The Polish workers were not slow in reacting to the October 8 vote in parliament that outlawed Solidarity.
Going beyond the call of the underground national leadership of Solidarity — Provisional Coordinating Committee (TKK) — for a “warning” general strike for November 10, the workers from the Gdansk shipyards and several other big factories of the region went on strike Monday morning (October 11). They set up a strike committee and called for the extension of the struggle to the whole region.
The junta rapidly responded by putting the shipyards under martial law. It forbade all traffic in and out of the city and did everything in its power to prevent news getting out for fear that the movement would spread to other cities in the country.
Through its spokesperson, Marechal Ustinov, the Kremlin bureaucracy assured the Polish military clique of its “total support.” Once again, bureaucrats everywhere hope that the blackmail of Soviet intervention will help to divide the movement, faced with the risk of a direct confrontation with Soviet tanks.
But despite that, the Polish workers are not ready to retreat, as the extension of the strike movement on the Baltic coast showed.
“Solidarity exists and will continue to exist whether that pleases certain people or not.” This declaration from the TKK on October 9 expresses the determination of the Polish working class to impose the restoration of the democratic rights won in August 1980 and to continue to carry its struggle forward. “Our organization exists and will continue its actions to set up a self-managed republic,” stated the Solidarity leaders in calling for a boycott of the puppet trade unions formed by the government. They say that the success or failure of the boycott of the trade unions will be a real referendum. “This referendum will be the first in the history of ‘People’s Poland’ and the government will not be able to falsify the results.” How does this “dissolution” of Solidarity and other independent trade unions representing 90 percent of adult workers function?
According to the new trade-union law adopted by parliament, only factory-based trade unions having no links between them can now legally exist. National federations by industrial sector are forbidden and a single confederation will be reestablished, but only in 1985. Peasants will not have the right to form trade unions. As for the right to strike, it is entangled in so many conditions that this “recognition” is equivalent to a ban. If it gets through a real obstacle course — obligatory notice to be given, conciliation commission, special tribunal dominated by the authorities in case the conflict is not resolved — the strike can still be banned if it is judged to “damage the needs of defense or security of the state.”
The Polish workers are refusing to submit to the diktat of the military government, which is trying to smash their resistance movement by force. ‘Violent confrontations have already begun between the Gdansk workers and the heavily armed ZOMO.
They must be able to count on our support! More than ever, international solidarity is today decisive in helping the Polish workers to carry on their battle against the bureaucratic dictatorship.
All the French national trade-union confederations except the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) called a united demonstration in Paris on October 12. About 20,000 people participated in this demonstration, which was supported by the Socialist Party and all the revolutionary left organizations. Sections of the CGT were there, thus showing their disagreement with their national leadership.
Similar mobilizations should be organized everywhere, to bring the leaderships of the workers movement to play their full part in the movement of solidarity with the Polish workers and to demand the recognition of Solidarity and of all trade-union and democratic rights in Poland.
e Unconditional support for the Polish workers struggle e Solidarity lives and will win e Lift martial law e Free Lech Walesa and all political prisoners e End martial law in the workplaces e Down with the bureaucratic dictatorship; long live socialism