Poland – Guidance to Business 2nd NAP
2. Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy
Responsible business – promoting due diligence standards
[page 10]
“The effectiveness of activities carried out so far in the form of cooperation within the Advisory Board for Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility encourages further development of the initiative and dialogue with representatives of various institutions and sectors. Therefore, the activities of the Advisory Board for Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility will be continued in the years to come. Within the framework of the Advisory Board’s work, plans involve a continuation of activities in the field of promoting standards related to respect for human rights in business activity of enterprises. A significant role in this respect will be played by the Working Group for Relations with Individuals Performing Work. The scope of tasks of the Working Group will be determined each time by the Advisory Board for Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility within the framework of annual action plans. The plans of the Working Group include, among others, the following activities:
– promotion of the handbook entitled: “Forced labour. A Guidebook: how to recognise and combat it” consisting in a wide-ranging e-mailing of the handbook, mailing of the paper version and organisation of webinars on the tools presented in the handbook. Information on the tools developed in the handbook will also be provided during meetings and trainings addressed to entrepreneurs organised by the Advisory Board for Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility,
– promotion of the handbook entitled: “CSR Guidebook to Safe and Sustainable Work Environment” consisting in distribution of the handbook in both electronic and printed versions and by establishing cooperation with centres and institutions dealing with the labour market in Poland in order to discuss the issues included in the handbook and the needs for changes in the Polish labour law system”
Activity of the OECD National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct
[page 11-12]
“The Polish OECD National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct (OECD NCP) was established in 1998, two years after Poland’s accession to the OECD. Since 2016, OECD NCP has been operating within the structure of government administration, currently in the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy (MFiPR) in the structures of the Office of the Minister. As part of the operations of the OECD NCP in the area of respect for human rights in business activity of enterprises, the following activities are planned:
– promotion of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the OECD sectoral recommendations, with particular emphasis on those concerning respect for human rights,
continuation of activities aimed at translating OECD documents on responsible business, which have not yet been translated into Polish, including involvement of representatives of relevant industries and sectors in the process of translation and verification of the documents,
– organisation of thematic information meetings on the activities of the OECD NCP to promote responsible business standards and the complaint mechanism for reporting potential violations of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises,
– processing of notifications of potential violations of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by multinational enterprises.
(…)
in the coming years and in line with the expectations of the social partners the OECD NCP plans to increase the number of events promoting the OECD Guidelines, such as webinars or conferences. These events will also include one promoting responsible business standards in the context of respect for human rights in business activities of enterprises.
4. Ministry of Family and Social Policy
Social Policy for Elderly People 2030. SAFETY – PARTICIPATION – SOLIDARITY
[page 16-17]
“In 2018, a document was adopted setting out the directions of social policy towards older persons in Poland: Social Policy for Elderly People 2030. SAFETY – PARTICIPATION – SOLIDARITY (Official Journal of the Republic of Poland ‘Monitor Polski’, of 2018, item 1169)”
(…)
“Promoting the principles of corporate social responsibility and age management among employers will be i implemented through:”
(…)
“- promoting good practices and sharing experiences in this area.”
(…)
“Promoting knowledge of the principles of the silver economy among commercial and non-commercial entities will be implemented through:
– conducting information activities addressed to entrepreneurs, as well as social and solidarity economy entities as regards knowledge of the principles of the silver economy and needs and solutions related to accessibility and adaptation of websites and electronic services to older persons;”
(…)
“Awareness of the principles governing the silver economy will allow employers to adjust their offer to the changing expectations of the market, which, in turn, will create an opportunity to increase the competitiveness of the Polish economy.”
4. Ministry of Family and Social Policy
Update of the ‘Equality of Pay’ tool
[page 20]
“Over the next two years, an update of the tool for measuring the wage gap and its further dissemination among employers and social partners is planned through such measures as, among others, the organisation of regional trainings on the wage gap and the updated tool, realization of an awareness-raising campaign on the implementation of a transparent wage policy. These measures will be undertaken as part of the implementation of the ‘Good climate for quality jobs’ project funded under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism”
Update of the ‘Family and work’ platform
[page 21]
“Over the next two years, a number of further measures are planned in the area related to work-life balance in connection with the implementation of the ‘Good climate for quality jobs’ project with funding provided under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. The plans involve, among others, an update and further development of the rodzinaipraca.gov.pl platform, as well as large-scale awareness-raising activities among employers, employees and the general public (including awareness-raising campaign, nationwide meeting of fathers, competition for employers creating friendly workplaces for working parents).”
5.Ministry of Finance
Implementation of the Good Practice Catalogue on due diligence for European Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas
[page 24]
“On 1 January 2021, new obligations took effect as regards supply chain due diligence for EU importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas. These obligations were established by Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017.”
(…)
“To this end, good practices are being introduced. They comprise in particular:
• Maintaining a dedicated tab on the website of the Ministry of Finance providing information on responsible sourcing of ‘3TG’ minerals: https://www.gov.pl/web/kas/konfliktowe-mineraly
• Various forms of meetings with selected importers and national industry organisations on ‘3TG’ minerals to build awareness related to the implementation of the provisions of the aforesaid Regulation, as well as OECD and UN guidelines.
• Undertaking cooperation with the Entrepreneurship Support Department of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development as well as the CSR and Cooperation with NGOs Unit in the Minister’s Office in the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy in order to reach a wide range of entrepreneurs who are subject to the obligations under aforesaid Regulation. Due to this cooperation, an even greater number of entrepreneurs receive information/training materials (e-learning), in the area of ‘conflict’ minerals.
• A newsletter sent to importers of ‘3TG’ minerals in Poland and sending important information to importers’ e-mail addresses, e.g. information on changes in regulations, instructions, explanations.”
7. Ministry of the Interior and Administration
Combating the phenomenon of trafficking in human beings for forced labour
[page 26]
“1. Building awareness of the threat of exploitation and forced labour, e.g. through poster campaign, information meetings.
2. Developing guidelines for labour inspectors on the methodology of conducting control activities in cases where there is a suspicion of trafficking in human beings, in particular forced labour, and implementing them.”
9. Ministry of State Assets
Best practices for WSE-listed and State Treasury (ST) companies
[page 28]
“There are plans to develop best practice recommendations for companies listed on the WSE which, in line with global trends, will emphasise the importance of non-financial capital (e.g. human or environmental capital) used by companies and extend the scope of reporting on non-financial factors. Every year, the Prime Minister issues Guidelines for companies with State Treasury shareholding preparing financial statements, containing information on non-financial reporting (part III of the Guidelines). The Ministry of State Assets also analyses the possibility of introducing – at the level of good practices – regulations for ST companies concerning corporate social responsibility.”
10. Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sports
Implementation of the equal-treatment policy in sports
[page 28-29]
“The Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sports will continue to implement the policy of equal treatment in sports, ensuring that the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are incorporated as widely as possible when planning and implementing ministerial programmes aimed at developing sports in Poland, both in grassroots and professional dimension. In particular, the following tasks will be implemented:
1. Preparing and publishing of a report on the situation of women in sports.
2. Implementing cyclical training courses for the Ministry’s employees and the Polish sports community on equal treatment of women and men in sports. The subject matter of the training will cover a wide range of issues related to equal treatment. Examples of specific support measures for the sports environment aimed at promoting women’s sports and international examples of good practice in counteracting discrimination and promoting equal treatment will also be presented.
3. Promoting the participation of women in management structures of Polish sports associations and encouraging them to implement the recommendation following from the Good Governance Code for Polish Sports Associations (PZS), which indicates that women should constitute at least 10% of the PZS board composition if women account for more than 30% in national teams managed by the given PZS and at least 30% if there are more than 50% women in national teams. Although the Good Governance Code for PZS is a non-legislative tool and does not constitute a source of rights or obligations directly for the addressees, it provides an opportunity to promote desirable models without interfering with the autonomy of the sports movement.”
11. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Maps of risks and threats to human rights in business context and good practice catalogues
[page 29]
“The Embassies of the Republic of Poland will continuously update the Maps of risks and threats to human rights in business in the host countries and good practice catalogues. Once a year, by order of the Department of United Nations and Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all embassies will send the updated Maps and Catalogues both to the Headquarters and to other Polish missions in their host countries (Consulates General and Polish Institutes). The aforesaid documents will be placed on the internal website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Diplopedia section, in the State Websites tab, as information material available to the employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as to people going on missions. At embassies, persons shall be appointed whose scope of duties includes monitoring of human rights issues in business context and familiarising new staff in the mission with relevant documents relating to the UN Guiding Principles. Pre-departure training on business and human rights based on the UN Guiding Principles will continue for heads of mission and all others going to work in foreign missions.”
13. National Labour Inspectorate
Statutory tasks
[page 35]
“The statutory tasks of the National Labour Inspectorate include, in particular:”
(…)
“- providing technical guidance and legal advice;”
Supervisory and inspection activities
[page 37]
“The National Labour Inspectorate actively supports employers’ involvement in issues concerning safety and working conditions, as well as employee participation, both in its oversight and inspection capacity and in its preventive and promotional activities. These include seminars, conferences, and training meetings with employers involved in permanent workplace safety improvement programmes (enhanced oversight in industrial establishments, regular inspections in construction, rail infrastructure, forestry, and mining sectors).”
14. Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
Tasks related to counteracting the unfair use of contractual advantage
[page 40]
“The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection will continue to perform tasks related to counteracting the unfair use of contractual advantage in trade in agricultural and food products. Their main objective will still be to improve the situation of the weaker participants of the agri-food market through ongoing monitoring of the situation in its individual segments, as well as carrying out explanatory and relevant proceedings in a consistent manner. The activity of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection should lead to an increase in the level of awareness of agri-food market participants, and thus result in a decrease in the number of violations.”
Appendix 2 (information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Recommendations
[page 46]
“In their activities supporting Polish entrepreneurs, public procurement and development aid projects implementation, Polish foreign missions are guided by the following principles requiring them to:- comply with the United Nations ‘UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights’ and the principle of ‘due diligence’3 and to continuously raise awareness of the need to apply them in practice among both employees and partners of the mission”;
[page 48]
“- provide Polish enterprises operating in the host country with information and advisory assistance to support them in ensuring respect for human rights in areas affected by armed conflict.”