The involvement of Polish trade unions in social dialogue and workplace governance: implications for reform Piotr Zientara Introduction The spectacular wave of strikes and protests that swept through Poland in mid-2007 and at the beginning of 2008 threw the issue of social dialogue and workplace governance into parti- cularly sharp focus. The actions were organised by Solidarnos´c´ (Solidarity) and the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (OPZZ). During the strikes public-sector professional groups such as customs officers, postal service employees, teachers, railway workers, doctors and nurses, occasionally sup- ported by mineworkers, took to the streets or downed tools and demanded equivalent pay increases, pointing to fast-rising private sector remuneration. But there was far more to it than that. Indeed, union-led protesters not only denounced deterior- ating working conditions and dysfunctional organisation in health care, rail- ways and the national postal service but also defended their privileges, such as early retire- ment. To a wider public this, on the one hand, epitomised the confrontational nature of Polish industrial relations and the governments’ inept handling of negotiations and, on the other, emphasised the need for reform. Symptomatically, Poland fares badly in international competitiveness and business- friendliness rankings (World Economic Forum 2006; World Bank 2007). It is neither innovative (European Commission Enterprise and Industry 2005) nor adequately prepared for the challenges of the information age (Forbes 2005). Basic socioeconomic indicators confirm the view that – notwithstanding a relatively fast rate of economic growth (about 6 per cent in 2007) – the economy is marked by significant structural weaknesses. Suffice it to say that in February 2008 Poland had the highest unemployment rate (11.5 per cent) among OECD countries. The employment rate of workers aged 55 to 64, at 28.1 and 15 percentage points below the EU-27 average, is the lowest in the entire EU (Eurostat 2008). Also, the number of Polish employees able to retire in their fifties, albeit falling slightly in 2007, is remarkably high (The Economist 2008, p. 37), which risks causing the entire pensions system to disintegrate. It follows that the economy urgently needs structural reform addressing, among other things, the business environment, innovativeness, public spending, labour market and retirement regulation. Fail- ure to do so is likely to affect long-term economic growth and societal advancement and, by extension, Poland’s chance of catching up with the EU average. All this implies, in turn, that unions have an important role to play. Given that both the government and employers intend to press on with reform, unions – as social partners able to mobilise thousands of public sector employees against concrete reform Piotr Zientara holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Gdansk and has studied at the College of Europe in Bruges (Human Resources Development) and the University Jean Moulin in Lyon. He works as a human resources management lecturer at Gdansk University and as a consultant for small-sized and medium- sized enterprises. His research interests focus on industrial relations, human resources management, labour economics, energy policy and regional development. Email: zientara@fest.pl OPEN FORUM ISSJ 200–201 rUNESCO 2011. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DK, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.