Temat: Poland finally warms to whistleblowing by weighing legal...

Poland finally warms to whistleblowing by weighing legal rights and protections

Just reading a newspaper in Poland tells you how new and somewhat alien the idea of whistleblowing is here. Nearly every article opens in some way explaining to readers what the concept even means.

The very notion of whistleblowing is viewed in Poland with distrust, seen as too close to spying and snitching. This is likely a hangover from the Communist era, when nearly any sort of reporting to the authorities could be perceived as a betrayal. You were in danger of even more backlash if your report got the attention of the Polish secret police – the UB and SB.

Though 70 percent of people surveyed recently in Poland said they would be inclined to report misconduct, more than three-fourths said they would expect a negative response due to social pressures and low trust in the legal system.

When asked what would deter them from making a report, more people cited the fear of being branded a snitch and the attitude of “it is none of my business” than the possibility of retaliation. This places Poland in the minority of countries around the world, where most whistleblowers rather fear reprisals and inaction by authorities.

To make matters worse, Poland has virtually no legal protections for employees or citizens who report misconduct or public health dangers. They have been left to themselves to defend against repercussions. “Our experience shows that retaliation against whistleblowers is quite common,” said Konrad Siemaszko of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.
(...)
https://see-whistleblowing.org/poland-warms-to-whistleb...