Annual Review 2012 Regional Project on Labour Relations and Social Dialogue Warsaw in February 2013 Poland ­Labour Relations and Social Dialogue Author: Dr. Michał Polakowski 1 Executive Summary The situation of the Polish economy during the global crisis has been relatively good as it was the only coun­try in the EU, which noted economic growth in 2009 and quite fast restored the high dynamics of the GDP. However, the detailed indicators concerning social situation show that the levels of youth unemployment are high, also among university graduates. Along very small dynamics of jobs creation, the real growth of wages has been declining in the recent years. The labour market restructuring is apparent as the atypical employ­ment is on the rise, especially among the youngest workers. Driven by the paradigm of fiscal consolidation, the spending from the Labour Found is significantly restricted and wage increases for employees in the budgetary sphere. On the taxation side, the tax-free amount and taxation thresholds have been frozen and the VAT has been increased. Such measures hit the poorest strata of the society. The context of low unionisation, especially in the private sector, creates unfavourable conditions for trade unions actions. The result is relatively low coverage of collective agreements on a company level, as well as a minor role of the Tripartite Commission, the main arena for social dialogue in Poland. 1 Dr. Michał Polakowski(34) holds PhD in Public Policy and Policy Analysis from Maastricht University (Netherlands). He is a public policy analyst dealing with social policy, labour market and labour relations, affiliated to International Centre for Research and Analysis in Warsaw. 1