During today’s meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions, a discussion took place regarding a petition on the situation of workers employed under civil law contracts in Poland. Marlena Maląg, a Law and Justice MEP, spoke on the matter, thanking the petitioner for raising this socially important issue.
The MEP emphasized that civil law contracts, although originally intended to serve as a flexible tool in the labor market, are in practice often used as a way to circumvent traditional employment relationships. “Abuses primarily affect young people who, at the age of 20, are not yet thinking about retirement or the consequences of illness,” she noted.
Marlena Maląg recalled that the Law and Justice government had taken steps to limit the negative effects of such contracts, including by extending the minimum wage to service contracts, which led to higher earnings. “Work was also underway to ensure full social security contributions for these contracts, in order to provide greater social security for those working under them,” she added.
Referring to the current government’s actions, the MEP noted that despite the inclusion of periods of work under civil-law contracts in seniority calculations, there have been few real changes to improve the situation of workers. “In light of mass layoffs in Poland and violations of workers’ rights, as in the case of Poczta Polska, I do not expect a radical improvement in the near future,” she said.
On behalf of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, Marlena Maląg asked the committee to keep the petition open and to refer it to the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), which has jurisdiction over further work on this matter.
