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The new government of Donald Tusk is not going to enjoy its honeymoon. The trade unions have warned on the scale and brutality of the proposed “reforms” and they have been very loud in protesting against the reforms. The wave of social disgruntlement has even reached It all . . . → Read More: The uniformed services protest. United we shall stand! In Kunicki street, not far from the renovated building of the railway station in Lublin a small group of people is camped. A big white tent, brazier and a few flags with trade union emblems. On one side there is a pavement and on the other side a narrow corridor blocked by barriers. A few metres . . . → Read More: How to recycle an unwanted workforce? The crisis has become something which has opened the way from rational assumptions to irrational behaviour. Using the excuse of a crisis the Polish government at every level has been trying to prove, ever more successfully, that they are completely detached from the needs of their own electorate. When they talk about saving the money they . . . → Read More: Students Strike against school closure in Bytom. The more there is less dialogue, the more there is a crisis Wojciech Figiel talks to Anna Maria Darmanin. WF : What are the duties of the Economic and Social Committee? AMD: We are the advocates of a European Citizens Society and the citizens of Europe. It is through us that they can comment on current regulations in . . . → Read More: Interview with Anna Maria Darmanin A bad message for society is carried in the Premier’s exposé. It causes panic especially on what the future holds in the workplace. With a lot of fear I listened to these proposals, because they are the proposals of an accountant, a financier and not from a premier and they are supposed to depict a vision . . . → Read More: What do the unionists think? Reflections on the premier’s exposé Fascists Terrorise Warsaw The 11th of November is independence day in Poland and during this year’s commemorations there were clashes during the march which was organised by fascist organizations ,the far right and football hooligans. The armed groups of fascists moving around Warsaw terrified passers- by, incited brawls, attacked the police and burnt cars. A TVN24 transmission . . . → Read More: Fascists Terrorise Warsaw Randi Faerevik talks to Wojciech Figiel WF: Why should trade unionists know what is fascism? Because, fascism is above all an anti- trade union political theory. Fascists ,for some time have always been against the unionization of workers in trade unions. Fascists are also against the values that promote the workers movements like equality, social justice and multicultural . . . → Read More: We are in Solidarity with your movement Marcin Banach (35) worked for nine years as a train engineer for the Warsaw metro. That was his dream from a young age. Marcin is a graduate of the Railway Technical College. Sebastian Obuch-Woszczatynski (38) has been working in the PKO Polish Bank for 15 years. He worked for 12 years in the IT department and later in the Administration Centre. Both companies are either state or municipally-owned. Both Marcin and Sebastian decided to set up trade union organisations and become their leaders. It was necessary because the situation in their workplaces was deteriorating. Mainly because the management treat companies as private farms they say, as they agree with each other. What links these two activists who are from completely different areas in their companies? Continue reading It is easy to be an unemployed trade unionist…
Bojan Stanisławski: We have a lot of input on the topic of strategy. It is talked about a lot and willingly in OPZZ circles. The strategy is not a document. It is above all decisions that that touch on concrete allocations and resources. What decisions, in your own opinion should the OPZZ take in the near future? Leszek Miętek: Above all we should appoint a group of specialists who would prepare the draft projects of changes in laws concerning the trade-unions. The fragmentation of trade unions is a result of the law. Very often small trade unions represent the interests of some individual who organizes a small group of people around him. There is need to change the criteria of representation. Continue reading “The reluctance to act is our biggest problem” |
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Bojan Stanisławski speaks to Leszek Miętek , the president of the Confederation of Railway Trade Unions in Poland (OPZZ).
Lockout at Protektor Lublin
It is the beginning of 2012 and the chronicles are filling up with terrifying new cases of the abuse of workers’ rights. Workers at the premises of Protektor in Lublin have been protesting since morning January 2nd over the mass retrenchments that the company has introduced. “On the 30th of December we were still working. After . . . → Read More: Lockout at Protektor Lublin