Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors influencing the presence of works councils in Polish companies. The study also considers the incidence of councils in organizations and management’s attitude towards these institutions of employee participation. Design/methodology/approach Based on a sample of 402 Polish private companies, the probit model was calculated to identify the determinants of a works councils’ presence. The coverage of active councils was evaluated on the MRPiPS database and the GUS database. Findings The data show that the coverage of works councils in Polish organizations fell suddenly after the introduction of the amendment of the Act from 2009. Moreover, trade union density has a strong positive influence on the occurrence of works councils in companies. Councils are also more likely to be found in older foreign-owned companies in which forms of direct participation are used. Additionally, a higher share of shift workers in companies is associated with a higher probability of works councils’ presence. Research limitations/implications There are some difficulties with obtaining a precise analysis of the coverage of works councils in Poland. Practical implications Polish findings may be useful for other countries of Central and Eastern Europe with similar characteristics of industrial relations and similarly short traditions of works councils. Originality/value This paper extends the previous research on the operation of works councils in Polish industrial relations by providing an econometric analysis of the determinants of councils’ presence in companies. Such an analysis has been conducted in Poland for the first time.
Using data from in-depth interviews conducted with chairpersons of works councils, representatives of management and chairpersons of trade unions in 20 Polish organizations, this article explores the importance of different factors influencing the strength of works councils. The findings indicate a decisive role of such factors as management approach and activity of councillors, and a minor role in the case of individual regulations and works council's age. Moreover, the article identifies three main models of works councils existing in Polish organizations after the amendment of the Act on Informing and Consulting Employees: 'perfunctory' councils, 'constructive' councils and works councils as a 'complement to unions'.
1 Podrozdział ten jest częściowo oparty na opracowaniu: K. Skorupińska-Cieślak, 2018b. 2 Te cztery modele stosunków przemysłowych opierają się na zaproponowanej przez G. Esping-Andersena [zob. 1990] typologii trzech głównych modeli (reżimów) polityki społecznej: liberalnego, konserwatywno-korporacyjnego i socjaldemokratycznego. Objaśnienia: wskaźnik zatrudnienia liczony jako udział pracujących w ogólnej liczbie ludności w wieku 20-64 lat Źródło: opracowanie na podstawie danych Eurostatu (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat, dostęp: 09.05.2022).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.