Not all subcommittees act as they should.Source: Wikimedia Commons
Despite their crucial role, parliamentary committees do not always act as they should. It happens that their operation in general is hard to call action, due to the fact that actual work is done only... about erstwhile a year. What is the problem of fictional committees?
The tasks, work and organisation of these bodies shall be determined by the Rules of Procedure of the Sejm together with the Annexes. Article 18 of that act provides for a permanent catalogue of parliamentary committees, but the legislator provided for the anticipation of creating emergency and investigative committees. Parliamentary committees are intended to facilitate and improve the work of Members, and to this end it is besides foreseen that smaller, even more organised subcommittees can be created within them. Their functioning throughout the Sejm's organisational strategy is frequently underestimated, and it is here that the first clear drafts of government are drawn up and key discussions are being held on the wording and form of the fresh regulations. The function of parliamentary committees besides seems to be underestimated by Members. Let us remind you that not only do they have a work to participate in their work, but both for their leadership and for their membership, they collect considerable wages.
For example, as “Fact” reported, 1 of the MPs of Law and Justice – Wojciech Zubowski – for “working” in the Subcommittee on Oil and Natural Gas earned almost 13 1000 zlotys. It is worth noting that in addition to this amount it besides receives salaries and allowances. What precisely is he doing? So far, he's actually worked 5 minutes. The subcommittee has not met erstwhile since its appointment in May 2021. Now that the media is interested, the president decided to hold a meeting. Tadeusz Cymański, a associate of the care squad for dependents, asked by RMF FM for a summary of his activities for people with disabilities, replied that he was “not an active MP on this matter”. Clearly, any do not even effort to hide their deficiency of engagement in professional duties.
Therefore, it is no wonder the negative stereotypes about the performance of the MP's work and the ubiquitous frustration of the appalled society. The minimum wage for a citizen whose interest is to execute his parliamentary tasks is little than PLN 3,500 per period in 2023. However, it is not only Members who request to be paid for their work on the committee. Each of these bodies, and now there are 32 (29 standing and 3 extraordinary committees), has its secretariat, advisors, and the president besides has an assistant. "Rzeczpospolita" estimates that taxpayers spend about PLN 269,000 annually on each commission. This amount, multiplied by the number of standing committees, amounts to almost PLN 8 million per year!
There are voices in the public debate that the amount earned by participation (it is hard to call it work) in the parliamentary committees should be allocated to charity. Undoubtedly, specified a motion would, though minimally, reconstruct citizens' assurance in politicians. Until now, however, they have not been willing to make specified sacrifices. possibly it is besides a good solution to reduce the number of specified teams or to regulate their mode in more detail? The committee should meet informally at least erstwhile a quarter. However, the failure to complete this frequency is not sanctioned and members, even if the committee does not meet during a given period, proceed to receive remuneration.
Wojciech Zubowski presides over 1 of the controversial parliamentary subcommitteesSource: Youtube/Screenshot
Some of the committees, although the Rules of Procedure of the Sejm articulate them as permanent, seem virtually pointless. For example, the Constitutional work Commission has only met six times since 2019. Theoretically, it deals with requests for Members to be held accountable to the Court of State, which besides does not play a crucial function in practice. The president of the committee, Iwona Arent, reported in Rzeczpospolita that material proposals to the committee do not reach, resulting in stagnation and deficiency of work. However, as has already been known, the Members of the committee besides draw up draft laws and de facto set the agenda for the Sejm and the Senate. There is so nothing to prevent the liability squad from gathering more frequently and working, for example, to improve the form of the Court of State mentioned earlier.
However, it should be borne in head that not all of the parliamentary committees are busy. For example, the Committee on Public Finance, chaired by Andrzej Costowniak of the Law and Justice, held 382 meetings, and the Committee on the Protection of the Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry under the leadership of Urszula Pasławska of the Polish Academy of Sciences – 149. The list of committees, their work and meetings can be checked on the Sejm's website. Most of them have had an average of 150 meetings since 2019 (as of February 8th), giving about 40 meetings per year and 3.5 meetings per month. Comparing this consequence with six meetings of the Constitutional work Commission (less than 2 meetings per year) is simply a satisfactory outcome.
How are the accounts of the advanced salaries of Members of the European Parliament for the principles of ethics and the promise of service to voters? Without doubt, this work is time-consuming and involves a large deal of responsibility, but does it require more than any other? This question cannot be answered unequivocally. It can only be stated objectively that, in many respects, the engagement of Members in their work is not proportional to the remuneration they receive for it. The Polish Sejm seems to have been struggling with this problem for many tenure but, as the practice shows, alternatively in vain anticipate reflection and initiative from parliamentarians to change this state of affairs.
SusanREEMBA
