Several thousand workers from various industries demonstrated in Warsaw against the policies of Donald Tusk’s government.
Their demands included a demand for an increase in the minimum wage above the inflation rate, the introduction of seniority pensions, and a halt to the privatization and commercialization of public services.
Miners and steelworkers were well-represented, pointing out that the so-called “Green Deal” shifted the main costs of transformation onto working people. They pointed out that plans to restructure mines and reduce production were not consulted with workers.
Piotr Ostrowski, chairman of the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions, the largest trade union in Poland, which organized the march, remarked in his speech that Tusk’s government only remembers workers when it comes to taxing them. He mentioned that the tax system burdens the poorest while giving privileges to the wealthy. He also mentioned yachts funded by the National Trade Unions Act (KPO) and other forms of government aid for entrepreneurs.
Employees of state-owned companies affected by mass layoffs and threatened with liquidation – Poczta Polska and PKP Cargo – participated in the demonstration. A representative of the postal workers’ union, dressed as a postman, spoke about how postmen languish, earning minimum wage, and sometimes even less.
A representative of the Polish Trade Union of Train Drivers repeatedly mentioned plans to liquidate PKP Cargo and attempts by large foreign corporations to take over the freight transport market. He also mentioned deteriorating safety standards on the railways.
Demonstrators marched from the OPZZ headquarters to Castle Square. A banner reading “Enough of ignoring the voices of workers” was carried at the head of the march. A rally was held in Castle Square. Among the speakers was the president of the ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) trade union. She said that government agencies currently work for pennies. Rank-and-file employees are overburdened with responsibilities and blamed for mistakes. Government representatives, on the other hand, claim that all operations are performed by “machines,” meaning electronic systems.
