examples of recent strikes rises. The main way of doing this is through extra work. Workers, pensioners, The government's anti-labour measures are meeting with resistance from the workwomen on child-care leave must roll up ers, often in the form of strikes or work-stoppages. Strikes today are very dif their sleeves again and get down to work. ferent from those of 1982. At that time they were symbolic actions of a regional
This piece of trickery is even grosser scope, or involving several enterprises at least. The demands centred around the than their usual manoeuvres. Workers Today, strikes are often longer, involving only one enterprise — even though, have been fighting for an 8-hour working as was the case in January, they may break out more or less spontaneously in a day for decades. Before the Second And local demands immediately override everyWorld War, the Polish Socialist Party even These strikes are also more often successful, demanded a 6-hour day. Today, workers are forced to work 10 or 12 hours. At the beginning of November 1983 a spontaneous strike broke out in
So, the last 'gain' of the protective several departments of the Polkolor television factory at Piaseczno near Warsaw Communist state has been done away when workers learned that the October bonus was being cut by half. with. In many sectors of the economy Some 800 workers were involved. There was no strike committee, the workers this had any way been fictitious for a turned their backs on the director when he tried to negotiate.
bonus was the usual 48 per cent of wages, and the so-called motivation bonus was long time - in mines, state-owned agri-
The security committee of the enterprise was put on a war culture, transport. footing to prevent 'strikes and sabotage', and people suspected of union activity
Another job, supplementary hours, are were called in and threatened with the sack. of course available for all those who want Short work-stoppages took place in the ZNTK and IASE enterprises in to raise their standard of living. But, in Wroclaw on December 13 and 16 in protest against the announcement of price the present conditions it is not a question rises. Some 80 per cent of the workers took part. of free choice but being forced to do so. the RZO foundry workers in Radom went on strike Many people will take on this to keep The chief administrator of the region arrived in the factory that evening and promised an extraordinary bonus of 4,000 to 4,500 zlotys. Since their already meagre food rations. This then the police have been calling in workers to interrogate them. work will not only be bad for the work- Workers from the assembly section and paintshop in the FAM factory in ers' health, particularly in the heavy sec- Chelm went on strike at the beginning of January 1984 to demand improvements in tors, but it will also have an effect on the working conditions (heating and ventilation). workers' family life. the director promised to rectify everything by the next morning. The next day the
It will not lead to an improvement in management decided to move the head of the department to a lesser post, the the material conditions of life. The only foreman to sweeper-up, some of the strikers to other departments and to sack four purpose of it is to 'compensate' for the
Between January 30 and February 4 different actions in protest against increased exploitation of the workers by price rises took place in most of the enterprises in Wroclaw. the state-boss. taneous work-stoppages took place in the following factories: Pafawag, ZNTK,
Thus, those who cannot take on extra work will eat less. If, on the other hand, In this latter case, the strike lasted from 6 am to 1 pm. The strikers, 90 to production increases during normal work- 95 per cent of the workforce, after a brief meeting, organised a procession around ing hours and the workers get a wage rise, the yard chanting, 'Down with the price rises! No liberty without Solidarity!' this will not improve their material sit- In negotiations, the director said he was unable to do anything about the price uation but only just compensate, if that, The strikers organised a meal for all the workers. The strike leadership did for the price rises. For a period during the negotiations the elected representa-
At the end of the year, we will be told tives in the enterprise acted as intermediaries.
filing out between two rows of anti-riot police (ZOMO). again that wages have gone up, on the The next day a strike totally paralysed the Hutmen foundry in Wroclaw for one basis of a national average that takes into Strikers ensured that the furnace fires kept going account the very high wages of the privi- management threatened to sack all the workers, the strike stopped. leged groups.
The 'compensation' for the price rises 30, at the call of the Solidarnos clandestine union commis given to pensioners and the fiddling sion, a meeting took place in the Nowotko engineering factory in Warsaw to protest around with the family allowances are Four people with between just one more piece of the trickery. Pensioners will receive one compensation payment for the whole year (300 zlotys 16
Great idea.
It would be still better to propose - precisely for the children - another job.
question of trade-union freedom.
number of enterprises at once.
thing else in the common slogans.
as these recent examples show:
up by 1,000 zlotys.
Dolmel and in the river shipyards not appear publicly.
several workers were sacked the next day.
against the price rises.
Party (PUWP) in Warsaw.
Only one question remains: will they defeat us with hunger, or will we be able to make 1984 a turning point?
The December
The strike ended that evening when
On January 30 spon-
At 2 pm the workers left the yards.
When the
Nevertheless,
19 and 30 years of seniority
International Viewpoint 9 April 1984
became quite well-off, having soaked up all the taxes from the enterprises, and the banks became powerful but...the people became poorer. The rate of production and the quality of goods dropped. cording to the official statements, pro-