Evolution of the Institutions Governing the Labour Market. The Case of Poland

The paper describes the path of structural and institutional changes in the labour market during transition to the market economy in Poland. The role of previously strong protection of employees and of Solidarnosc in the lagging and inconsistent changes in the rules governing the labour market is underlined. Their outcome is a segmented labour market, with substantial unemployment persisting, only partly flexible, and insecure. Weak job creation and segmentation of the market together with the cultural properties of society (passivity, “learnt helplessness”) and inadequate employment programmes prompt exit from the labour market rather than mobility.