as well as civil divisions, and prosecutors and assistant prosecutors dealing with civil law cases. The Government also indicates that within the framework of its cooperation with the Academy of European Law ERA, Polish judges and prosecutors took part in several international trainings devoted to equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and wage discrimination. Taking note of this information, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on training and awareness-raising activities on the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value among workers, employers and their respective organizations.
Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Labour Inspectorate undertakes activities of a preventive and informative nature to raise awareness on the principle of the Convention. More specifically, labour inspectors organize and participate in conferences, seminars, and training sessions on the issue, addressed to workers, employers, trade unions and employers’ organizations. The National Labour Inspectorate also publishes and distributes publications on the issue. The Committee further notes the detailed information provided by the Government on cases of pay inequality addressed by the National Labour Inspectorate, indicating that in 2018, 31 complaints were filed, and that in 17 of these cases, the inequality was found unjustified. In 2019, 24 complaints were filed and in 13 of these cases, the inequality was found unjustified. In 2020, 21 complaints were filed and for five of them, the inequality was found unjustified. Between 1 January and 30 June 2021, 14 complaints were filed and for five of them, the inequality was found unjustified. The Committee also takes note of the records of labour law cases provided by the Government on the number of complaints filed and addressed by the courts on employment pay, compensation for infringement of the principle of equal treatment in employment and for discrimination in employment, disaggregated by sex. It notes however that the data provided is not specific to cases related to the pay inequality between men and women. Taking note of this information, the Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the awareness-raising activities conducted by the labour inspectors among employers and workers and the number of cases of pay inequality between men and women addressed by the labour inspectorates, the courts or any other competent authorities, and the outcomes of these cases, including: (i) the reasons given for finding pay inequality between men and women to be unjustified, or justified, in particular cases; and (ii) the nature of relief granted in cases where the inequality was unjustified (amount of back pay to individuals; any punitive damages awarded; any prospective injunctive relief for the affected positions etc.).

C111 - Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

The Committee notes the observations of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc” received on 30 August 2021 and the response of the Government.
Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Categories of workers excluded from the scope of the Labour Code. Workers in uniformed services. The Committee notes that in its observations, the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc” stresses that the provisions of the legislation are not sufficient to effectively protect workers in uniformed services (i.e. officers from the armed forces, from the internal security agency, the foreign intelligence agency, the state fire service, the police, etc.) against discrimination in employment and occupation, as these groups of workers are not covered by the Labour Code. The organization also alleges that the provisions of the Equal Treatment Act, 2010 are insufficient to ensure the application of the Convention in practice and that complaints filed by officers often result in retaliatory actions.
In its response to the observations of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc”, the Government provides detailed information on the legal framework adopted to prevent undesirable behaviour in the uniformed services. The Government refers in particular to the amendments in 2021 of section 132(3)(11) of the Act on the police of 6 April 1990, section 135(2)(11) of the Act on the Border Guard of 12 October 1990, and section 209(1)(6a) of the Act of 8 December 2017 on the State Protection Service. In addition, pursuant to section 1(18)(a), section 2(3) and section 7(12(b)) of the Act of 14 August 2020 on special solutions concerning support of uniformed services supervised by the minister in charge of the interior, amending the Act on the Prison Services and certain other Acts, the list of cases of infringing official discipline has been extended to include an act consisting in a deliberate infringement of the personal rights of another officer, applicable even in the case of one-off actions with no requirement of persistence and endurance. The Committee also notes that other legislative measures in the area of preventing discrimination and “mobbing” (defined in article 943 of the Labour Code as “actions or behaviour concerning an employee or directed against an employee, consisting of persistent and long-term harassment or intimidation of an employee, causing the employee to be undervalued in terms of professional usefulness, causing or intended to cause humiliation or ridicule of the employee, isolating the employee or eliminating the employee from his/her team of co-workers”) include the provisions of the rules of professional ethics of police officers (Ordinance No. 805 of the Commander in Chief of the Police of 31 December 2003), border guards (Ordinance No. 11 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard of 20 March 2003) and state protection officers (Ordinance No. 9 of the Commander of the State Protection Service of 26 February 2018), according to which the officers referred in each Ordinance must act pursuant to and within the limits of the law and respect human rights, and are liable to disciplinary sanctions. Furthermore, in January 2021, the Police adopted the “Plan of educational and information activities in the field of protection of human rights and freedoms, implementation of the principle of equal treatment and compliance with the rules of professional ethics in the Police for the years 2021–2023”. The plan provides for, among other things, a continuation of educational and information activities aimed at making police officers and employees sensitive to the issue of equal treatment and professional ethics. In March 2021, the “Standards for the functioning in the Police of preventive and intervention procedures in the area of conflict resolution, preventing mobbing behaviour, discrimination and other undesirable behaviour in the place of service and work” were approved and form the basis for the procedures implemented in the Police units. Decision No. 178 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Police of 15 July 2021 also introduced, in the National Police Headquarters, an internal procedure for in the event of a conflict situation, mobbing behaviour, discrimination or other undesirable behaviour, which includes protection against retaliation.
As for soldiers, they are protected by both generally and specific applicable regulations, such as for example the Act of 11 September 2003 on military service of professional soldiers, the Act of 9 October 2009 on military discipline, and the General Regulations of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, which prohibits mobbing and provides for sanctions in cases of unethical, immoral, or rude behaviours, and for violating the norms of social coexistence. In addition, the armed forces have a Coordinator for Equal Treatment and female soldiers are appointed at the Women’s Affairs Council. The Coordinator for Equal Treatment and the Women’s Affairs Council have developed a project aiming at strengthening the protection against mobbing and discrimination within the armed forces and that further legislative developments are currently under consideration. The Committee recalls that the protection afforded by the Convention applies to all categories of workers, including workers in uniformed services. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether the legislation applicable to workers in uniformed services explicitly defines the concepts of discrimination and sexual harassment and enumerates specific protected grounds of discrimination. It also asks the Government to provide detailed information on the number of cases of discrimination detected or dealt with by the competent authorities within the different services, as well as the grounds of discrimination invoked, the outcome of the cases (sanction imposed and remedies granted) and the measures taken to ensure that complaints filed by officers do not result in retaliation.
Article 1. Indirect discrimination. The Committee had requested the Government to provide information on the manner in which the prohibition of indirect discrimination in employment and occupation provided for under section 3(2) of the Equal Treatment Act of 2010 and section 18 3a of the Labour Code is applied in practice, specifying how the Courts had interpreted the differences between the two legal definitions of such discrimination in order to ensure comprehensive protection against indirect discrimination in employment and occupation. In its report, the Government refers to two judgments of the Supreme Court on indirect discrimination under the relevant sections of the Labour Code. The first one of 28 February 2019 (I PK 50/18) concluded that the protection against discrimination under section 18 3a (4) of the Labour Code is extended to cases in which the employer introduces a certain criterion for differentiating between employees which, on the face of it is objective, but as a result of its application, all or a significant number of employees belonging to a particular group are in a particularly unfavourable situation or there are particularly unfavourable proportions in relation to other employees. In the second decision of 7 May 2019 (II PK 31/18), the Supreme Court concluded that the failure to take any action to equalize the level of remuneration may be evidence of discrimination. While taking note of this information, the Committee asks the Government to consider aligning the definitions of “indirect discrimination” in the Equal Treatment Act and the Labour Code to cover the effects of “indirect discrimination” on both a “person” and a group of persons, and to continue to provide information on the application in practice of the prohibition of indirect discrimination, including information on the court decisions issued on the application of section 3(2) of the Equal Treatment Act.
Article 1(1)(b). Additional ground of discrimination. Disability. In follow up to its request for information in this regard, the Committee takes note with interest of the adoption of the Strategy for Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030, by Resolution No. 27 of 16 February 2021, providing for a comprehensive and cross-sectoral approach to public policy to support persons with disabilities. It notes in particular that “work” is one of the priorities of the strategy that provides for actions aimed at increasing the possibility of employment in an open, inclusive and accessible working environment. The Committee further takes note of the launch of two projects in the context of the previous Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development for 2014-20 (OPKED 2014-2020): (1) “Active disabled – tools to support the independence of persons with disabilities”; and (2) “Inclusion of the excluded – active instruments to support people with disabilities on the labour market”. The Government further reports on several measures adopted to support the employers of workers with disabilities, such as aid programmes for training costs, and subsidies to supplement employees’ wages. The Government further provides detailed data showing notably that: (1) the labour force participation rate of the population with disabilities increased by 0.2 percentage points – from 17.3 per cent in 2018 to 17.5 per cent in 2020; (2) the employment rate increased by 0.5 percentage points – from 16.2 per cent in 2018 to 16.7 per cent in 2020; (3) the unemployment rate decreased by 1.8 percentage points – from 6.5 per cent in 2018 to 4.7 per cent in 2020. The Committee also takes note of the data disaggregated by degrees of disabilities, showing that: (1) the 2020 employment rate for people with significant degrees of disabilities was 9.6 per cent, compared to 33.9 per cent for workers with moderate degrees of disabilities and 44.3 per cent for workers with mild disabilities; and (2) the employment rates for workers with moderate and mild degrees of disabilities had increased since 2018 while the employment rate of workers with significant degrees of disabilities had decreased in the same period. Lastly, the Committee welcomes the detailed data provided on the number of complaints for discrimination based on disability filed with the national labour inspectorate, showing: (1) six cases reported between 2018 and 2020 for non-compliance with the prohibition of discrimination by employment agencies and other related entities; (2) three cases reported between 2018 and 2020 for discriminatory refusals to employ a candidate in a vacant place or a place of professional training; (3) 33 cases reported between 2018 and 2020 for discrimination in the recreation or termination of employment; (4) 38 cases reported between 2018 and 2020 for discrimination in determining pay or other terms or conditions of employment; (5) five cases reported between 2018 and 2020 for discrimination in promotion or other work-related benefits; and (6) two cases between 2018 and 2020 for discrimination in the participation in trainings to improve professional qualifications. Welcoming the comprehensive action undertaken by the Government, the Committee asks it to continue to provide information on: (i) any steps taken to promote the employment and vocational training of persons with disabilities, in particular information, including statistics disaggregated by sex, on the implementation of the Strategy for Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 and the above projects, their results and impact on the recruitment of persons with disabilities on the open market and on the number of complaints for discrimination based on disability as well as on any obstacles encountered; and (ii) cases of discrimination based on disability in employment and occupation that have been addressed by the national labour inspectorate and the courts.
Enforcement. In follow up to its previous comment in this regard, the Committee takes note of the detailed information provided by the Government on the number of complaints addressed to the national labour inspectorate disaggregated by grounds of discrimination. It notes however that the data provided does not include information on the sanctions imposed nor the remedies granted. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the violations of the prohibition of discrimination in employment and occupation detected by the labour inspectors and other competent authorities and on the sanction imposed and the remedies granted.

C111 - Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

The Committee notes the observations of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc” received on 30 August 2021, and the Government’s response.
Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Prohibited grounds of discrimination. Legislation. In its previous comment, the Committee noted that section 113 of the Labour Code and section 3(1) of the Equal Treatment Act, 2010, do not prohibit discrimination on all the grounds enumerated in Article 1(1)(a) and requested the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard, for instance in the context of the envisaged elaboration of a new draft Labour Code. The Committee notes the indication by the Government that the draft of the new Labour Code developed by the Labour Law Codification Commission in 2018 did not receive the recognition of the social partners and that as a result its enactment did not appear to be feasible. The Committee also notes the Government’s explanation that section 113 of the Labour Code prohibits any discrimination for any reason and that, similarly, section 183a(1) of the Labour Code: (1) provides for the obligation to treat employees equally in terms of establishing and terminating an employment relationship, conditions of employment, promotion and access to training to improve professional qualifications; and also (2) uses the same open list of grounds for discrimination, explicitly mentioning sex, age, disability, race, religion, nationality, political opinion, union membership, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, employment for a definite or indefinite period of time, and full-time or part-time employment. The Committee therefore notes that the Labour Code does not explicitly refer to colour, national extraction (which differs from ethnic origin and nationality) or social origin, but contains an open list of prohibited discrimination grounds. With respect to the Equal Treatment Act, the Committee notes that the definition of direct (section 3(1)) and indirect discrimination (section 3(2)) and the prohibition of unequal treatment in employment and occupation (section 3(1) and (2)) cover explicitly only the following grounds: sex, race, ethnic origin, nationality, religion, denomination, beliefs, disability, age and sexual orientation. It therefore notes that the Equal Treatment Act omits the grounds of colour, political opinion, national extraction and social origin that are enumerated in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. It also notes the indication by the Government that, during the reporting period, the courts did not issue any rulings relating to discrimination on the basis of skin colour or social origin. The Committee therefore asks the Government to: (i) ensure that the Equal Treatment Act explicitly prohibits discrimination in employment and occupation based on at least all the grounds set out in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, by adding political opinion, colour, national extraction and social origin to the list of explicitly prohibited grounds; (ii) consider aligning the Equal Treatment Act with the provisions of the Labour Code in this regard, while also ensuring that the additional grounds already enumerated in the Labour Code and the Equal Treatment Act are maintained; (iii) consider the possibility, when revising the Labour Code in future, to explicitly cover the grounds of colour, national extraction and social origin, in order to avoid any legal uncertainty; and (iv) ensure that the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of colour, national extraction and social origin is implemented in practice, including with respect to Roma people (see paragraph below).
Discrimination based on sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee previously requested detailed information on the measures adopted to prevent and address all forms of sexual harassment, and the implementation in practice of the relevant provisions of the Labour Code. It notes that the Government refers to section 183a(6) and (7) of the Labour Code defining sexual harassment and protecting employees against retaliation. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on the number of complaints of sexual harassment filed with the National Labour Inspectorate, according to which: in both 2018 and 2019, 24 complaints were filed; in 2020, 15 were filed; and between January and June 2021, eight complaints were filed. In this regard, the Committee recalls that the absence of, or a low number, of complaints regarding sexual harassment does not necessarily indicate that this form of sex discrimination does not exist; rather, it is likely to reflect the lack of an appropriate legal framework, the lack of awareness, understanding and recognition of this form of sex discrimination among government officials, and workers and employers and their organizations, as well as the lack of access to or the inadequacy of complaints mechanisms and means of redress, or fear of reprisals (General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 790). The Committee therefore asks the Government to: (i) provide information on any activities planned or effectively conducted to raise awareness on and prevent sexual harassment among employers and workers and their respective organizations, such as training activities or media campaigns; and (ii) continue providing information on the number of cases of sexual harassment handled by the National Labour Inspectorate and the courts and their outcome, including the compensation granted and penalties imposed.
Discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Committee notes the “Memorandum on the stigmatisation of LGBTI people in Poland” (CommDH (2020)27) issued by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe on 3 December 2020. Recalling that the Labour Code prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on: (i) the measures taken to combat discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) persons at all stages of employment, and to address prejudice and promote tolerance; and (ii) any cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation handled by the National Labour Inspectorate and the courts, indicating the compensation granted and the penalties imposed.
Articles 2 and 3. Equality of opportunity and treatment of men and women. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to address both horizontal and vertical segregation between men and women in the labour market, and gender stereotypes. The Committee takes note of the adoption of the National Action Programme for Equal Treatment for 2021–30 (NAPET 2021–30). It observes that one of the priorities enumerated in the NAPET 2021–30 is to support equal opportunities for women and men in the labour market. In particular, the NAPET 2021–30 stresses the importance of reducing occupational segregation and identifies the promotion of the participation of women in decision-making processes in enterprises, institutions, universities and non-governmental organizations as one of its objectives. The Committee also takes note of the statistical information provided by the Government on occupational groups, showing that in 2018 men remained over-represented in certain categories such as chief executives, senior officials and legislators, and science and engineering professionals. The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide detailed information, including statistical data, on the implementation and impact of the NAPET 2021–30, and of any other relevant measure adopted, on the horizontal and vertical segregation of men and women in the labour market, and more generally, on its impact on the promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment of men and women in employment and occupation.
Equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of race, colour and national extraction. Roma people. The Committee previously asked the Government to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment of the Roma people in employment and occupation in practice, and in this context requested information on: (1) any measures adopted in the context of the Programme for the Integration of the Roma Community for 2014–2020 (PIRC 2014–20); and (2) statistical data on the participation of the Roma people and persons belonging to other minorities in education and the labour market, disaggregated by sex. The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that an independent evaluation was conducted on the effectiveness of the activities of the PIRC 2014–20. It welcomes the Government’s indication that it adopted the new Programme of social civic integration of Roma in Poland for 2021–2030 (PSCIRP 2021–30) and that, despite the prospect of a post-pandemic crisis, the PSCIRP’s budget has been maintained. Education remains a priority of the PSCIRP, with a focus on secondary education and particular emphasis on vocational education. In this regard, the Government further reports on a number of activities undertaken to reduce the over-representation of Roma students in special schools from the level of about 17 per cent (2010 data) to about 10 per cent. Reducing this over-representation to a level comparable to that of the general population (approximately 3.5 per cent) remains one of the important objectives of the current strategy. With regard to access to employment, the Government reports that in the period 2017–20, under the above-mentioned programme, more than 1000 persons from the Roma community were employed, with 80 per cent of them under a permanent contract. Access to the labour market is also being addressed in the context of European Union structural funds with larger budgets than the ones allocated to the PIRC. The Committee also notes that, in its concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expresses concern at: (1) the persistence of structural discrimination against Roma; (2) the low attendance rates of Roma children in primary school, their high rates of high school dropout, their persistent over-representation in special schools and their under-representation in secondary and post-secondary education; (3) the extreme poverty and substandard living conditions faced by Roma in segregated neighbourhoods with no proper infrastructure and basic services, as well as threats of eviction; and (4) the high rates of unemployment among Roma and the large wage gap between Roma and the rest of society (CERD/C/POL/CO/22-24, 24 September 2019, paragraph 21). Noting this information, the Committee asks the Government to continue taking steps to implement the Programme of social civic integration of Roma in Poland 2021–2030 (PSCIRP) and adopt measures to effectively address discrimination against Roma people, including stereotypes and prejudice against them. It also asks the Government to provide detailed information on the implementation of the Programme in practice and its impact on the participation of the Roma people in education, vocational training and the labour market, and particularly on the reduction of the over-representation of Roma students in special schools.
The Committee notes that under the priority “work and social security” of the NAPET 2021–30, one of the objectives is to support groups exposed to discrimination in the labour market due to age, disability, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, belief, sexual orientation and family status (II.3). In this regard, the Committee welcomes the detailed statistics provided by the Government on the number of complaints reported to the National Labour Inspectorate of instances of discrimination based on race, ethnic origin and nationality. According to the data: (1) 15 cases were reported between 2018 and 2020 and 1 between 1 January 2021 and 30 June 2021 of non-compliance with the prohibition of discrimination by employment agencies and other related entities; (2) 31 cases were reported between 2018 and 2020, and 8 between 1 January 2021 and 30 June 2021 of discrimination in the creation or termination of employment; (3) 34 cases were reported between 2018 and 2020, and 5 between 1 January 2021 and 30 June 2021 of discrimination in the determination of pay or other terms or conditions of employment; and (4) 5 cases were reported between 2018 and 2021 of discrimination in promotion or other work-related benefits. Recalling that it is necessary to adopt a comprehensive and coordinated approach to tackling the obstacles and barriers faced by persons in employment and occupation because of their race, colour or national extraction, and to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for all, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on any policies envisaged or adopted to address specifically such discrimination, and the results achieved.
The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.
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