HISTORY AND POLITICAL CHANGES

• History of NSZZ "Solidarnosc" in dates

To make a review of the events which initiated the changes in Poland and thereafter in Central and Eastern Europe we should go back to 1980. In August of that year as a result of Polish working people's strikes and their need, the trade union "Solidarnosc" was born. The strikers were fully convinced of the need for free trade unions, formed and functioning in accordance with international labour standards and hereby independent of the state and the ruling party, to exist.

By virtue of the Agreements signed in August 1980, the state authorities recognised the workers' right to establish a trade union of their own choosing. At the same time, "Solidarnosc" became a huge social and political movement, representing the Polish nation's aspirations for freedom, democracy and better living conditions.

It is certain that the imposition of Martial Law in December, 1981 and the detention of several thousand of its leaders, members and sympathisers resulted in the suspension of the union's activity and its aspirations in making reforms, however the union continued to exist. Its organisational structure was adjusted to new, clandestine conditions. Based on these re-built clandestine structures and given unprecedented support by the Polish society, "Solidarnosc" was able to conduct protest actions on a wide scale.

Through the rebuilding of the union in the underground and its unstoppable activity for more than several years, despite delegalisation and repression, Polish workers and the entire nation demonstrated in a manner unprecedented in the history of Marxism-Leninism their lack of acquiescence to Communist rule. This massive civil disobedience - inspired and organised by NSZZ "Solidarnosc" - led to the downfall of the Communist system, first in Poland and soon thereafter in other countries of Eastern and Central Europe.

In 1987, the symptoms of disintegration on the part of the Communist regime in Poland were evident to such a degree that it became possible to reveal NSZZ "Solidarnosc" leadership structures on all levels, even though there continued to be a formal, legal ban on independent trade union activity.

In October 1987, the formation of the overtly functioning National Executive Commission (KKW), chaired by Lech Walesa, was announced. It was comprised of all the members of the heretofore underground national authorities and leading activists from the union's largest regional organisations. Various methods were used to rebuild an open, above ground organisational structure of the Union even before official re-legalisation was achieved.

The final collapse of Communist rule in Poland came in 1988. Its end was brought about by a wave of strikes which occurred in April, May and August. The Communist authorities, which had tried for seven years to ruin the union, and which had even banned the use of the word "solidarity", were forced to accept NSZZ "Solidarnosc" as a party to negotiations, and the Union's president, Lech Walesa, as the undisputed leader of the entire democratic opposition. In the beginning of September 1988, it was decided that talks between the union and the government would take place in the very near future, and that it would be a continuation of the dialogue which had been ruptured in December 1981 when Martial Law was imposed.

These talks, termed the "round table negotiations", lasted two months and touched on all the basic problems of Poland and the Polish nation. As Polish citizens' consciousness was awakened and the threat of armed intervention by the Soviet Union lessened, NSZZ "Solidarnosc" was able to come to the table with demands for much more radical changes than it had postulated eight years earlier. The program presented by the union at the "round table" encompassed full democratisation of social life in the short term and democratisation of the nation's political life in the longer term. The final agreement including re-legalisation of NSZZ "Solidarnosc", was signed in April 1989. At this point in time, the union was not numerically a very large organisation, but was supported by many millions of passive sympathisers. Partially free elections to Parliament were also determined at the "round table". This meant that 35% of the lower house (Sejm) seats and all of the upper house (Senat) seats would be subject to free elections, whereas the remaining 65% of the Sejm seats would remain guaranteed for nominees of the ruling Communist party. Elections were held in June 1989 and results showed a complete victory for NSZZ "Solidarnosc". Only one seat among those freely contested was not won by a union-backed candidate.

As a result of such elections, the Communists were able to reserve for themselves a majority in Parliament and were also able to designate General Wojciech Jaruzelski as President of the country. However, their authority in the nation fell so greatly that they were not able to form a stable government.

In August 1989, at Lech Walesa's initiative, the Polish parliament approved Tadeusz Mazowiecki, who had served Walesa as one of his main advisors since the August 1980 Gdansk Shipyard strike, as head of the government. For ministers of his government he chose persons from the Solidarnosc-lead opposition, as well as from other political groupings, including Communists. It was a historic event: for the first time in 45 years Poland had a government which had not been imposed upon her by the Soviet Union. Although the new government was only almost-non-Communist, and was approved by an only partially-non-Communist parliament, it was nevertheless supported by NSZZ "Solidarność".

The Mazowiecki government's program foresaw much greater changes than had been agreed to a few months earlier during the "round table" negotiations. Working to overcome the catastrophic economic crisis, the government at the same time began to prepare and implement deep systemic reforms of the country, intended to gradually change the "proletarian dictatorship" and "central planning" into a parliamentary democracy and a free market economy. Decisive moves, aimed at changing Poland's status from that of a Soviet colony to that of an independent state, were also undertaken immediately. At the same time censorship was abolished, the implementation of basic economic reforms was begun and human and union rights were observed. The economic shock therapy of the so-called "Balcerowicz economic reform plan" - the main aims of which were to implement a market economy and stem high inflation, was being implemented through monetary and ultra liberal methods. The effect of this policy was a decrease in production and real wages , the closing of many enterprises and unemployment. It brought about great social discontent and caused Solidarność to withdraw its support for the first post-World War Two non-communist government in Poland.

At the beginning of 1990 the Communist Party of Poland dissolved. In the Spring of the same year elections to local governments were held, in which an overwhelming victory was won by individuals connected with the Solidarity movement. In December, 1990 in the first general and free presidential elections after the war, Lech Walesa, who until then had been the leader of the trade union "Solidarność", was elected to the presidency of the Republic of Poland.

His election brought great hope of easing the shock therapy and forming a pro-rightist leaning government . Unfortunately, this was an illusion. The following government proposed by President Lech Wałesa and approved by the Parliament, continued a liberal policy, which together with the disappearance of eastern markets after the collapse of the Soviet Union caused a further drop in living standards and social protection and a growth in unemployment.

In October 1991, fully free parliamentary elections were held, the first since World War II. Though non-communist parties gained a victory, it at the same time caused substantial dispersion of these parties in the Parliament. It made the creation of a stabile parliamentary majority impossible. In these elections NSZZ Solidarność achieved its goal of winning a limited number of its own seats in Parliament.

The centre-right government, established in December 1991, as a result of a new parliamentary agreement among parties not only did not change the social-economic policy but immediately got into a conflict with NSZZ Solidarność for increasing energy prices. Its governed for less than half a year and was not successful. Moreover, the actions taken by the government angered many political parties and brought about a vote of non confidence. This caused the overthrow of the government in June 1992.

The government established in July 1992 and led by the Prime Minister, Hanna Suchocka, consisted of a great coalition of democratic parties, born thanks to NSZZ Solidarność mediation. At the beginning, the new government raised people's hope for some changes in the industrial and social policies. The tripartite meetings with the participation of the social partners lasted for several months. The result of these negotiations was "State Enterprise Pact" which gave a chance to implement many laws postulated by NSZZ Solidarność, such as: act on collective bargaining, wage payment guarantees, finances of enterprises, union representation, general privatisation and the creation of a tripartite social-economic commission. Unfortunately, this pact was implemented slowly and not according to previously settled schedule. Other agreements were also broken. For these reasons NSZZ Solidarność proposed a motion for a vote of non confidence, which finally caused the collapse of the government and the dissolution of the Parliament.

The parliamentary elections that took place in September 1993 brought a victory of a coalition consisting of the post-communist Left Democratic Union and the Peasant Party, a previous satellite of the Communist Party. This victory was a result of the frustration of the electorate, people's discontent with the neoliberal policy carried out by the governments in 1990-1993, the populist electoral campaign conducted by post-communist political groupings and the dispersion of democratic parties.

The Government formed by the coalition of the two victorious parties did not keep its promises. Instead of a social and labour oriented economic policy it pursued neoliberal and monetarist shock therapy. This very tough and painful economic policy started with so-called Balcerowicz reform in 1990 and continued with slight amendments by all governments since then, has brought about, however, some improvement in the statistics - 1996 was the fourth year of GDP growth in succession. These relatively promising economic results are not felt by workers because of the lack of a social safety net and growing differences between the rich and the poor. This further degradation of worker groups and the social sphere, together with the domination of the old and new nomenklatura in state and local administration, as well as in finance and business circles resulted in the frustration of trade union members.

NSZZ "Solidarność" has remained an important factor in the political arena. In summer 1994, in a two-month campaign it managed to collect over 1 million signatures in support of NSZZ "Solidarność" draft of state constitution, making it thus a valid citizens proposal to the Parliament. The parliamentary debate over the new constitution is not expected to finish before the end of 1996.

In December 1995, Lech Wałęsa lost, by a very small margin, presidential elections to the post-communist candidate, Aleksander Kwaśniewski. In February 1996 a national referendum on mass privatisation initiated by NSZZ "Solidarność" was held in Poland. Over 90% of participants answered the four referendum questions according to the suggestions of "Solidarność". However, the low (32%) turn out did not legally bind the Parliament to implement the will of the voters.

All those difficulties and lack of a pro-labour political alternative have inclined the 7th National Congress of the Union (June 1996) to initiate a political coalition called the Electoral Action of "Solidarność" for the 1997 parliamentary elections. As result Action won the elections which were held in September 1997 and formed a coalition government together with the Freedom Union. Last National Congress of Delegates of NSZZ Solidarność took place in Jastrzębie Zdrój on 24-26 September 1998. Marian Krzaklewski was re-elected the President of the Union.