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80 SOLIDARITY
August Accords
1. Acceptance of free trade unions independent of the
Communist Party and of enterprises, in accordance with
convention No. 87 of the International Labor Organization
concerning the right to form free trade unions, which
was ratified by the Communist Government of Poland.
2. A guarantee of the right to strike and of the security
of strikers and those aiding them.
3. Compliance with the constitutional guarantee of
freedom of speech, the press and publication, including
freedom for independent publishers, and the availability
of the mass media to representatives of all faiths.
4. A return of former rights to: 1) People dismissed from
work after the 1970 and 1976 strikes, and 2) Students
expelled from school because of their views. The release
of all political prisoners, among them Edward Zadrozynski,
Jan Kozlowski, and Marek Kozlowski. A halt in repression
of the individual because of personal conviction.
5. Availability to the mass media of information about
the formation of the Inter-factory Strike Committee and
publication of its demands.
6. The undertaking of actions aimed at bringing the country
out of its crisis situation by the following means: a) making
public complete information about the social-economic
situation, and b) enabling all sectors and social classes to
take part in discussion of the reform programme.
7. Compensation of all workers taking part in the strike
for the period of the strike, with vacation pay from the
Central Council of Trade Unions.
8. An increase in the base pay of each worker by 2,000 złoty
a month as compensation for the recent raise in prices.
9. Guaranteed automatic increases in pay on the basis
of increases in prices and the decline in real income.
10. A full supply of food products for the domestic
market, with exports limited to surpluses.
11. The abolition of ‘commercial‘ prices and of other
sales for hard currency in special shops.
12. The selection of management personnel on the basis
of qualifications, not party membership. Privileges of
the secret police, regular police and party apparatus are
to be eliminated by equalizing family subsidies, abolishing
special stores, etc.
13. The introduction of food coupons for meat and meat
products (during the period in which control of the market
situation is regained).
14. Reduction in the age for retirement for women to 50 and
for men to 55, or after 30 years‘ employment in Poland for
women and 35 years for men, regardless of age.
15. Conformity of old-age pensions and annuities with
what has actually been paid in.
16. Improvements in the working conditions of the health
service to insure full medical care for workers.
17. Assurances of a reasonable number of places in
day-care centers and kindergartens for the children of
working mothers.
18. Paid maternity leave for three years.
19. A decrease in the waiting period for apartments.
20. An increase in the commuter‘s allowance to 100
złoty from 40, with a supplemental benefit on separation.
21. A day of rest on Saturday. Workers in the brigade
system or round-the-clock jobs are to be compensated
for the loss of free Saturdays with an increased leave or
other paid time off.
Alojzy Tomaszewski
Although Solidarity was officially christened in 1980, its roots
can be traced some ten years earlier. Protesting against
plunging living standards workers at the Lenin Shipyards
called a strike, with the army promptly called in to intervene.
Bloody clashes led to the deaths of 45 people, and ultimately
forced Wladyslaw Gormulka out of power. Replaced by Edward
Gierek, his half-mad economic policies served to create
an illusion of prosperity, as well as generating a flush of jobs
in Gdansk’s Nowy Port area. But the memory of 1970 did not
fade and Gdansk remained a ticking bomb for the authorities.
With the seventies drawing to a close tensions started to
rise again, with living standards falling and the economy in
huge debt built on massive foreign loans.
In August, 1980 the dismissal of a female crane operator at
Gdansk’s Lenin Shipyards provided the spark for workers to
go on strike. Workers already disillusioned with price increases
and the falling value of their salaries were ready to take action.
Lech Walesa and other activists were already planning strike
action but it soon became clear that momentum within the
yard was growing quickly and it was this that spurred Walesa
to famously scale the wall of the Lenin shipyard to take control.
Walesa with his trademark sharp trading managed to steer
his colleagues away from mere wage demands towards the
idea of creating a trade union movement to represent the
workers and to fight injustice. This time the workers learned
from the mistakes of 1970 and did not confront the authorities
but instead locked themselves into the shipyards. Three days
later leaders representing workers from over 150 industrial
plants met in the shipyards to hammer out 21 demands,
including the legalisation of independent trade unions. Days
of tension followed, with tanks and armed units stationed
menacingly outside the gates of the shipyards. On August
31 the government backed down, agreeing to meet the 21
demands - thereby marking the first peaceful victory over
communism. A month later, on September 22, delegates
from 36 regional unions met in Gdansk forming a coalition
under the name of Solidarity. Lech Walesa, the unlikely hero
of August, was elected as chairman. The next few months
marked a golden period for the nation; some ten million people
joined the Solidarity movement, and Poland enjoyed a freedom
unknown for decades.
Riding the crest of a wave Solidarity continued to lobby for
further reforms and free elections, infuriating the Kremlin.
With Soviet invasion a looming threat the Polish President,
General Jaruzelski, declared a state of martial law on December
13, 1981, and tanks once again rolled through the
streets. Though Solidarity was officially dissolved, and its
leaders imprisoned, it continued to operate underground.
When Father Jerzy Popieluszko, Solidarity’s chaplain, was
abducted and murdered by the secret police over a million
people attended his funeral.
Gdańsk In Your Pocket gdansk.inyourpocket.com
Fot. Erazm Ciołek
Renewed labour strikes and a faltering economy forced
Jaruzelski into initiating talks with opposition figures in
1988, and the following year Solidarity was once again
granted legal status. Participating in Poland’s first
post-communist election the party swept to victory,
with Wałęsa leading from the front. In spite of overseeing
Poland’s transition to a market economy, Solidarity
gradually found their power being eroded by the emergence
of fresher political parties.
The 2000 elections for the Sejm (lower parliament) sounded
the death knell for the party. Failing to even make the
minimum vote to qualify for representation in parliament, the
party which changed history found itself essentially vanishing
from the political map.
European Solidarity Center
(Europejskie Centrum
Solidarności) B-1, ul. Doki 1,
tel. (+48) 58 767 79 71, www.
ecs.gda.pl. The boom in interest
in the Solidarity years has been
met with the news that a European
Solidarity Centre is to be built in
Gdańsk. Due to be completed
by October 2013, the project will
incorporate conference rooms,
restaurant, the Roads to Freedom exhibition, a library, archive
material and a large number of educational activities. The idea
is simple: to promote democracy and independence, as well as
maintain contacts with human rights organisations. Situated
next to Solidarity Square next to the famous Gate #2 and the
BHP Hall where the famous accords were signed, it will also be
the setting for Lech Wałęsa’s and the Solidarity Foundation’s
new offices. QOpen 08:00 - 16:00. Closed Sat, Sun.
gdansk.inyourpocket.com
HISTORY
ART
MULTIMEDIA
Open Oct - Apr from 10:00 - 17:00
May - Sept from 10:00 - 18:00
Closed every Monday
24 Wały Piastowskie Street, Gdańsk
(accessed via street entrance)
tel. +48 58 308 44 28, fax +48 58 308 43 09
EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY CENTRE
www.ecs.gda.pl www.fcs.org.pl
SOLIDARITY
Monument of the Fallen Shipyard Workers (Pomnik
Poległych Stoczniowców) B-1, Pl. Solidarności. Lying
right outside famous gate no. 2 to the Gdańsk Shipyards
(formally the Lenin Shipyards) the monument was unveiled in
1980 to commemorate the events of 1970 when 45 people died
during street riots protesting against the communist regime.
The right to erect this memorial was one of Solidarity’s main
demands during the 1980 lock-in. The 42-metre, 139-tonne
steel sculpture stands on the spot where the first three victims
of the 1970 riots were killed. There are three crosses
to represent the three victims and the crosses themselves
signify the suffering and sacrifice of all the protestors.
Lech Wałęsa referred to this enormous steel structure as ‘a
harpoon driven through the body of a whale. No matter how
hard the whale struggles, it can never get rid of it.’
The monument is marked by a poignant inscription by
Czesław Miłosz: ‘You who have harmed simple man, mocking
him with your laughter, you kill him, someone else will be born,
and your deeds and words will be written down’.
Surrounding the monument are several memorials and
plaques dedicated to victims of totalitarianism and the
(under-construction) European Solidarity Centre.
Other points of interest
The church played its part in the fall of communism, with many
citing John Paul II’s visit to Poland in 1978 as a key date in Polish
patriotism. In the period of martial law Gdańsk’s St Bridget’s
church was used as a sanctuary by leaders of the movement,
as was the enormous St Mary’s. Close to the train station the
new town hall (next to Bastion Św. Elżbiety) was once home to the
legendary student club, Żak - a hotbed of anti-establishment thinking.
This was the site of pro-democracy rallies in 1981, and most
recently it served as Lech Walesa’s temporary office. Nowadays
Wałęsa can be found holding court inside the Green Gate building.
May - July 2012
81