"Junk" contract workers can join unions

The Constitutional Tribunal has announced that people working on the so-called "junk contracts", that is self-employed workers, temporary workers or those whose contract doesn't include social insurance, are entitled to join labor unions. The tribunal has ruled that two key points of the labor union law are unconstitutional as the government erroneously defined the term "worker." Under the Polish Labor Code, a worker is a person employed on a full-time contract, whereas the International Labor Organization defines it more broadly and covers all those in paid employment. The ruling obliges the government to amend the labor union law, however, it may not come soon. According to Wyborcza.biz webportal, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is going to put off working on the act and will focus on passing the law on the social dialog first.