Representative strengthens the position of a trade union in social dialogue. Representative trade union can participate in talks concerning employee rights, remuneration, social security, and employment policy.

Representative trade union organizations at the national level

Nationwide trade unions, nationwide associations (federations) of trade unions, and nationwide inter-union organizations (confederations) that jointly meet the following criteria are recognized as representative trade union organizations:

– they have more than 300,000 members who are persons performing paid work,

– they operate in entities of the national economy whose principal type of activity is classified under more than half of the sections of the Polish Classification of Activities.  

Representative national trade union organisations participate in discussions with the government and employers’ organisations within the Social Dialogue Council.  Within the social dialogue, they hold discussions with representatives of the government and employers’ organizations.

They may submit proposals for the enactment or amendment of an act or other legal instrument regarding matters covered by the union’s tasks, and they have the right to issue opinions on European Union consultation documents.

Representativeness of a multi-workplace organization 

A representative multi-workplace trade union organization can be an organization that meets statutory criteria regarding the number of affiliated persons. 

This can be, among others, an organization representative within the meaning of the provisions on the Social Dialogue Council, or an organization uniting at least 15% of persons performing paid work covered by its statutes, but no fewer than 10,000 persons. 

An organization uniting the largest number of persons performing paid work for whom a specific multi-workplace collective bargaining agreement is to be concluded can also be representative. 

Representativeness of a workplace organization

A representative workplace trade union organization can be recognized as representative, among other cases, when it is an organizational unit or member organization of a representative multi-workplace organization and unites at least 8% of persons performing paid work employed by the given employer. 

An organization uniting at least 15% of persons performing paid work employed by the given employer can also be representative. 

If none of the workplace trade union organizations meets the required criteria, the organization uniting the largest number of persons performing paid work employed by the given employer may be recognized as representative.