We received a letter today from Franciszek Kopeć, head of Solidarność in Jelenia Góra:
On 11 December 2018, employees of Gerresheimer Bolesławiec S.A. will go on strike from 6:00 a.m. in response to the employer’s disregard for demands concerning pay increases and improved working conditions. Months of negotiations conducted by NSZZ Solidarność trade union members have ended in failure.
During the talks, the employer did not present any sensible proposal for resolving the problems raised by the union. A demonstration organized by employees on 29 November also failed to change the position of the company’s management. The NSZZ Solidarność workplace organization held a referendum in which approximately 65% of employees participated; more than 90% of those voting supported the union’s demands and voted in favor of taking part in the strike.
The chairman added:
Let us hope that the employer will reconsider its approach and, instead of escalating the conflict, enter into dialogue with the union members, leading to the signing of an agreement.
What do you think? We will return to the subject.
Let us recall. On 29 November, we reported that NSZZ Solidarność trade union members from Gerresheimer Bolesławiec S.A. (formerly Polfa) organized a protest demonstration.
More than 80 people took part in the protest. People walked near the Gerresheimer company building and chanted “Solidarność!” and “We want to live with dignity!”
“The work is highly demanding; we work in high temperatures. I do not expect this issue to improve radically. The most important thing is to earn a decent wage. We are demanding a gross pay increase of PLN 500,” said Sylwester Gałbiuk of Solidarność.
We tried to find out how much the company’s employees currently earn, but the Solidarność representative did not want to give a precise answer. He only said that the wages were unsatisfactory.
At the time, the demonstrators added that they hoped their action would have an effect.