Archive:Public employment - Portugal

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<Introduction: simple language, not too long, kind of executive summary>

Regional and administrative organisation

Introduction

The Portuguese Republic has been a member of the EU since 1986. Its territory includes the Azores and Madeira archipelagos. According to the Constitution, which dates back to 1976, the Portuguese Republic shall be a democratic state based on the rule of law, the sovereignty of the people, plural democratic expression and organization, respect for and the guarantee of the effective implementation of fundamental rights and freedoms, and the separation and interdependence of powers, all with a view to achieving economic, social and cultural democracy and deepening participatory democracy.

System of government

The President of the Republic is the Head of State elected by popular vote for a 5-year period. The Prime Minister heads the Government and submits the Government Programme to the Assembly for its approval.

The Government is the body that conducts the country’s general policy and the supreme authority in the Public Administration. It is composed of the Prime Minister, Ministers, State Secretaries and Under State Secretaries, and one or more Deputy Prime Ministers may also be included. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic after consulting the parties with seats in the Assembly of the Republic in the light of the electoral results. The remaining members of the Government are appointed by the President of the Republic upon a proposal from the Prime Minister. The Assembly of the Republic is a single-chamber Parliament made up of a minimum of 180 and a maximum of 230 members, elected by popular vote for a four-year term. Members of Parliament represent the whole of the country and not just the constituency for which they were elected. The Judiciary Power consists of the Courts. In addition to the Constitutional Court, there shall be the Supreme Court of Justice and the courts of law of first and second instance; the Supreme Administrative Court and the remaining administrative and tax courts and the Audit Court. There may be maritime courts, arbitration courts and courts of peace as well.

Regional Organization

Portugal is a unitary State that respects the autonomous islands system of selfgovernment and the principles of subsidiarity, the autonomy of local authorities and the democratic decentralization of the Public Administration. The archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira have been Autonomous Regions since 1976 and have their own political and administrative statutes. The State is represented in each of the Autonomous Regions by a Representative of the Republic appointed by the President of the Republic. The Regional Legislative Assembly and the Regional Government are self-Government bodies in each region. Legislative Assemblies shall be elected by universal, direct and secret suffrage in accordance with the principle of proportional representation. Each Regional Government shall be politically responsible to the Legislative Assembly of its autonomous region, and the Representative of the Republic shall appoint its president in the light of the results of the regional elections. The Constitution establishes a series of limitations to their powers. The territorial division in the Continent is made up of 18 Districts (Civil Governments), and local authorities consisting of Municipalities (Assembly and Municipal Executive). and parishes (Assembly and parish executive body).

Public Administration

According to the Constitution, the Public Administration shall seek to pursue the public interest and shall respect all such citizens’ rights and interests as are protected by law. Administrative bodies and agents shall be subject to the Constitution, and in the performance of their functions shall act with respect for the principles of equality, proportionality, justice, impartiality and good faith. The Public administration is based on administrative decentralization, without detriment to the unit of action and the government’s powers of management and supervision.

Public Administration in Portugal is regarded in an organic and material sense. In the organic sense, public administration is the system of bodies, services and State personnel and of other public bodies that regularly and constantly meet public needs. In the material sense, public administration is the work carried out by these bodies, services and State personnel.

Taking into consideration the organic sense, the Public Administration bodies are included in the following three administration levels:

1. Direct State Administration - Direct State administration includes all the bodies, services and agents that are part of the legal entity “State”, which, directly and immediately and under the hierarchical dependence of the Government, conduct an activity that responds to public needs. It has the following categories:

a) Central services - have competency at a national level, such as the General Directorates organized in Ministries;

b) Outlying services - have limited territorial competency that is the case of Regional Directorates (for Education and Agriculture, for example) or Civil Governments, whose competency is circumscribed to the geographical area in which they act. Outlying services include also those services responsible for external representation of the State (embassies and consulates).

2. Indirect State Administration - includes public entities, distinct from legal entity “State”. These entities have legal personality and administrative and financial autonomy, and it develops administrative activity that pursues State’s aims.

3. Autonomous Administration - is composed of bodies that pursue the interests of their members and act autonomously and independently. They include the Regional Administration, Local Administration and Public Associations.

Recent Reforms

Portugal has undergone a wide Public Administration (PA) reform process that started in the second semester of 2005 and in 2009 achieved its final stage as the last pieces of legislation have entered into force.

The modernization of the PA is assumed by the government as an essential piece of the strategy of growth of the country. It aims to achieve an Administration that better serves citizens and companies. In this context, it has been focusing particularly on the: Structural Reorganization of State Central Administration; Reform of the Civil Service Regime; Modernization and Administrative Simplification; Modernization of Public Management, as well as the Development of e-Administration.

The reform of the civil service regime presents the following features:

• Progressive convergence of the Civil Service Social Protection Scheme with the General Social Security Scheme;

• Abolishment of the former general mobility mechanisms and their replacement by two new mechanisms: assignment of public interest and internal mobility. Establishment of the special mobility regime;

• Reform of the attachment, careers and remuneration scheme of staff fulfilling public functions, from which should be highlighted the following:

— Alignment with the private sector with regard to the legal employment relationship;

— The status of “civil servant” is assigned to a few, special functions related to the exercise of powers conferred by public law that safeguard the general interests of the state: Military, Foreign Affairs, State Security, Criminal Investigation, Public Protection and Inspection Activities;

— Reduction in the number of general and special regime careers. Establishment of only 3 general regime careers;

— Establishment of a single pay scale made of 115 pay-steps to be used in setting workers’ basic remuneration, replacing the 22 existing pay scales with a total of 522 pay-steps.

— Replacement of a “career system” by a “position system”;

— Progressions are no longer based on seniority and career advancement and change of pay step is based on performance assessment according to available budget appropriations;

— Introduction of performance bonuses related to assessment;

• Establishment of the employment contract in public functions scheme aiming at bringing the labour legislation of PA closer to the labour regime of the private sector, highlighting collective bargaining (signing of the first two collective agreements in PA);

• Together with this new employment contract scheme a new disciplinary statute has entered into force;

• Establishment of an Integrated Public Administration Management and Assessment System (SIADAP) that, for the first time, is applicable to the assessment of services of respective managers and remaining staff. A percentage system (quotas) was set up for the differentiation of performance, including managers: 25% for relevant performance and, within this percentage, 5% for excellent performance. In case of the service itself obtaining the classification of excellent, the percentages for workers increase respectively to 35% and 10%.

Public Employment Structure

Legal Basis: Scope of Application: 1) Public Administration regulations are centrally defined and applicable to all workers performing public functions in bodies and services of Direct and Indirect State Administrations 2) Public employment laws defined centrally are also applicable, with the necessary legally determined adaptations to staff performing public functions in regional and local authorities’ administrative services.

Staff Recruitment: Recruitment and selection of human resources relies on three fundamental pillars: equal conditions and opportunities for all applicants, neutrality of Selection Boards and the use of methodologies based on technical research.

Employee Categories: There are currently three forms of public employment legal relationship in the public administration, as defined in law 12-A/2008, of 27th February.

1. Appointment:

• Lifetime tenure (permanent post);

• Transitional appointment (fixed term post).

Appointment is only effective for positions in a few well defined services: The Military (generic and specific missions of Armed Forces in permanent establishment plans); The Foreign Office; State Security Information; Criminal Investigation; Public Security; and Inspection Activities.

2. Employment contract in public functions:

• For an indefinite period of time;

• Contract for a fixed or unfixed term.

3. Limited executive tenure - performance of posts not integrated into careers, namely, managers1 and other situations such as attendance at a specific training course). Managers fill a temporary post (three year period with the possibility of renewal for equal periods of time, however top managers may not exceed 12 consecutive years in the same position). They carry out management, coordination and control tasks of public services and bodies. They need to attend specific training courses for entry.

Managers: see point 13 (Management Positions – Senior Civil Servants)

Public employment managing body

Ministry of Finance and Public Administration: is the government department whose mission is to define and conduct the financial policy of the state and the Public Administration policies. Regarding the latter it shall define, coordinate and evaluate the human resources policies in the Civil Service, in particular with regard to the regimes of public employment and professional qualification and development; define, coordinate and apply policies relative to the Civil Service, in particular in the areas related to the organization and management of services, with a view to increasing effectiveness and efficiency, the rationalization of the administrative activity and the promotion of quality in the public sectors; manage the health subsystem of the Civil Service and assure complementary social actions for Civil Service employees.

The Directorate General for Administration and Public Employment, a Direct State Administration body inside the Ministry of Finance and Public Administration, is a cross-sectional service responsible for providing study, design, coordination and technical assistance to the government in its work of defining policies relating to Public Administration.

Ministry of the Presidency: The State Secretary for Administrative Modernization is responsible for e-government policies, the fostering of Public Administration modernization and for the monitoring and evaluating of the results achieved from the actions undertaken in this field.

The Agency for Administrative Modernization is directly responsible for administrative simplification and modernization.

CEGER: Management Centre for the Electronic Government Network, is the organization responsible for the management of the Government’s electronic network, and aims to support it in the areas of information and communication technology and information systems. It reports directly to the Secretary of State of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, by Prime Ministerial decree.

Statistics: Portugal has a population of 10.6 million people, of which 747 880 were public employees, in 2005 (77.3% in the Central Government and 22.7% in Local Government), in accordance with the following evolution:

In 2005, the number of public employees per thousand inhabitants in the Portuguese Administration (70,8) was above the community average (62,4 per thousand inhabitants). Public employment represented 13,5% of the active population, 0,5 percentage points higher than the community average.

Rights, obligations, principles and values

Principles: The pursuit of public interest without prejudice to citizens’ legitimate rights and interests is the fundamental guideline framing administrative activity.

Ten ethical principles governing administrative activity can be mentioned: the Principle of Public Service; the Principle of Legality; the Principle of Justice and Impartiality; the Principle of Equality; the Principle of Proportionality; the Principle of Collaboration and Good Faith; the Principle of Information and Quality; the Principle of Loyalty; the Principle of Integrity and the Principle of Competency and Responsibility.

Managers shall steer their work towards quality, responsibility and efficiency, as well as accountability for results.

Obligations: The general duties of state employees2 consist on the duty to pursue the public interest; the duty of neutrality; the duty of impartiality; the duty of information; the duty of zeal; the duty of obedience; the duty of loyalty; the duty of courteousness; the duty of assiduity and the duty of punctuality. Infringement of these duties gives rise to disciplinary proceedings.

Rights: The rights of workers performing public functions are not currently compiled in a single piece of legislation. As any Portuguese citizen they hold the general rights stipulated in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic (right to life, liberty and security, freedom of speech and information, freedom of conscience, religion and cult, participation in public life, association, economic, social and cultural rights…).

In particular, the following rights shall be highlighted:

• Right of access to public service – under equal conditions and freedom, as a rule by means of open competition;

• Right of access to public positions – under equal conditions and freedom;

• Right to information – be informed, whenever so requested, about the progress of proceedings in which one is directly interested, and to know the final decisions that are taken; and access to administrative records and files, subject to the legal provisions with regard to matters pertaining to internal and external security, criminal investigation and personal privacy;

• Right to justification of acts – administrative acts must be justified expressly and in an accessible way whenever they affect legally protected rights or interests;

• Right to appeal – judicial appeal against administrative acts deemed unfavourable, harming legally protected rights or interests.

In the scope of the fulfilment of duties there are a considerable number of rights. Yet the following are to be stressed:

Rights of collective exercise

• Right to collective negotiation – negotiation between trade union associations and Public Administration on matters relating to public employment status, with a view to reaching an agreement;

• Right to trade union activity;

• Right to strike – in accordance with the decision of the trade union associations being however compulsory that the provision of the necessary minimum services in the services intended to meet the essential social needs be ensured (Armed Forces and Security Forces do not have the right to strike).

Rights connected to effective provision of work

• Right to a salary and other pecuniary benefits;

• Right to periodical remunerated holidays – this right is acquired with the constitution of the public employment legal relationship, referring, as a rule, to the service performed in the preceding calendar year (by twelve months of work, the civil servant is entitled to a period of holidays ranging between 25 to 28 working days);

• Right to vocational training – aimed at modernizing and promoting effectiveness, efficiency and quality of services, as well as developing and qualifying the human resources;

• Right to admission to an open competition – for recruitment and personnel selection for the Public Administration;

• Right to assessment – annual performance assessment for career advancement purposes;

• Right to social protection – by way of the Convergent Social Protection scheme or the General Social Security Scheme, in case of illness, maternity, paternity and adoption, unemployment, accidents at work and occupational diseases, old age (retirement), disability and death;

• Right to social benefits – complementary social action (benefits granted by the Public Administration Social Services) and health subsystems (complementary benefits to the right of protection in health ensured by the National Health Service).

Social Protection

Social Protection for staff performing public functions. Social protection for workers performing public functions is effected by their integration in the General Social Security Scheme or in the Convergent Social Protection Scheme, pursuant to the Law no. 4/2009, of 29th January.

Integration in one or other of these schemes depends upon the worker having been covered by the prior “Civil Service Social Protection Scheme” or by General Social Security Scheme. All workers admitted to public employer entities after 1st January 2006 are compulsorily framed in this latter scheme.

The social protection of workers performing public functions provides, in any of the schemes, cash benefits to substitute work incomes lost as a result of sickness; maternity, paternity and adoption; unemployment; accidents at work and occupational diseases; invalidity; old-age and death (survivor’s pension and death allowance). It also provides benefits within the scope of family protection (family related expenses; invalidity related expenses and dependence related expenses).

In the convergent Social Protection Scheme is of direct responsibility of public employers, to grant benefits relating to immediate contingencies: sickness; maternity, paternity and adoption (parenthood); unemployment; accidents at work and occupational diseases and death (relating to death allowance).

Caixa Geral de Aposentações - CGA (Civil Servants Special Pension Scheme) grants benefits relating to non immediate contingencies: invalidity; old-age; death (survivor’s pension) and benefits by virtue of permanent disabilities and death resulting from accidents at work and occupational diseases. Death allowance of the pensioner is also paid by CGA.

The payment of benefits regarding the General Social Security Scheme is incumbent upon the competent social security institutions.

Nevertheless, in case of unemployment of workers, on an appointment basis and of workers on a public function employment contract basis, who were previously civil servants, unemployment benefits are granted by social security institutions, but the respective allowances are paid by the ultimate service in which they performed functions.

Performance Assesment System

The assessment of the performance in Public Administration (SIADAP) applies to the performance of public services, their respective managers and all other staff. It is an integrated approach to management and assessment systems allowing for consistently aligning the performances of services and of those who work in them.

There are three components to the system:

• Subsystem for the Performance Assessment of Public Administration services (SIADAP 1);

• Subsystem for the Performance Assessment of managers in Public Administration (SIADAP 2);

• Subsystem for the Performance Assessment of Public Administration Employees (SIADAP 3).

SIADAP is designed for universal application throughout State, regional and local administration, foreseeing wide reaching mechanisms for flexibility and adaptation to be able to cover the specific nature of the different types of administration, public services, careers and functional areas of their staff and management needs.

The system is based on a management design for Public Administration services centred upon objectives. To this end, in assessing services, managers and all other staff, the results achieved from previously determined objectives play a key role. The results should be measured through pre-established indicators that, among other things, allow for transparency, impartiality and avoidance of discrimination.

The assessment is done annually and refers to the performance of one calendar year. This process begins with the contracting of the assessment parameters (Results and Competencies) in February. Said assessment must be made during the months of January and February of the following year.

Mobility

The mobility regime currently in force and effect includes two patterns, General Mobility and Special Mobility.

A) General Mobility

It consists of transitional modification of functional situation of the worker, within the same body or service, or between different bodies or services, based on grounds of public interest, targeting to increase effectiveness of services by way of a rational use and valuing of Public Administration human resources.

General mobility instruments are applicable to all workers with a public employment legal relationship formed for indefinite period of time – appointment or employment contract in public functions.

It may assume the form of assignment of public interest or of internal mobility:

1. Assignment of Public Interest – is applicable when a worker of a public employer entity covered by the objective scope of application of Law 12-A/2008, that lays down the regimes of job attachment, careers and remunerations (LVCR), shall fulfil transitional functions in a public or private entity excluded from the objective scope of application of the LVCR, and vice-versa.

2. Internal Mobility – it is applied when a worker fulfils provisionally functions within the same body or service or between public employer entities covered by the objective scope of application of the LVCR.

It assumes the forms of mobility in the category (in the same activity or in different activity), mobility inter categories in the same career (higher or lower category) and mobility inter careers, for a degree of complexity equal, higher or lower.

B) Special Mobility Regime

The Special Mobility Regime has been defined to frame processes for the abolishment, merger and restructuring of public services. Likewise, a general regime for the staff rationalization process has been laid down in situations where human resources assigned to some services are mismatched with regard to permanent needs and the pursuit of the objectives.

The process is developed in three phases:

1. The transition phase runs for 60 days and is intended to enable civil servants or contractual staff to resume functions without the need to attend vocational training courses;

2. The re-qualification phase has a 10 month time limit, after completed the preceding phase and is intended to strengthen professional abilities of civil servants or contractual staff by creating better conditions for employability;

3. The compensation phase runs for an indefinite period after the re-qualification phase and is intended to support civil servants or contractual staff resuming functions though they have not taken part in preceding phases. In this phase there is the possibility for employees to perform other remunerated activities (in this case receiving both public and private remuneration), although the duty of accepting the resuming of public service functions is maintained.

Graphically they can be represented as follows:

Workers in special mobility situation have precedence in all recruitments procedures (for temporary or permanent positions) and can also be assigned to functions outside public administration (public corporate entities and welfare institutions), by means of a special provision in the law.

Legislation in force created also an Extraordinary Leave that confers the right to a monthly subvention. Staff placed under special mobility situation benefiting from this leave are allowed to perform, for a fixed period, any remunerated professional activity outside the Public Administration, without obligation to resume public functions.

Employment System

As a result of the recent reform process, the employment system is position-based with integration of staff appointed and contracted for an indefinite period of time in general and special regime careers.

General regime careers are deemed those which legal job description characterizes work posts that organs or services generally need for the development of the respective activities. Law establishes three general regime careers: Senior Officials (uni-category career); Specialist Assistant (multi-category career); Operational Assistant (multicategory career).

Special regime careers are governed according to specific contents and functional duties and are dependent upon training for at least 6 months as to normal general training.

Regarding promotion, the former rules apply to appointed staff until the entering into force of a new regulation of such careers. Therefore, in order to be promoted it is compulsory to be approved in a specific internal open competition and the promotion takes place to the next grade of the corresponding career.

As regards contracted staff, career advancement is made through open competition procedures, whose scope of recruitment privileges the workers who have already job attachment to public administration.

The concept of promotion is not applied: advancement in the career is made through the change in the remuneration pay step, either through open competition procedures, with the possibility to negotiate the pay step, or trough means of performance assessment, generally dependent upon budgetary availability.

Each year public workers are assessed regarding the parameters results and competences. The final assessment is expressed in qualitative ratings (excellent, relevant and adequate performance) corresponding to quantitative references.

A change of remuneration pay step may occur by managerial option taking into consideration the budget appropriations that are defined each year for this purpose. Top managers opt to promote these changes in a well defined career/categories universe3 of workers that have achieved in two consecutive years the maximum rating (excellent performance) or in three consecutive years the rate below the maximum one, as well as those who in five consecutive years achieve the rating of adequate performance that substantiate positive consecutive performances.

However, in this matter, the law lays down an exception that allows the top manager of a public organ or service, after having heard the Assessing Coordinating Council, to promote the change to the remuneration pay step immediately following that one held by the public employee if the last performance assessment achieved by him/her is the maximum rating or the immediately lower, even if he/she is not included in the universe of aforementioned workers. Likewise, the top manager may determine that the change of the remuneration pay step occurs to any other remuneration pay step following that one in which the employee is placed, but in this case, it is mandatory that the worker fulfills the requirements mentioned in the above paragraph.

In order to guarantee a change in the pay step, even if the service’s budget appropriation is, that year, limited, a point system was created: to excellent performances are granted 3 points, to relevant performance are granted 2 points, to adequate performances is granted 1 point and to inadequate performance a negative score (-1 point) is granted. A compulsory change for the remuneration pay step immediately following that in which he/she is placed occurs when the worker achieves 10 points.

Training

Workers are entitled to and have the duty of attend every year training and further training actions in the activity in which they perform functions.

Annually a diagnosis of training needs is carried out by PA services and bodies. This diagnosis aims at determining gaps of performance, the failures of competences or the lack of knowledge, necessary to the carrying out of a professional activity, with a view to planning and executing projects and training programmes and personal development.

Based upon the referred to diagnosis annual training programmes are drawn up.

Training courses destined to workers performing public functions are provided by duly certified entities.

The need for training in specific areas may result from the performance assessment procedure.

Remuneration

Remuneration scheme of workers fulfilling public functions is made of three components: basic remuneration; remuneration supplements and performance bonuses.

a) Basic Remuneration

The monthly basic remuneration is the pecuniary amount corresponding to the remuneration level of the remuneration pay step in which the public employee is placed in the category/career of which is holder or of the position fulfilled under a limited executive tenure.

The identification of the remuneration levels corresponding to the remuneration pay steps of categories, as well as the pay steps of the position fulfilled under a limited executive tenure is made by regulatory decree.

A joint order from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance and Public Administration established the single pay scale (made up of 115 pay steps) to be applied to all workers fulfilling functions under the public employment legal relationships, the number of remuneration levels and the pecuniary amount corresponding to each one.

b) Remuneration Supplements

Remuneration supplements consist of pay increases resulting from the fulfilment of jobs that require more demanding conditions in relation to other jobs characterized by identical post or career and category. Its value is defined, as a rule, as a fixed pecuniary amount and only exceptionally corresponds to a percentage of the monthly basic remuneration of the worker.

Remuneration supplements are broken down in provisional and permanent supplements.

1. Provisional supplements – granted in situations of extraordinary work; night work; work on weekly rest days, complementary rest day and official holidays and work performed outside the normal workplace.

2. Permanent supplements – granted when workers perform functions in workplaces characterised by conditions of higher demand, due to reasons of a permanent nature, namely: risk, hard or hazardous work; shift work; work performed in outlying areas; exemption from clock in and out; management secretariat and amounts due to officers in charge of finances and collection areas involving responsibility inherent in the handling and surveillance of values, cash, securities, bonds documents etc.

c) Performance Bonuses

Workers who cumulatively fulfil functions in a body or service and have achieved in the last performance assessment, the maximum rating or the immediately lower to this one and integrate universes previously defined by order of the top manager of the service, are entitled to the grant of a performance bonus, equal to a monthly basic remuneration, provided that the available amount to bear this type of charges has not been spent.

In predicted budget limits, other performance rewarding systems may be created and regulated, namely according to results accomplished in team or of performance of workers who are integrated in the last pay step of the respective category.

The creation of these rewarding systems is made by law (regarding the appointees) or by collective labour regulation instrument, in case of public employment legal relationships formed by contract.

Work Time

Different rules and working conditions are applicable to each of the public employment legal relationships.

Working Hours

According to the nature of their activities, services may adopt, with regard to workers on an appointment regime, the following patterns of working hours:

a) Fixed working hours – are those which are divided by two daily periods, with beginning and end fixed hour, separated by a rest break.

b) Flexitimes - are those enabling workers to manage their working hours, by choosing the beginning and end working hours, complying with the previously established fixed core morning and afternoon working hours.

c) Staggered working hours – are those enabling establish, service by service or by groups of workers, different fixed beginning and end working hours, while maintaining unchanged the daily work period.

d) Shift working hours- are those in which, for need of regular and normal operation of the service, there is the performance of work in , at least, two daily and successive periods, being each one of them of duration not lower than the daily average work duration.

e) Specific working hours – are those which are envisaged to adjust to workers’ needs or of his/her members of the family (continuous working day, studentworker, etc…)

f) Non subjection to working hours – performance of work not subject to a working hour pattern nor to the observance of the general duty of assiduity and of compliance with the weekly work duration, but does not release regular contact of the worker with the service.

g) Exemption from clocking in and out – it consists of non subjection to maximum limits of normal work periods. However, it does not release the observance of the general duty of assiduity, nor the compliance with the weekly work duration legally established.

The daily normal work period is interrupted by a rest break of duration not lower than one hour nor higher than two hours, except in duly grounded exceptional cases, so as workers do not perform more than five hours of consecutive work, save in case of continuous work day.

In Employment contract in public functions regime a typification of working hours was not adopted. Such definition was left to public employer entities upon consultation of the workers’ representative entities and works councils or in the default of these

Social dialogue and system of representation

Joint Representation and Social Dialogue: On the basis of the resolution no 34 of the Tripartite Commission for Social and Economic Affairs (a main body of social dialogue), passed on the 16th February 2009, the special Sub-group on self-government administration employees and civil service was called into being. Its main goal is to work out and agree different solutions concerning self-government administration employees and civil service related to remuneration system, performance appraisal, job evaluation in particular as well as special rules concerning a labour law and funds for functioning (the presidium of the Commission has the right to charge the Sub-group with other tasks when necessary). In the Sub-group there are 14 members: 4 representatives of the government, 2 representatives of self-government administrations, 6 members of the representative trade unions organisations (Independent Self-Governed Trade Union “Solidarnos´c´” (NSZZ “Solidarnos´c´”) – 2 representatives, All-Polish Trade Union Alliance (OPZZ) – 2 representatives and Trade Union Forum (FZZ) – 2 representatives), 1 member of one of four representative employers organizations in Poland (Business Centre Club – Employers’ Union (BCC – ZP)). The Sub-group is chaired by the representatives of Government appointed by the Chair of the Tripartite Commission - the Head of the Civil Service in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister. The functioning of the Sub-group is foreseen till the end of 2011. The results of the discussions, although they are not binding for the Government, they are usually taken into account that is reflected in drawing a draft bill of law or in modifying an existing law.

Right of Civil Servants to Conclude Collective Agreements: According to the Polish legal system, especially under labour code (art 239 § 3), collective bargaining doesn’t exist in the civil service (which contains governmental administration), self-government administration (workers employed by appointment), prosecutors, judges. The wages in this professional groups are regulated by acts and decrees. The collective bargaining taking place in the public sector in another professional groups especially in education system and healthcare system, then negotiations are taking place on a agency level or in a workplace. There is no binding agreements for central government in Poland in civil service.

Recent reforms and prospects

The Act on civil service of 21st of November 2008 entered into force on 23rd March 2009 as one of the actions taken on the basis of resolution of the Council of Ministers of 2008 on the finalisation of public administration reform. The year 2009 was devoted to implementation of the provisions of the new act and to legislative work on executive acts. These regulations and ordinances refer mainly to remuneration issues, disciplinary procedures, performance evaluation, qualification procedures and procedures of cooperation between directors general and the Head of Civil Service.

Another new action taken up under the act of civil service provisions is the elaboration and implementation of strategy on human resources management in civil service. The strategy should contain diagnosis of the civil service, definition of strategic aims, implementation system and financial framework. The works on the strategy are currently being conducted.

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