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Impel Airport Services transfer assets and sell company. Workers left with nothing.

People who serviced the airplanes for LOT and other companies at Warsaw's Chopin airport for years are fighting against what has happened to them and to get compensation for being abandoned by their company. The story is unfortunately something that happens in Poland, where corporate profits are put above the welfare of workers.

Five years ago, the workers were employed by LOT Ground Services. The work is not just simple cleaning; they had lots of training in special procedures, they enjoyed stable work with benefits. Until one day they were sold away.

Poland has some particular ways to outsource workers so that companies do not have to take normal responsibility for their employees. They can legally sell the service to another company. This has been a popular way to achieve the outsourcing of jobs such as cooking, cleaning and other maintenance. Selling the service usually means that the premises and equipment is sold, or that just the equipment for doing the job is sold. There have been cases where companies have bought a bunch of old mops and buckets and this has meant that the service was legally sold. In such cases, the employees can be transferred out to the new company which bought the service. Often this means that the new employers have to keep the old working conditions for one year – but there have been cases of the new company going around this as well.

At the end of 2008, employees of LOT Ground Services cleaning the airplanes were thus transferred to Impel Cleaning Service. [1]

Impel is a huge Polish company, known for buying up such work. It is – and isn't – (technically) outsourcing, since they buy the services. (http://www.impel.pl/en/index.html ) It is infamous for its role in helping the outsourcing of jobs and privatization of medical services since hundreds of hospital workers such as orderlies and cleaners have lost their jobs and been sent to Impel. With Impel, many things happen, sooner or later.

The former LGS workers were transferred from Impel Cleaning Service to another company they set up – Impel Airport Service. Many workers had fewer benefits than before. Eventually most salaries were cut by at least 20 percent.

The story gets complicated, as both companies in the LOT capital group and the Impel capital group come and go, get different contracts in the airport. Capital, equipment and people are shuffled around in a certain way. Eventually, LOT sets up LOT Services and they again will service the planes, doing the work that the people from Impel Airport Service were doing.

Impel Airport Service told the workers they'd be automatically transferred to LOT Services, but there was no agreement with LOT Services. So when the workers showed up at 6AM at LOT Services, as they were told by IAS, LOT Services told them they have nothing to do with this. IAS insisted that the responsibility to employ them was with LOT Services. The workers never got any termination notice. They were not able to receive unemployment benefits because of this detail. They were left without any job or any income. Just like that, after many of them had worked 15-20 or more years doing the same thing.

Two groups of workers went to Labour Court to ask that the legal employer be established: IAS or LOT Services. The court ruled in the first case that IAS was responsible and that since the people had been employeed and ready to work the whole time, they were entitled to 17 months pay. IAS though transferred the airport cleaning business to a new company it set up, Impel Airport Partner. All these companies have the same capital group, etc. - but they say it is a totally “different” legal entity – a practice which is tolerated by the Polish law which facilitates such options. Impel Airport Services, now devoid of its business, was sold and SEISO is in its place – a company with $1250 share capital. The Director of SEISO went to the court and told workers that in case the court would decide IAS is the responsible employer, their claims would fall on SEISO, and SEISO would file for bankruptcy. And it has. And workers are left with claims against an empty, bankrupt company.

It has to be said that this operation was all the more interesting because Impel Cleaning had bought SEISO in 2007.

Although it should be rather obvious what was done to the workers, authorities, unions and even politicians have turned a blind eye to this, which is considered “business as usual” is a country determined to casualize labour relations and help business realize their plans of making maximum profits by minimizing their responsibilities towards workers.

If you are like us and you think that this is not OK, please support our campaign for justice for these workers. More information about what you can do should be published shortly. In the meanwhile, please share this article.

[1] This and subsequent actions of LGS came under question by many, including parliamentarians. The State Treasury had an interest in LGS and some questioned whether LGS acted to the detriment of the State by selling off parts of its business. Some have noted that this particular part of the LGS business was profitable.