Workers pay for bureaucracy's
'economic reform'
The economic reform plan introduced in 1982 attempted to divert the workers from their aspirations for new economic measures to get the
This aspiration had been expressed in the
SOLA media unashamedly advised old people, those on parental leave and young people in education, to 'supplement' their inspontaneous development of the self-management movement during 1981.
The heavy blow to the mass movement represented by the introduction of the state of war in December 1981, allowed the bureaucracy to change the immediate objectives of the economic reform plan from those contained in the draft plan of 1981. The emphasis was put more and more on the compulsion to work on the one hand, and increasing the exploitation of the workers on the other (see documents in the following pages).
banning of trade-union activity leaves the bureaucracy more room for manoeuvre in this arena.
Other modifications of the system come up against the stubborn and effective resistance of certain pressure groups within the bureaucracy. (1)
The reform plan introduced a wide autonomy for the enterprises - freedom to fix prices, more powers to reorganise the work force, autonomous decision-making on production plans.
eralised price rise in 1982. Calculating the retail price index on the basis of 100 in 1981 it reached an average figure of 209.4 in the following year.
For food productes the figure was 262.8, and for industrial products
232.3. (2)
The recent changes in food prices and on the right to work are just one more step down the road forcing the workers to pay for the bureaucracy's
Cyril SMUGA
Annual per capita income was 28 per cent less in 1983 than it had been in
1978. In addition, the last few months of
1983 were marked by a new drop in production. The index for production sold, calculated on the base of 100 for the corresponding months in 1982 was 106,
103.5 and 100.4 for October, November and December respectively.
It is the same story in agricultural proproducers, whether individuals or state farms, at the end of 1983, by comparison with 1982 which was already a low year, dropped by 7.2 per cent in October, 16 percent in November and 25.6 percent
Over the last four years the standard of living for the population as a whole has widely deteriorated. The available figures on consumption illustrate this. In five years the consumption of bread per capita has dropped by 3.1 per cent, for milk by 5.8 per cent, for butter by
35 per cent, for vegetable oils by 30.4 per cent, for animal fats by 39.3 per cent and for meat by 44.7 percent. (4)
The Polish bureaucracy has planned new, sharp cuts in workers' income for
1984. The price rises for food stuffs on
January 30 were only one aspect of this policy. But, nevertheless, they were painful enough.
Prices went up by 25 percent for bread and flour, 25 to 80 percent for
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The first effect was a gengood meat products, 10 to 35 per cent for milk and dairy products, 15 to 25 per cent for vegetable oils, 10 per cent for animal fats, 10 to 20 per cent for meat, 25 to 38 per cent for pasta and 13 per cent for sugar.
At the same time, a steadily growing number of people cannot afford even to buy the monthly rations to which they are entitled - one pound of butter, 2.5 kilograms of meat, 1.5 kilograms of
In order to 'limit the effects of the price rises', in the words of the bureaucrats, a series of legislative changes came into force on February 1, 1984.
The figures on investments are particularly explicit on this. During the 1970s, the central statele control over this steadily weakened. Thus, in 1980 the emphasis was put on getting a firm grip on investment, particularly through sults in this field for 1983 are significant. (GUS) notes that the investment side remains disordered and puts the economic equilibrium
It gives examples of delays in prioritised central have been 'frozen' by the decisions in the plan succeeded in reversing the priorites at the level of implementation as in Gierek's time...). Moreover, the low level of investment for modernisation-reconstruction does not allow the reproduction of fixed capital.
The annual rises in price index, taking the previous a base of 100, 8.5 points in 1976, 3.9 in 1977, 4.7 in 1978, 2 in 1979, 4.2 in 1980, 9.2 in 1981 for industrial prices For retail consumption: 8.4 points in 1978, 7.4 in 1979, 8.5 in 1980 and 18.4 in 1981. Source: The official statistics night or after The Labour Code was modified The second aspect consists of imposing 1982 reform created a 'fund for professional activity' (FAZ). pose of this fund was to finance retraining of workers, in special schemes or on the job, and unemployment benefits. In practice, however, as no such programmes exist, it acts as a way of pressurising enterprises not to raise wages, even when they are making a profit.
The enterprises had to pay a steeply progressive tax to the state to finance the FAZ if the average annual workers wage rose by more than 7 per cent. A new law came into force on January 1, 1984, and, from now, this tax will apply to the total wage bill, and not simply the aver-
What is more, the 1984 law is retro. active, applying also to the 1983 end-of year bonuses. Its immediate result is thus to keep down the amount of these bonuses and, in the long term, to limit hirings as well as wage rises. Moreover, it will tend to increase the wage differentials within one plant, and between the different sectors. (5)
The third aspect is the modification of A January 26, 1984 law allows the enterprises to decide their wage scales in complete autonomy. Up till now the rates were decided centrally for each sector on the basis of a collecdirectory Rocznik Statystyczyny and Rocznik Statystezyny Przemyslu 1983.
Figures from the GUS The last three months of the year are traditionally the best from the point of view of production because the enterprises always try to catch up on their production delays for the annual plan. 4. According to the Solidarnose bulletin for the Huta Warszawa steelworks, Hutnicy 82, No 20/47. 5. There big wage differentials between and within the different sectors of the economy in Poland. In 1982 the average wage for a worker was 25,022 ziotys in the mines, compared to 9,405 in light industry. In 1983 the legal minimum wage was 5,400 zlotys. However, the legal ceiling for the 10 per cent of nonproduction workers in the mines was already 41,373 in 1982 This was the basic salary without bonuses or other supplements. The difference in wages between workers doing the same job could be 1:2.5, between the sectors. between a worker and a director it could be 1:9. Souce: GUS Moreover, according to Television Solidarnosc, journalists in the po litical service earn...70,000 zlotys per month.
International Viewpoint 9 April 1984
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POLAND country out of the crisis.
prises could only make decisions affecting bonuses.
The affect of this new law is first of all to make it possible to revise, on a factory-by-factory basis, the collective agreements, which guarantee a certain number
Moreover, this law fixes new norms concerning the bonuses, payment for overtime, wage supplements, etc. now on, these are to be calculated on the basis of the minimum wage in each category, not on the basis of the wage actually received by the person concerned, and
However, this is a special clause, because the enterprise can base themselves on this, or they can stick to the previous system, depending on whether the relationship of forces within the enterprise gives the management sufficient room to manoeuvre to impose the new arrangement.
This law will also promote greater wage differentials, both within an individual enterprise as well as between workers of different enterprises. In effect, it does away with the previous maximum wages.
The December 18, 1983, issue of the official Polish weekly, Zycie Gospodarcze, confirmed this assessment when it quoted the words of the minister in charge of relations with the trade unions, Stanislaw Ciosek.
Speaking at a meeting of the Economic Reform Commission in Warsaw on December 14, the minister said, The aim of this law [on wages] is to produce a wide differentiation in wages, according to the criterion of usefulness for the enterprise, and ridding ourselves of any notion of charity in fixing wages. We cannot give away money, and we must not let ourselves think of wages as social benefits. If the enterprise wants to pay someone more, it has to pay someone else less. Wages must be fixed by the harsh laws of the economy, and the concept of a social minimum can only affect those without work. At least he has the merit of being frank and open!
These recent anti-worker measures follow on in a long string of changes to the labour laws introduced in 1982 and 1983. Among the most important are the following: pulsory to look for work through the state office, reinforcing the authorities control over employment. A ban has been imposed on leaving the job in a number of enterprises. And the notice required before quitting has been lengthened to six months in industry, commerce, ete.
All these measures aim to increase the pressure to work and to step up the exploitation of the working class. These aims are the centrepiece of the changes introduced since 1983 in the name of 'reforming the Polish economy'.
Today, all these measures are running up against the resistance of the workers (see box on recent strikes). The announcement of price rises was greeted with work stoppages in many of the International Viewpoint 9 April 1984 country's enterprises use the Self-Management Council as a substitute for the outlawed union shoot down this or that action of the management.
Passive resistance is also growing. To give just one example, in the Uniontex textile factory in Lodz an experimental wages scale was introduced. 12,000 workers in the factory at the time that the experiment was begun only
6,700 were still there a few months later, in August 1983. The workers had voted with their feet against the super-exploitation.
But this resistance, massive as it is -and strikes have generally been joined by 90 to 95 per cent of the workers - has run up against the problem of the general weakness of the inter-enterprise union structures. As a result, it has remained fragmented.
Solidarnose members are still active (DR) 15