Transport workers get company ownership following dispute

Urban transport authority MPK Kielce has been in a collective dispute for almost two years. The reason for the dispute is that the investor and potential company owner, the French Veolia corporation, refused to honour the promises given to the workforce. Moreover, Veolia was expected to become the owner of the organisation in 2008 as part of a privatisation plan. The workers were unhappy at this prospect, and a long strike with dramatic turns of events ensued.

Background

The conflict at the city transport authority MPK Kielce in southcentral Poland has been ongoing for some time; its origins go back five years, to when the company’s drivers first agreed to forego a pay rise. When the French Veolia corporation emerged as an investor two years ago, all of the employees were expecting wage increases and a social benefits package which would secure their interests for a number of years. However, Veolia Transportation (previously known as Connex) did not accommodate these demands, and a collective dispute – punctuated with occasional strikes – has been simmering ever since.

Trade unions threaten to strike for as long as necessary

As of early 2008, Veolia was to become the outright owner of MPK Kielce. The announcement to this effect by the city authorities caused considerable disquiet among the trade unions, which did not trust this particular investor. The in-house union of the Independent and Self-Governing Trade Union Solidarity (Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy Solidarność, NSZZ Solidarność) proceeded to demand a social package and pay increases; if these were not granted, the city’s drivers would go on strike.

In the meantime, the company directors as well as the city authorities made it clear that they considered the trade unions’ demands to be unfounded and that any attempt at a strike would be deemed illegal. Moreover, the employer saw no reason to embark on negotiations with the trade unions.

Strike brings city to a halt

As both sides refused to budge, the trade unions made good on their threats; on the date announced as the beginning of the strike – 14 August 2007 – the city buses did not roll out onto the streets of Kielce. For several days, commuters were left to their own devices; nonetheless, despite the inconvenience, most of the citizens expressed support for the striking drivers.

The Mayor of Kielce, Wojciech Lubawski, made it known that, if the strike continued, MPK would be put in liquidation, with public transport needs filled by private companies. He again rejected any negotiations with the striking workers. The MPK directors expressed themselves in a similar vein, stating that they had no intention of talking with the workers for as long as ‘the company is not rid of pathologies’, meaning that, in their view, the workers must develop some respect for their passengers and for their duties.

This hard line stemmed, among other issues, from the fact that the striking workers refused to admit the Chair of MPK, Krzysztof Chrabąszcz, onto the company premises, instead launching a sit-in protest.

Threat of redundancies followed by physical confrontation

Because the city authorities and the board of directors of MPK Kielce did not recognise the legality of the strike, its organisers were soon served with a list of 17 employees who were to be dismissed on disciplinary grounds because they had refused to allow board members to enter the premises. The trade unions maintained their sit-in, but they did invite the city authorities to talks.

A meeting was duly held but, according to Kielce’s local press, it was limited largely to an exchange of grievances between the Head of the NSZZ Solidarność union in the company, Bogdan Latosiński, and Mr Lubawski. While the latter offered neither the pay increases nor the social package sought by the striking workers, he did not rule out further talks.

The striking workers were surprised when, several days later, members of the board of directors forced their way onto the grounds of MPK Kielce, flanked by several dozen security guards. Scenes of violence ensued, with control over the bus depot apparently changing hands a couple of times. The striking workers eventually prevailed over the security force. The national police appeared at the scene, soon followed by regional representatives of NSZZ Solidarność who called for expedient resolution of the dispute, as well as threatening to petition for dismissal of Kielce’s mayor.

Mediation and resolution

Public opinion closely followed the events at MPK Kielce, and particularly the violent showdown, to the point where the local Catholic clergy offered to mediate in the dispute. In fact, a 90-minute discussion on 30 August 2007 moderated by the bishops proved sufficient to reach an agreement concluding the strike. Its provisions included replacement of the existing board of directors of MPK Kielce with new management; the most important point, however, was that the plans for selling MPK Kielce to Veolia were scrapped. Instead, employee ownership in the company is to be established. Both parties declared themselves to be satisfied with this solution.

Commentary

The events at MPK Kielce were certainly of a spectacular nature. The scenes during the protest and the entrenched positions taken by both sides attracted considerable attention – as has the way in which all of this drama concluded with a seemingly effortless and amicable agreement. Also noteworthy is the fact that the drivers, despite all of the disruptions to city life caused by their action, apparently enjoyed the support of many Kielce citizens.

Overall, it seems likely that the dispute concerned more than a pay increase or social benefits package. The conflict also appeared to centre around the company’s former chair Mr Chrabąszcz, as well as the chosen method of privatisation; under current Polish law, however, issues such as this do not constitute valid grounds for a collective dispute.

Rafał Towalski, Institute of Public Affairs (ISP)