Mr. Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
On behalf of The Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO), we would like to express our concern about allegedly planned hectoring attacks by representatives of the Polish authorities against teachers who have joined a multi-day strike in 2019, as part of a legitimate ongoing collective dispute, following the procedures laid down by law and complying with all organisational requirements.
We believe that it is in the public interest to investigate this appalling case as soon as possible. Therefore, we fully support the request of the Polish Teachers' Union to initiate proceedings by the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Poland to investigate the veracity of the information presented in the media.
Social dialogue is an achievement of mature democracies and modern societies, the foundation of a mutually respectful process of interaction aimed at reaching agreements on how to address and control changing socio-economic factors.
Social dialogue is an element of building community, a sense of shared responsibility, the most comprehensive form of building consensus among citizens around specific challenges and problems, the whole spectrum of issues most important for the well-being of citizens and the state. Dialogue is a continuous process serving development, but only if it is conducted fairly.
This is why the role of social dialogue is already mentioned in the preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland:
We - the Nation (...) establish the Constitution of the Republic of Poland as the fundamental rights for the state based on respect for freedom and justice, cooperation of authorities, social dialogue and on the principle of subsidiarity strengthening the rights of citizens and their communities (...).
The Constitution also includes the idea of social dialogue in Article 20:
"(...) Social market economy based on freedom of economic activity, private property and solidarity, dialogue and cooperation of social partners constitutes the basis of the economic system of the Republic of Poland (...)".
In this context, if a campaign were to be organised with the aim of humiliating and defaming a particular professional group, we would not only be dealing with a criminal act, but also with an act that undermines one of the pillars of civil society and the functioning of the state.
Therefore, we once again express our support for ZNP's request to thoroughly investigate the case and inform the public of the results of the investigation.
Yours sincerely,
The Swedish Trade Union Confederation – LO
Susanna Gideonsson
President