The Invisible Conflict at MOPS

The mayor often repeats that he will defend his employees and always stand by their side. This lofty principle of Piotr Roman is turning against the people working at the centre this time. MOPS employees seeking help in resolving the conflict are hitting a glass ceiling formed by the mayor’s reluctance to address the problem. Even though MOPS is one of the most important institutions in the city.

Empress Małgorzata

According to employees’ accounts, director Małgorzata Dłużyk introduced a divide-and-rule policy at the centre. A second trade union, “Confederation of Labour” (13 people), was formed by her side. It opposed the “Solidarity” union (28 people), founded in May 2009. According to some employees, the “Confederation of Labour” serves only to strengthen the director’s power and push through her views. The chairwoman of the “Confederation,” Marta Kozioł, disagrees with this opinion, although she admits that her union’s position is identical to the director’s.

The “Solidarity” trade unionists accuse the director of discriminating against employees belonging to their union, deliberately setting the staff against one another, using discretionary bonuses for that purpose, denying promotions, undermining an employee’s authority in front of a client, questioning qualifications, maintaining poor information flow, and even disclosing information that exposes an employee to a loss of dignity or personal rights. During the year-and-a-half-long conflict, attempts also began to dismiss people belonging to “Solidarity.”

The director officially admitted that dissolving “Solidarity” would have to be the price of reaching an agreement. In the name of the authority granted to her by the mayor, Małgorzata Dłużyk refuses to acknowledge or notice the conflict. This makes ending it impossible. The director claims that she manages the centre impeccably, discriminates against no one, and that the opinions about her circulated by the trade unionists are untrue.

Marta Waniszewska, chairwoman of “Solidarity,” says that the unions want to develop an agreement and understand the difficult situation of the employees. The trade unionists sent letters to all city councillors and to the mayor. They also met with councillors during a meeting of one of the City Council’s committees. The conflict was unsuccessfully addressed by the head of the Social Affairs Department, Krystyna Boratyńska, Deputy Mayor Maciej Małkowski, and the mayor himself.

“Our situation is like a game of pass-the-ball,” the union chairwoman told the councillors. “The union’s argument against the employer’s argument. It is humiliating for us to have to keep proving that something is wrong, that people are suffering.”

The Mayor’s Ping-Pong

At the beginning of October, Chairwoman Waniszewska, together with the Regional Board of NSZZ “Solidarity” from Jelenia Góra, once again held talks with the mayor. Piotr Roman proposed a confrontation in the presence of Małgorzata Dłużyk. When the trade unionists questioned the point of a conversation in the director’s presence, the mayor said that the conflict at MOPS was a personal battle between the chairwoman and the director. When the chairwoman denied this and said that it was a conflict between the employees and the director, Piotr Roman refused to accept this and decided that he was not a party to the dispute.

In response to the trade unionists’ allegations that the director showed total hostility toward employees belonging to “Solidarity,” Roman began asking Waniszewska whether she had personally taken the matter to Dariusz Kwaśniewski (his opponent in the election—editor’s note). The mayor broke off the conversation, declaring that he would not talk to the trade unionists if the chairwoman personally went to Civic Platform and publicly expressed dissatisfaction with his mayoralty (this referred to Waniszewska’s private online post, “Roman must go,” on Nasza Klasa). He accused her of handling her private affairs in a political and party-politicised manner.

Fortunately, the conversation with the mayor was recorded. Otherwise, Deputy Mayor Maciej Małkowski could not have been accused of telling untruths when he presented the reasons for ending the talks with the trade unionists entirely differently to the councillors. When councillors appealed to the mayor to deal with the conflict, Małkowski asked whether they were suggesting that the unresolved dispute at MOPS was Piotr Roman’s fault. He assured the councillors that the mayor was trying to resolve the conflict, but that it was the trade unionists who had broken off the talks.

“A meeting with the chairwoman and the regional board was supposed to take place,” Maciej Małkowski argued. “Ms Boratyńska, director Małgorzata Dłużyk and I were supposed to attend. But the union side did not agree to the presence of the director and Ms Boratyńska, and that is why the meeting did not take place. The mayor is making an effort, but the most far-reaching thesis put forward by Ms Waniszewska is that the mayor must go.”

“The unions were not opposed to either the presence of the head of department or the director,” Marta Waniszewska responded sharply. “What was said here is not true. We did not accept the mayor’s view that the conflict at MOPS was a personal conflict between me and the director.”

Maciej Małkowski expressed his outrage that the mayor’s words had been recorded. However, thanks to the recording, Małkowski was unable to portray the union and its attempts to reach an agreement with the authorities in an unfavourable light.

Eyes Wide Shut

It seems that Małgorzata Dłużyk will not change her opinion about the conflict and will continue to believe that the trade unionists are not fighting for their rights but merely interfering with her powers. Stowarzyszenie Ziemia Bolesławiecka trusted Dłużyk enough to place her on its list as a candidate for the district council. If she is elected to the council, she will be protected by immunity. This could only strengthen her position and cause the conflict to continue for another four years.

Employees have to work under constant stress. The word “mobbing” is being spoken increasingly loudly. Although Małgorzata Dłużyk declares that she treats all employees equally and acts in accordance with the law, the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) found irregularities in MOPS’s operation. The trade unionists list a lack of documentation concerning workplace accidents, a lack of occupational risk assessment, actions involving unequal treatment, and termination of employment conditions contrary to applicable regulations. It is also significant that PIP proposed that the employer conduct a survey on mobbing, but the director did not consent.

Someone should open their eyes and examine this conflict closely. Everything indicates that this person is Mayor Piotr Roman, whose campaign slogan is “Residents first.”

(information by Grażyna Hanaf)