The termination of a collective labour agreement that had protected workers in Poland’s defence and aviation industry for roughly three decades has pushed the dispute to Brussels, with unions now seeking international support.
In mid-May 2026, Polish employers, including companies belonging to Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), unilaterally cancelled the multi-establishment collective agreement covering employees of defence and aviation enterprises. The Metal Workers’ Secretariat of NSZZ Solidarność maintains that its calls for a return to negotiations have not produced any response, and no attempt has been made to find common ground.
Given the impact on staff in many production plants across Poland, the union secretariat asked industriAll Europe, a European trade union federation representing 7 million workers, to intervene. According to Tysol.pl, the federation addressed letters to MEPs sitting on the Committee on Security and Defence, the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.
– As significant European public funds are mobilised to strengthen the national defence industrial base, employers should take social dialogue and collective bargaining into account, rather than withdrawing from long-standing agreements that ensured stability for both employees and the whole sector – wrote Judith Kirton-Darling, secretary general of industriAll Europe, and Isabelle Barthes, her deputy.
No ministerial intervention
The two union federation officials also voiced disappointment that neither the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy nor the Ministry of State Assets has intervened to bring both sides back to the negotiating table. The situation has moved beyond the national level, as the European federation has now asked the European Commission to start talks with Polish authorities and employers in order to end the collective dispute.
For the unions, the issue is not just about one agreement. The employers’ decision affects the stability that workers and the entire defence sector have relied on for years, and Solidarność’s Metal Workers’ Secretariat is demanding that all disputes be resolved through negotiation. The unions also stress that substantial European public money is now being mobilised to strengthen national defence industrial capacities, making social dialogue a particularly important element of the current situation.
Defence industry meetings in Katowice
Key topics tied to the defence industry are scheduled for discussion on 14 October 2026 at the „Przemysł dla obronności” conference at the International Congress Centre in Katowice. The broader changes affecting the sector will be the subject of the „Forum Nowego Przemysłu” event, planned for 13-14 October, also in Katowice.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Materiały prasowe / PGZ
