Solidarnosc Rally in Warsaw

30 Aug - In the eve of the 28th Anniversary of the August Agreements some 40 thousand members of NSZZ "Solidarnosc" from all over Poland marched in the streets of Warsaw in a national rally of the Union organised under the slogan "Decent Work - Decent Retirement".

"We came to Warsaw to defend - on behalf of all workers, especially those most vulnerable - the workers' rights that some people want to take away from us" said Janusz Sniadek, President of "S" at the beginning of the rally. "Polish workers know how to work hard, but they have the right to expect their work to be well organised, safe and decently paid. They have the right to decent retirement and they should not be condemned to social aid" he added, and appealed to the government and the employers for taking up the social dialogue. "We want employers to respect the labour law and the right to organise. We want the government to create law in accordance to the European standards. We want administrative institutions to effectively execute the law" he said.

Then the leaders of specific branch structures e.g. health care, mining, education and shipbuilding gave their speeches. P. Kamalam from ITUC and J. Niemiec from ETUC also addressed the gathered unionists. The leader of the security workers appealed to all the workers to organize trade unions.

The rally marched to the Council of Minister building, the unionists carried balloons with the promises of the government on them, also carried shop baskets with the goods that can be bought for the minimum wage and lowest pension, and they also collected money for early retirement of the Prime Minister, who unfortunately did not meet the unionists. The Union's petition was handed to minister Michal Boni, with following demands:

• Increase of the minimum wage up to 50% of average wage
• Guaranteeing systematic increase of remuneration for all workers compensating the increase of costs of living
• Maintaining the right to early retirement for the workers employed in specific and hazardous conditions
• Respecting the labour law and the right to organize
• Ensuring the real social dialogue.