News & Events 2011

News & Events 2010

The Head of NLI met with journalists

Presentation of awards named after Halina Krahelska at the Parliament

Learning how to walk
on scaffolding

Committees’ positive opinion
on NLI’s report

Launch of a public campaign
focused on construction

Meeting of Polish and Lithuanian
inspectors

Members of Parliament support
motions for law amendments

Parliamentary Committee discussed
inspections of drivers’ working time

Chief Labour Inspector presented
NLI’s report for 2009

Conference on illegal employment
of foreigners

Chief Labour Inspector
presented Grand Prix SAWO

Conference on fighting
forced labour

High assessment of effects
of the OSH programme

There will be legislative amendments
proposed by NLI

Labour Protection Council talked
about safety in construction

Parliamentary Committee voted
for eliminating obstacles
to inspections

Jubilee on the 60th anniversary
of the social labour inspection

Members of Parliament accepted
the Labour Inspectorate’s
programme of activities

District Labour Inspectorates

Contact

The NLI`s Training Centre

Chief Labour Inspector presented NLI’s report for 2009

“Effective, efficient and friendly – such an image of the National Labour Inspectorate is created every day by the work of all its employees” – said Chief Labour Inspector Tadeusz Jan Zając while presenting a report on the labour inspectorate’s activity in 2009 to the Labour Protection Council at the seat of Parliament on 18 May 2010. He stated that the report included reliable information on the level of legal compliance in Poland.

The head of the National Labour Inspectorate pointed out that in the reporting year the level of labour protection in our country had been influenced by the economic crisis, which had had a clear effect on economic standing of a great many enterprises. In such circumstances the labour inspectorate made a lot of efforts to ensure comprehensive legal and advisory assistance to employees and employers of companies under the threat of liquidation. The labour inspectorate set up a network of information desks, often in collaboration with labour offices, on the premises of enterprises and at district labour inspectorates.

Every 3 months, NLI conducted a detailed analysis of inspection results, checking in what way the crisis had affected the level of legal compliance.

Every third employer inspected in 2009 had trouble paying remuneration in due time (in 2008 this was the case with every fourth employer), and many a time they did not pay it at all. Labour inspectors presented employers with over 9 thousand decisions ordering payment of salaries or other employment-related benefits.

In order to eliminate offences of OSH regulations identified last year, NLI inspectors issued over 354 decisions in the form of orders – which was by 0.5 percent fewer than in 2008, while the number of inspected economic entities was by 10% higher. Almost one third of the orders were to be implemented immediately due to the necessity to protect human life and health. The number of decisions ordering immediate stoppage of work was by 17 percent lower than a year earlier, which can be considered a sign of improving work safety standards, especially that last year there was a fall in the number of victims of work accidents in all sectors of economy and a lower number of fatal victims.

Labour inspectors imposed more than 20 thousand fines which amounted to 25 million zlotys in total. They made up 65% of sanctions applied by labour inspectors for offences against employee rights. 20% of sanctions were of disciplining nature and 15% of sanctions were motions lodged with courts. The share of disciplining measures among all those applied by inspectors has been on the rise in recent years.

Labour inspectors identified illegal employment in one fifth of the 20 thousand inspected workplaces. The largest number of such cases was in the sectors of: transport, hotel and restaurant, and construction.

In comparison with an earlier period, NLI detected more infringements of provisions on registration of employees with social insurance. Such irregularities were recorded in every fourth inspected company.

Effectiveness of inspections was improved thanks to establishment of specialised sections for legality of employment in District Labour Inspectorates. In 2009, NLI inspectors revealed more than twice as many illegally employed foreigners as in 2008.

National Labour Inspectorate’s work in the reporting year brought about, among others, immediate elimination of hazards to life and health of over 80 thousand workers. Payment of overdue amounts totalling 103,5 million zlotys to 121 thousand employees was enforced. Irregularities in the area of legality of employment of over 90 thousand individuals were eliminated. NLI employees provided over 1.400.000 pieces of advice on legal and technical issues.

– Achievement of high standards of labour protection requires consistent actions of all relevant government and self-government administrative bodies and monitoring and enforcement authorities, as well as coherent and comprehensive legislation and economic stability of employers. This is so because improving legal compliance in labour relations does not only depend on the labour inspectorate, but on other state bodies and institutions as well – said the Chief Inspector Tadeusz Jan Zając towards the end of his speech.

During the discussion, members of the Labour Protection Council praised concise and rich contents of the submitted report as well as its interesting graphic layout. They also raised a lot of remarks, suggestions, reservations and questions, which were answered by the Chief Labour Inspector, but also the Deputies: dr Marian Liwo and Anna Tomczyk.

The Council will prepare its final opinion on the NLI’s report.