POLISH UNION’S ATTITUDES TOWARDS FLEXIBILITY IN VIEW OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND LOW EMPLOYMENT RATES OF WOMEN AND SENIORS

Yıl 2012, Cilt: 5 Sayı: 1-2, 79 - 97, 26.05.2014

Piotr Zientara

Öz

This paper, based on interviews with trade-union spokespersons, aims to explore the attitudes of Poland’s organised labour towards flexibility in the context of work–life balance (WLB) and low employment rates of women and seniors. It transpires, among other things, that they are cautiously in favour of flexible working practices and recognise the significance of WLB policies. Still, they come out against any major labour-code changes facilitating the propagation of far-reaching flexibility-underpinned WLB measures. While declaring their commitment to fighting age/gender discrimination and improving the position of women/seniors in the labour market, they opt for anti-discriminatory regulation and employability enhancement through training rather than such supply-side measures as employment protection legislation (EPL) and payroll taxes reduction.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Flexibility, Unionism, Work-Life Balance, Labour Market, Poland

Kaynakça

• Andrews, E.S. (1992). Expanding Opportunities for Older Workers. Journal of Labor Research, XIII, 1, 55-65.
• Botero, J., Djankov, S., La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., & Shleifer, A. (2004). The Regulation of Labor. Quarterly Journal of Economics, November, 1339-1382; website dataset retrieved August 7, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/shleifer/shleifer.html/.
• Bronson, D.E., Kunovich, S., & Frysztacki, K. (2005). The Impact of the Economic Transition in Poland on Vulnerable Populations. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 26, 2, 225-238.
• Burawoy, M., & Wright, E.O. (1990). Coercion and Consent in Contested Exchange. Politics and Society, 18, 2, 251-266.
• Bystydzienski, J.M. (2005). Negotiating the New Market: Women, Families, Women’s Organizations and the Economic Transition in Poland. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 26, 2, 238-265.
• Cooper, C. (1999). Can We Live with the Changing Nature of Work. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 14, 7/8, 569-572.
• Confederation of Polish Employers (2009). Opinions and Attitudes. Retrieved May 23, 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://www.kpp.org.pl/index.html?id=44&m=1/.
• Crompton, R., Lewis, S., & Lyonette, C. (Eds.). (2007). Women, Men, Work and Family in Europe. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Crowley, S., & Ost, D. (Eds.). (2001). Workers after Workers’ States. Labor and Politics in Postcommunist Eastern Europe. Lanham, Boulder, New York, Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.
• Deery, M., & Jago, L. (2009). A Framework for Work–Life Balance Practices: Addressing the Needs of the Tourism Industry. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 9, 2, 97-108.
• Edwards, P., Bélanger, J., & Wright, M. (2006). The Bases of Compromise in the Workplace: A Theoretical Framework. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 44, 1, 125-145.
• Carter, B. (2006). Trade Union Organising and Renewal: A Response to de Turberville. Work, Employment and Society, 20, 2, 415-426.
• European Commission (2004). Increasing the Employment of Older Workers and Delaying the Exit from the Labour Market, COM(2004) 146, Brussels.
• European Commission (2005). Confronting Demographic Change: A New Solidarity between the Generations, COM(2005) 94 final, Brussels.