Poland: Your policy - our poverty

30 June More than 30thousand unionists from all sectors and regions of „Solidarnosc” took part in the demonstration under the slogan “Your policy – our poverty”, which took place on 30 June in Warsaw. This was the largest union rally in years.

During the demonstration signatures were collected under the citizens’ bill on increasing the minimum wage. The demonstration was unconventional, with participating miners’ orchestra, majorettes, music platforms and rock concert. Hundreds of leaflets were dropped from a blimp.

Among the guests addressing the gathered unionists was Georgios Dassis, chair of the trade union group in the EcoSoc, and Jozef Niemiec, Deputy Secretary General of the ETUC. They both said the governments use the crisis as a pretext to assault the workers’ rights and cut wages and transfer the burden of recovery plans entirely onto the working people.

Piotr Duda, the president of NSZZ “Solidarnosc”, said that despite the fact that we live in a free and democratic country, we are still not free from social pathologies. “Again, the authorities do not wan to talk with the unions calling us hooligans, just like in the times of the communist power.” He also appealed to young people to join the movement and support the fight against exploitation, low wages and precarious work contracts.

The protest column arrived to the Prime Minister’s Office and handed the petition demanding increase of the minimum wage, temporary reduction of taxes on fuels, transfer of funds to the Labour Fund and broadening the criteria for social aid, as well as suspension and renegotiation of the energy-climate pact and active family policy, including secure employment for the youths.

“For the first time we were hosted by the Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his top advisor minister Michal Boni. They proposed appointing join task groups, which is a good sign” said Piotr Duda.

/Solidarnosc