Trade Union Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution of April 2, 1997

The subject of this article is the analysis of the provisions made in the Constitution of April 2, 1997 on the freedoms and rights of trade unions in Poland. The constitutional concept of the freedom of association involves the freedom of forming trade unions and employers’ associations, the right to negotiate and finalise collective agreements, the right of collective bargaining, as well as the right to organize and participate in strikes and other forms of protest. These regulations assume not only the reduction of state interference in the formation and activity of trade unions, but it ensures the provision of appropriate legislative regulations, which grant trade unions adequate powers to allow for efficient action in the social and economic settings. In the author’s opinion, the provisions of the Constitution of April 2, 1997 offer a comprehensive protection of trade union rights and freedoms and the legislation is in accordance with international legal standards in this area.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in the world made it necessary to take action to minimize the negative consequences for human health and life and the economy. Citizens’ political freedoms and rights are among the most important rights in a democratic state. In Poland, the Minister of Health introduced the “state of epidemic” by way of a regulation. The procedure and rank of adopted legal acts raised constitutional doubts from the very beginning. First of all, the failure to introduce one of the constitutionally defined states of emergency, especially a state of natural disaster, which by its nature corresponded the best to the epidemic situation in the country. The author put forward the thesis that the state of the epidemic announced in Poland did not meet the constitutional requirements and that there were no grounds for the introduced restrictions on the freedom and rights of an individual. Legal solutions introduced in selected countries in terms of their constitutionality are also compared.