A reader asked us to raise the issue of closing the complex. She wrote:
“Many people from Bolesławiec County probably have family members who work at these facilities.”
The Turów mining and energy complex’s licence to extract coal expires in 2020. Efforts to extend it have met serious opposition from its neighbours: the Czechs. A complaint signed by 13,000 residents of the Liberec Region concerning the closure of the Turów mine was submitted to the European Parliament and is to be considered by the Committee on Petitions. It is supposedly about environmental protection, yet much larger Czech and German lignite mines operate nearby and do not bother the Czechs.
Turów employs approximately 5,000 residents of the region. In addition, another 10,000 people work for companies serving the complex. The petition by residents of the Zgorzelec, Bolesławiec and Lubań areas against the closure of the complex, addressed to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, states:
“The closure of [kompleksu wydobywczo-energetycznego Turów przyp. red.] would mean the collapse of the regional labour market and dramatic social changes, the enormous costs of which would be difficult to fully reimburse from the limited resources of European funds. […] We would like to emphasise that the protests disparaging Turów’s operations are surprising to us, since Czech and German lignite mines operate nearby. On the German side there is the much larger Lusatian mining district, while on the Czech side there is the Most–Kormorany mine, which is considerably larger than Poland’s Turów mine. […]”
“I was in contact with the Zgorzelec County head in this matter,” says Bolesławiec County head Tomasz Gabrysiak, who supports the residents’ petition. “And although there may not be many residents of Bolesławiec County working at the mine, that is not the point. We want our neighbours to live well. It is also such an important facility that its closure would have a significant impact on the budget of Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It cannot be denied that a substantial part of the funds from the mine is invested in developing hospitals and building roads. Let us imagine that this money is unavailable or reduced. I think this could directly affect how our voivodeship develops. I believe the government should do everything to ensure that this mine operates for the coming years,” Tomasz Gabrysiak adds.
The chairman of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of the Turów Lignite Mine speaks about his suspicions that the issue may concern eliminating competition rather than climate protection.
“We suspect that this is about eliminating Polish competition,” says NZZ chairman Bogumił Tyszkiewicz. “Why? The Czechs have two large lignite mines on their side that do not harm them, and they extract more coal than we do. The Germans have connected two coal-fired power plants to the grid. We suspect they want to eliminate coal-based energy here, while they will not give it up themselves, and we would have to buy it from someone. These are economic interests,” the chairman adds.
Bogumił Tyszkiewicz also says he is concerned about the Law and Justice party’s policy regarding the management of the mining and energy complex.
“It is also sad that under PiS we were promised that Turów’s operations would not be threatened until the deposits were exhausted in 2045,” Tyszkiewicz says. “The last president, Henryk Baranowski, had a sound programme laid out for coal through 2045. And he had to leave because a new wave came from Law and Justice. I am surprised that the outlook changed under the PiS government. There had always been continuity in the arrangements. If one government representative made an agreement, another government representative continued it. The agreement might be amended, but the arrangements were continued. Now new people came in March and suddenly everything changed. They are turning everything upside down and also lying somewhat shamelessly. We do not know where we stand. The press says one thing, the Czechs another, and at meetings here they say something else. They want to separate the Turów and Bełchatów mines and their power plants into a separate company. I do not know what purpose that is meant to serve. I am not a politician; to me, transferring them to another company means the end of coal,” the trade unionist adds.
All trade union organisations are involved in supporting the cause. You can help the trade unionists and employees of the Turów mining and energy complex by signing the Appeal of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of the Turów Lignite Mine. Because the deadline for sending the petition is short, we ask you to take action and send scans of the lists with collected signatures by 11:00 on 10 June 2020 to the email address: nzzg.turow@op.pl.