Miners' unions demonstrate over pensions

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In July 2005, Polish coal industry trade unions organised a demonstration in front of the parliament buildings in Warsaw. The unions sought to persuade parliament to devote the last session of its current term to securing the early retirement rights of miners. The pressure seemed effective, as parliament voted in favour of the unions’ demands.

Some 5,000 members of coalminers’ trade unions gathered in front of the parliament buildings in Warsaw on 26 July 2005. The demonstration involved all important trade union organisations, including the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union Solidarnosc (Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy Solidarność, NSZZ Solidarność) and the Coalminers’ Trade Union in Poland (Związek Zawodowy Górników w Polsce, ZZG) affiliated with the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (Ogólnopolskie Porozumienie Związków Zawodowych, OPZZ). The reason to convene the demonstration on that particular day and place was to exert pressure on parliamentarians during the last session of their term of office, and make them deal with the issue of coalminers’ pensions. What was mainly at stake was the confirmation of underground miners’ right to early retirement after 25 years of work, regardless of their age, due to the harmful and unhealthy conditions of work.

The coalminers’ retirement rights should have been regulated by the Bridge Pensions Act, which would enable earlier retirement, the Act was not passed by this parliament. Moreover, even if the bridge pensions regulations had been accepted in the proposed form, the terms of retirement would have been less favourable for the coalminers than they are under a civic draft amendment to the Social Insurance Fund Pensions Act, which was introduced to the lower house of parliament (the Sejm) in the beginning of 2005, but had not been debated until the trade unions’ protests in July.

The delegation of protesters was received by the Sejm Speaker. After hours of talks it was agreed that the protester’s demands would be debated by the parliament in a form of a Sejm amendment. Thus, the chapter of the civic draft act concerning coalminers’ pensions has become the basis of the amendment to the Social Insurance Fund Pensions Act. While the protesters’ delegation was talking to the Sejm authorities, the police clashed with demonstrators outside parliament. As a result several dozens officers and civilians were injured and needed medical assistance. Material damages were also substantial. The Warsaw city authorities declared they would seek compensation for the losses in court.

The proposed amendment was passed by the lower and the upper house of parliament (the Sejm and the Senate). The Sejm also voted for the Senate’s amendments, which postponed the implementation of bridge pensions regulations until 2008. The parliament’s decision aroused controversy. Commentators said MPs had yielded to the coalminers’ demands and gave them special treatment. Privileges granted to one employee group - they said - would increase the burden of Social Insurance system, which means higher contributions to the scheme for all employees. Secondly, this sets a precedent, which may provoke other groups to seek their claims by similar methods. Whether the new regulations will be enforced or not depends on the President, who is due to sign the amendment by 19 August.

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