Voluntary labor corps from 1958 to 1992: Formation, organizational structure, and tasks in the light of basic legal acts

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to characterize the Volunteer Labor Corps across various aspects: oversight and organizational structure, conditions and methods of youth recruitment, scope of duties, tasks, and methods of operation, as well as funding principles (here: sources of funding and equipment for the corps) against the backdrop of events in the country. The lower limit is defined by the year of the resolution of the Council of Ministers from June 13, 1958, on the establishment of corps with goals aligned with the real socialist economy, while the upper limit is set by the year of the regulation of the Council of Ministers from September 8, 1992, sanctioning the adaptation of the Corps to the needs of the market economy.

The analysis was conducted based on the foundational legislation, thus theoretically. The empirical side was omitted, which is the subject of a separate study. The intention was to indicate the programmatic evolution of the OHP, including the shift in the vision of the organization at the turn of the 90s, and the following few years.

The OHP evolved from 1958 to 1992 under the influence of events in the country. It positively contributed to youth employment policy during the era of the Polish People’s Republic and the Third Polish Republic, despite systemic and economic changes. Indeed, until the turning point of the late 1980s and early 1990s, ideological content predominated over economic content in the program, but the latter occupied an important place in the list of tasks. Over time, ideological goals were omitted in legislation.