Minister of Labor Jolanta Fedak expressed her opposition to the idea of introducing amendments to the labor code concerning obligatory cervical pap smears and mammogram tests  for prospective employees.

According to a report in “Dziennik” daily, health minister Ewa Kopacz, however, wants the two medical tests to be included in a new list of obligatory examinations required by the employers. Following the appeal of cancer specialists minister Kopacz declared in September 2008 that obligatory smear and mammogram tests will be included in the amendment to the new labor code. “The Labor Code is not the place to conduct health prevention, but to regulate relations between employers and employees,” said Minister Fedak. 

In 2008, 15.7 percent of Polish women participated in such tests offered the National Health Fund for a free mammogram and just only 7.8 percent showed up for free cervical smear tests.