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Post by tufta on Aug 29, 2010 10:37:39 GMT 1
The Polish Voice: Special Issue
30 Years Ago
The signing of the August Accords—unprecedented agreements between the communist authorities and worker strike committees—was one of the watersheds of Polish history in the second half of the 20th century.
The most historic signing took place on Aug. 31, 1980 at around 4:40 p.m. in the industrial safety office of the Vladimir Lenin Gdańsk Shipyard. The agreement reached between the Government Commission and the Inter-Factory Strike Committee (MKS) was signed by members of the MKS presidium, including the leader of the strike, Lech Wałęsa. The main signature on the government side was that of Deputy Prime Minister Mieczysław Jagielski .
The first clause of the Gdańsk accords stated that trade unions so far had not fulfilled workers’ hopes and expectations, so it was justified that new, self-governing trade unions should be established to genuinely represent the working class.
Under the Gdańsk agreement, new, independent and self-governing trade unions were to be established, with the Gdańsk MKS becoming the new organizations’ founding committee. They were to be registered outside the Central Council of Trade Unions, which carried out the orders of the communist authorities and which controlled trade union activity. The new unions were given the right to issue opinions on key social and economic decisions and to have their own publications. The Solidarity trade union (NSZZ Solidarność) was ultimately registered under this clause.
The authorities recognized the right to strike. Regulations on the conditions for organizing a strike were to be included in an amended law on trade unions, and work on the amendment was to involve representatives of the new trade union.
The authorities agreed to publish the main guidelines of economic reform and put them before the public for discussion. The reform was to be based on the increased independence of state-run factories and on participation by the self-governing workers’ council in management decisions.
The government also promised to submit a new draft law on censorship to the Sejm, or parliament, within three months, significantly reducing its breadth and introducing a system for appealing against censors’ decisions in a court of law. Regarding demands related to religion, the government agreed to broadcast a Sunday Mass on public radio.
Workers fired after the strikes of 1970 and 1976 were to get their jobs back, students expelled from universities were to be readmitted. The authorities promised to review court sentences from political trials and declared they would fully respect freedom of expression in public and professional life. The striking workers were assured that decisions on choosing managers would be based on qualifications and abilities and not party affiliation. The government pledged to gradually increase wages, especially the lowest ones, and to increase the lowest disability and old-age pensions annually.
The communist authorities negotiated a number of provisions in the agreement guaranteeing that the political status quo would be maintained. The striking workers agreed that the new trade unions would follow the principles set down in the constitution of the People’s Republic of Poland, defend the social and financial interests of workers and would not take on the role of a political party. They were also supposed to uphold the principle of state ownership of the means of production that lay at the foundation of the socialist system, recognize the leading role of the Polish communist party and not jeopardize the existing system of international alliances—in other words, not to question Poland’s subservience to the Soviet Union, which even the constitution referred to in an article guaranteeing the Polish-Soviet alliance.
A day earlier, an accord in Szczecin had been signed, the first in a series of four agreements. On behalf of the MKS this document’s signatories included strike leader Marian Jurczyk and Deputy Prime Minister Kazimierz Barcikowski.
The agreement was advantageous to the striking workers in the clauses on economic and welfare issues, but not fully so regarding other demands. Here, the protesting workers were not given the right to establish free or independent trade unions. They received assurances that they would be paid in full for the time spent on strike and would not be punished for taking part in the strike, unless political crimes were committed, which in reality opened the way to repression.
Sept. 3 saw the signing of a document ending the strike at the Manifest Lipcowy Coal Mine in Jastrzębie Zdrój. This agreement confirmed what had been agreed in Gdańsk and abolished the four-brigade work system in the mining industry that in practice meant miners having to work seven-day weeks. Miners were given all Saturdays and Sundays off, and the government also agreed to meet some welfare demands, such as including “black lung” (coal workers’ pneumoconiosis) on the list of occupational diseases.
The final, fourth, agreement was signed on Sept. 11 at Huta Katowice steel mill in Dąbrowa Górnicza.
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Post by tufta on Aug 29, 2010 10:46:18 GMT 1
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Post by tufta on Aug 29, 2010 10:52:58 GMT 1
On Sept. 8, 1981, the Solidarity trade union, meeting at its First National Congress in Gdańsk-Oliwa, approved The Message to the Working People of Eastern Europe. This brief document called on trade unionists from countries of the Soviet bloc to fight together for the freedom of association. The text was written by Bogusław Śliwa (1944-1989), a lawyer and active oppositionist who was later interned under martial law. Forced by the communist authorities to leave Poland, he died an émigré in Sweden.
The message ran as follows:
“We, the delegates to the First Congress of the Solidarity Independent Self-Governing Trade Union gathered in Gdańsk send words of greeting and support to the workers of Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Romania, Hungary and all the peoples of the Soviet Union.
As the first independent trade union in our postwar history, we are deeply aware of our common fate. We assure you that regardless of the lies being spread in your countries, we are a genuine, 10-million-strong organization of workers established as a result of workers’ strikes. Our goal is to fight for an improved standard of living for all working people. We support those of you who have decided to take the difficult road of fighting for a free trade-union movement. We believe that soon your representatives and ours will be able to meet to exchange their trade-union experiences.”
The publication of the Message caused a backlash from Poland’s communist authorities and equally violent criticism from Soviet officials.
In a statement by the Politburo of the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR), the Polish communist party, the document was described as “an act of insane provocation aimed at Poland’s allies.”
Leonid Brezhnev, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party, reportedly said upon reading the text that it was “a dangerous and provocative document.”
The Soviet Politburo’s official statement read, “We expect the leaders of the PZPR and the government of the People’s Republic of Poland to immediately take decisive and radical steps to cut short this malicious anti-Soviet propaganda and actions hostile towards the Soviet Union.” www.warsawvoice.pl/WVpage/pages/article.php/22354/article
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Post by tufta on Aug 29, 2010 10:55:07 GMT 1
Anniversaries always get me thinking about the amazing properties of time—its expandability, shrinkability and subjectivity...
To people born after World War II, the two interwar decades in Poland were a time of rebuilding a modern state after 120 of nonexistence—a time of stitching together a nation from three different parts that were once controlled by Russia, Austria and Germany; a time of building institutions, laws, and business centers; and a time of teaching young people patriotism and reviving culture. This was also a time of difficulties, political mistakes, coexistence of many ethnic groups; a long 20 years that ended in a dramatic finale.
Thirty years ago, Solidarity, a social movement unprecedented in the history of Poland and the world, was born. It was unprecedented in terms of its achievements. Those 30 years flashed by in less than no time—at least for someone who is aged 50 or over today. They were packed with events like few other three-decade periods in modern history. The events of August 1980 in Poland led to the historic watershed of 1989 and the Autumn of the Peoples that put an end to decades of Soviet domination in Europe after WW II. The Soviet Union disintegrated, the Eastern bloc broke up, and the Iron Curtain fell apart. The Warsaw Pact and Comecon were relegated to history books, and the Cold War ended in a victory for the West.
It’s been 30 years since the historic strikes of August 1980, but for those who were part of those events, it all seems like it was yesterday. I can still remember the long tables in the Occupational Safety Room of the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, with a crowd of feverish people gathered around them. There was a tape recorder in front of everyone; the tapes were shipped out in a continual stream—to keep the public informed. At the head of the room was one more table, for the presidium, covered with a green cloth, if I remember correctly. Once in a while, Lech Wałęsa would appear there with other strike leaders and advisers, with the latest news—who has been arrested, who has been released, how negotiations were progressing with Deputy Prime Minister Mieczysław Jagielski. There was also news arriving from other striking factories. And then came the final day—the theatrical, oversized pen in Wałęsa’s hand and the Virgin Mary badge in his lapel; a moved Jagielski; speeches… “like a Pole talking with a Pole.”
We remember all that after 30 years because it’s important that we should. Because there are interesting lessons to be learnt. And for those who took part in those events, it’s moving to recall that momentous period of history.
We also recall one specific document that was proclaimed by Solidarity in those days, raising the ire of the communist authorities at the time. The document—The Message to the Working People of Eastern Europe—is part of the union’s legacy and an inspiration for Polish foreign policy makers today.
From the Warsaw Voice Editor
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Post by tufta on Aug 29, 2010 10:58:57 GMT 1
I was in that crowd, on May 3rd 1982.... And yes I was 'showered'.
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Post by tufta on Aug 29, 2010 11:00:43 GMT 1
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Post by tufta on Aug 29, 2010 11:20:45 GMT 1
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Post by Bonobo on Aug 30, 2010 7:46:13 GMT 1
Nice song. I didn`t know it. I was in that crowd, on May 3rd 1982.... And yes I was 'showered'. Hey, I am glad you started liking punk rock. Also a nice song. |
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Post by Bonobo on Aug 31, 2010 19:03:54 GMT 1
I was in that crowd, on May 3rd 1982.... And yes I was 'showered'. A BBC report from 1 May 1983 about anticommunist riots in Warsaw. See the communist police beating old people, including women. And they thought they would prevail? Morons....  The final stage of anti-communist protest lastest the longest - from 1980 to 1989. The political ferment which was started by the creation of Solidarity movement in 1980 was never suppressed by the authorities. It went up or down, but never ceased.
The history of Solidarity (Polish: Solidarnoœæ (help·info) IPA: [sɔlidarnɔɕt͡ɕ]), a Polish non-governmental trade union, began in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyards (now Gdañsk Shipyards) where it was founded by Lech Wa³êsa and others. In the early 1980s, it became the first independent labor union in a Soviet-bloc country. Solidarity gave rise to a broad anti-communist nonviolent social movement that, at its height, united some 10 million members and vastly contributed to the fall of communism.
Poland's communist government attempted to destroy the union by instituting martial law in 1981, followed by several years of political repression, but in the end was forced to begin negotiating with the union. The Roundtable Talks between the government and the Solidarity-led opposition resulted in semi-free elections in 1989. By the end of August 1989, a Solidarity-led coalition government had been formed, and, in December 1990, Wa³êsa was elected president. This was soon followed by the dismantling of the communist governmental system and by Poland's transformation into a modern democratic state. Solidarity's survival meant a break in the hard-line stance of the communist Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), and was an unprecedented event not only for the People's Republic of Poland—a satellite of the USSR ruled by a one-party communist regime—but for the whole of the Eastern bloc. Solidarity's example led to the spread of anti-communist ideas and movements throughout the countries of the Eastern Bloc, weakening their communist governments; a process that eventually culminated in the Revolutions of 1989.History of Solidarity en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Solidarity
Early strikes (1980)
Strikes did not occur merely due to problems that had emerged shortly before the labor unrest, but due to governmental and economic difficulties spanning more than a decade. In July 1980, Edward Gierek's government, facing economic crisis, decided to raise prices while slowing the growth of wages. At once there ensued a wave of strikes and factory occupations, [1] with the biggest strikes taking place in the area of Lublin (first strike started on July 8, 1980 in the Communications Equipment Factory in Œwidnik). Although the strike movement had no coordinating center, the workers had developed an information network to spread news of their struggle. A "dissident" group, the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR), which had originally been set up in 1976 to organize aid for victimized workers, attracted small groups of working-class militants in major industrial centers.[1] At the Lenin Shipyard in Gdañsk, the firing of Anna Walentynowicz, a popular crane operator and activist, galvanized the outraged workers into action.[1][7]
On August 14, the shipyard workers began their strike, organized by the Free Trade Unions of the Coast (Wolne Zwi¹zki Zawodowe Wybrze¿a).[8] The workers were led by electrician Lech Wa³êsa, a former shipyard worker who had been dismissed in 1976, and who arrived at the shipyard late in the morning of August 14.[1] The strike committee demanded the rehiring of Walentynowicz and Wa³êsa, as well as the according of respect to workers' rights and other social concerns. In addition, they called for the raising of a monument to the shipyard workers who had been killed in 1970 and for the legalization of independent trade unions.[9]
The Polish government enforced censorship, and official media said little about the "sporadic labor disturbances in Gdañsk"; as a further precaution, all phone connections between the coast and the rest of Poland were soon cut.[1] Nonetheless, the government failed to contain the information: a spreading wave of samizdats (Polish: bibu³a),[10] including Robotnik (The Worker), and grapevine gossip, along with Radio Free Europe broadcasts that penetrated the Iron Curtain,[11] ensured that the ideas of the emerging Solidarity movement quickly spread.
On August 16, delegations from other strike committees arrived at the shipyard.[1] Delegates (Bogdan Lis, Andrzej Gwiazda and others) together with shipyard strikers agreed to create an Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee (Miêdzyzak³adowy Komitet Strajkowy, or MKS).[1] On August 17 a priest, Henryk Jankowski, performed a mass outside the shipyard's gate, at which 21 demands of the MKS were put forward. The list went beyond purely local matters, beginning with a demand for new, independent trade unions and going on to call for a relaxation of the censorship, a right to strike, new rights for the Church, the freeing of political prisoners, and improvements in the national health service.[1]
Next day, a delegation of KOR intelligentsia, including Tadeusz Mazowiecki, arrived to offer their assistance with negotiations. A bibu³a news-sheet, Solidarnoœæ, produced on the shipyard's printing press with KOR assistance, reached a daily print run of 30,000 copies.[1] Meanwhile, Jacek Kaczmarski's protest song, Mury (Walls), gained popularity with the workers.[12]
On August 18, the Szczecin Shipyard joined the strike, under the leadership of Marian Jurczyk. A tidal wave of strikes swept the coast, closing ports and bringing the economy to a halt. With KOR assistance and support from many intellectuals, workers occupying factories, mines and shipyards across Poland joined forces. Within days, over 200 factories and enterprises had joined the strike committee.[1][7] By August 21, most of Poland was affected by the strikes, from coastal shipyards to the mines of the Upper Silesian Industrial Area (in Upper Silesia, the city of Jastrzêbie-Zdrój became center of the strikes, with a separate committee organized there). More and more new unions were formed, and joined the federation.
Thanks to popular support within Poland, as well as to international support and media coverage, the Gdañsk workers held out until the government gave in to their demands. On August 21 a Governmental Commission (Komisja Rz¹dowa) including Mieczys³aw Jagielski arrived in Gdañsk, and another one with Kazimierz Barcikowski was dispatched to Szczecin. On August 30 and 31, and on September 3, representatives of the workers and the government signed an agreement ratifying many of the workers' demands, including the right to strike.[1] This agreement came to be known as the August or Gdañsk agreement (Porozumienia sierpniowe).[7] Another agreement was signed in Jastrzêbie-Zdrój on September 3. It was called the Jastrzêbie agreement (Porozumienia jastrzebskie) and as such is regarded as part of the Gdañsk agreement. Though concerned with labor-union matters, the agreement enabled citizens to introduce democratic changes within the communist political structure and was regarded as a first step toward dismantling the Party's monopoly of power.[13] The workers' main concerns were the establishment of a labor union independent of communist-party control, and recognition of a legal right to strike. Workers’ needs would now receive clear representation.[14] Another consequence of the Gdañsk Agreement was the replacement, in September 1980, of Edward Gierek by Stanis³aw Kania as Party First Secretary.[15]www.solidarnosc.gov.pl/?document=48The anniversary poster  Strike in the shipyard.  Count on me  Walesa speaks to workers  What struck foreign journalists and observers was the religiousness of workers.  21 postulates to the government   The famous room where the talks took place. The Lenin bust on the right.   The members of the Strike Comittee.  Communist government`s delegate  Communist propaganda posters   Workers` families gathered at the fence every day. People feared another massacre similar to one in 1970.    Independent prinitng press   Polish history milestones    Negotiations  Triumph. The government gave in.  ![]() [http://www.solidarnosc.gov.pl/gallery/gazeta/18/015-Stocz.80.JPG/img]  Signing the pact  Walesa is using a famous giant pen. It displays a photo of the Pope, today it is in the museum.  Read more about anticommunist opposition here polandsite.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=polishhistory&thread=70&page=2#6106 |
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Post by tufta on Aug 31, 2010 19:30:30 GMT 1
Btw. the edited thread title is much more meaningful! |
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 3, 2010 23:47:01 GMT 1
Prime Minister and President, both from the ruling party, were booed at during the anniversary celebration. Both helped to create Solidarity but today belong to the establishment and are disliked by Solidarity leaders and members. Lech Walęsa, former President, predicted the situation and didn`t appear at all.
Lech Walesa - 'I don’t feel like celebrating'
31.08.2010 09:24
Lech Walesa has explained to Polish Radio why he will not be attending the 1980 August Agreements anniversary celebrations in Gdansk today and why it’s time for Solidarity to become a social movement, not a trade union.
The former president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who led the Solidarity movement during the August Agreements which gave concessions to the workers’ earlier demands, decided not to go to the any of the ceremonies in a number of Baltic ports including Szczecin, Gdynia and Gdansk.
Speaking to Polish Radio Tuesday morning, Walesa said that Solidarity should “pack up its banners,” criticising that the trade union has become far too politicised.
“Poland needs Solidarity […] as a social movement, not as a trade union,” Walesa underlined.
In an interview with Polska The Times, the former Solidarity leader added that “the role of the [Solidarity] trade unions is not to my liking! […] I don’t feel like celebrating…”
Earlier, the former Solidarity leader wrote on his blog over the weekend that he was tired and his “health was not good”. However, many believe that it was his disagreements with the present day Solidarity leadership that was responsible for him not being at the congress, held yesterday in Gdynia.
Furthermore the former leader will not be present at the Gdansk celebrations billed for today, Tuesday. “I won’t attend, because I don’t have the power to change a few things, and I don’t want to make a scene,” Walesa told Polska The Times.
Court verdict
Lech Walesa is not only worried about the leadership of the Solidarity trade union, however. The former president is awaiting an impending court decision after a case Walesa brought against activist and journalist Krzysztof Wyszkowski, who accuses Walesa of being a communist agent codenamed ‘Bolek’, a hypothesis also put forward in a controversial book published about the Solidarity leader in 2008.
Walesa with PM Tusk in Gdansk, Sunday. Photo - PAP
“I know my merits,” he says. “I know that it was me who led the fight for Poland, but is justice always on the right side?,” he said, wondering “was [the fight for Poland’s freedom] worth it?”
Conflict
Walesa came into conflict with the Solidarity trade union during his term of office as president of Poland in the first half of the 1990s, when the shock economic therapy post-1989 put thousands out of work. Tensions were already noticeable following the Round Table talks of 1989 when many in the movement thought Walesa made too many compromises with the communist leadership.
Conflicts with leading members of the old Solidarity movement, including Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, led to Walesa gradually severing his links with the trade union.
Walesa has complained that the modern day Solidarity movement - which he quit in 2006 - has become increasingly political, backing the interests of Kaczynski’s Law and Justice party.
Celebrations
Celebrations in Gdansk of the historic August Agreements, which legalised an independent trade union for the first time in the history of the communist bloc, will get underway at 14.00 CET today.
After a mass is held a plaque to Father Henryk Jankowski, who died in July, will be unveiled. Father Jankowski is best remembered for blessing the the Monument to Fallen Shipyard Workers at the then Lenin Shipyard in December 1980, one of 21 demands the Solidarity trade union went on strike over 30 years ago.www.thenews.pl/national/artykul138679_lech-walesa----i-dont-feel-like-celebrating.html |
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