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On June 13, the Polish government eliminated the 8-hour working day, a right which was won in 1919. ZSP will protest and calls for international solidarity!

We cannot allow such attacks on the working class to pass!

The actions of the government are another serious blow to the working class, which is already in a very weak position. We are in the forefront of the neoliberal social and economic policies in Europe, under constant attack - a fact which few seem to notice as the Polish working class remains silently on its knees, begging for its life in front of the executioners of its rights.

It is high time to join us in speaking out against what is happening in this country.

More about the Situation in Poland

Unfortunately, you see no riots on the street and no mass strikes. Such is the real position of unions in Poland, in case anybody has any illusions. People are angry but completely inactive and feeling powerless.

The changes were explained as a way to make the Polish economy ”more competitive”. The same is with the low wages, which comes after Bulgaria, Romania and Latvia as the worst paid workers in the European Union.

The elimination of the 8 hour day is accomplished by increasing accounting periods for calculating the average amount of hours worked for the whole year and by also introducing flexible working hours. In the past, you had to have a certain resting time between your shifts and if your shifts were moved from day to day, it could be considered outside your normal working time. You would then be entitled to overtime pay. The new rules allow bosses to impose much longer working hours, so long as if some other time of the year they cut the hours. For workers in some industries and areas, this could mean long days for all their working time, and a few months of idleness, instead of stable working hours. It is also not clear what rights workers who are hired temporarily (for example for 6 months) would have under this scheme. What is clear is that already for many years, Polish employers openly defy whatever rights workers still have and nobody wants to crack down on them.

In connection with this, we will be on the streets next week protesting and call for international action in support of the Polish working class.

Remember that Poland is the laboratory for neoliberal management and it can spread if we do not fight!