GFTU BGCM Report 2019

Central Bank Poland’s central bank has traditionally been very well organised. However, rationalisation of the bank led to a huge loss of personnel from 14,000 in 1989 to 3,600 today. The three main union federations and one other organise within the bank and have a 40% density of membership and a structured collective bargaining arrangement. This yields an average of 6,000 zloty per month for workers. OPZZ also retains some of its social and welfare functions of the former socialist system and provides members with vacations and leisure facilities at various centres. The Union would be pleased to link up with AEGIS colleagues in the GFTU. PAMO is an affiliate of the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) of which the GFTU President John Smith is also President. The MU arranged a number of bilateral exchanges with PAMO as reported by John below. PAMO is a small union with a membership of around 2000 members; it is not affiliated to OPZZ and appears to be averse to being politically active. Having said that it sees ‘Solidarity’ as a rival union in the entertainment sector and is concerned about this. We began our bilateral meetings by attending an evening concert given by the Orkiestra Filharmonii Radziejowice, about 50 miles out of Warsaw. We had dinner with members of the players’ committee and met the President of PAMO, Artur Gadzala who plays violin in the orchestra. On Wednesday 4 July we travelled to the small medieval town of Touruń. We had lunch and met with the union reps of the Touruń Orkiestra Symfoniczna and the orchestra committee. The main problem in this orchestra appears to be on which was repeated in most of my meetings – the lack of any meaningful social dialogue. The Managing Director of the orchestra has told the musicians’ representatives that ‘they are not his partners…’ which sets the tone for the worker/ management relationship in the organisation. There are numerous contractual issues that PAMO would like to see resolved but progress is slow. The musicians are wary about considering any form of industrial action as the main source of their funding comes form the local government which is right-wing and authoritarian. The members gave us a tour around their modern concert hall and a tour around the old city, which is the birthplace of Copernicus. We continued to Gdańsk, where I met with representatives of the Opera Baltycha (Baltic Opera and Ballet) Orchestra. This orchestra has been in dispute with Narodwej wWarszawie (Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra) in the gardens of a stately home in Musicians’ Union Bilateral exchanges with Polskich Artystów Muzyków Orkiestrowyeh (PAMO)

its management for over two years over contractual issues and the management’s tardiness in filling vacancies in the orchestra, 10 of which are the result of what the union reps believe were unfair dismissals. The managing director of the company – a Mr Kuntz – is totally intransigent and the city council, which finds the company, refuses to intervene. Our next meeting was with the union rep at the Polska Filharmonia Baltycka (Polish Baltic Philharmonic orchestra). This was a much happier report, as relations are good between musicians and their management. The only issue is with their concert hall which was converted from a warehouse in the docks. It looks fantastic but is very impractical from the musicians’ point of view. After travelling back to Warsaw to meet with the GFTU delegation at the final dinner. We spent Saturday with PAMO who took us to the birthplace of the composer Chopin, Źelazowa Wola. While there we attended a delightful piano recital of Chopin’s music in beautiful and peaceful surroundings. On Saturday evening our visit ended with a dinner with the Executive Board of PAMO. 1. The possibility of offering vacations to the Bank Workers’ Union hotels at discounts to GFTU affiliates should be explored along perhaps with reciprocal use of Quorn. 2. OPZZ/FORMAC and an interpreter should be invited to future GFTU events such as Union Building Conferences and BGCM. 3. This report should be placed on the website and made available at the 2019 BGCM. 4. Bilateral contacts in food, railways and banking can be encouraged. 5. The next international study visit should consider particular themes and undertake more preparatory work. Conclusion and recommendation

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