"Successful workers protest" Lodz, 6, 7 November 2004

The Third Polish Nation-wide Workers' Conference took place in Lodz at 6-7 of November 2004. The organisers of the conference were: Lodz and Poznan sections of Inicjatywa Pracownicza/Federacja Anarchistyczna (IP/FA - Workers Initiative of Anarchist Federation), Grupa na rzecz Partii Robotniczej (GPR - Group for Workers Party) and Czerwony Kolektyw - Lewicowa Alternatywa (CK-LA - Red Colective - Left Alternative). In meeting attended workers-representatives of: Huta Cegielski (Poznan), Goplana-Nestle (Poznan), Warsztaty Terapii Zajęciowej (Therapy Workshops, Poznan), Uniontex (Lodz), public transport workers from Warsaw and Gdansk, ZOZ (medical care centre Elk), Huty Cynku (Zink Blast Furnance, Miasteczko Slaskie), Prokonstal (Szczecin), SM Mieszko (Lodz), who represented various trade unions - Sierpien'80 (August 80) Inicjatywa Pracownicza (IP - Workers Initiative), Solidarnosc (Solidarity), Konfederacja Pracy (Confederation of Labour), Związek Zawodowy Budowlani (Trade Union The Builders), Związek Zawodowy Pracowników Komunikacji Miejskiej (Trade Union of City Communication Workers). In conference also took part representatives of OZB (Polish Nation-wide Unemployed Union) from Elk and Lodz and also associations (of people in pre-retirement age, ATTAC Poland). Among invited guests were members of workers' organisations and trade unions from Spain (CGT), Germany (FAU, No service, Wildcat), Sweden (SAC), USA, Great Britain (TGWU) and Italy. In meeting attended over 100 people. The media patron of the conference was Nowy Robotnik (New Worker magazine).

There's mobbing taking place in Poznan's Bridgestone factory. People are forced to work overtime for free. This fact was confirmed by the control by National Work Inspection (that was informed about the abuses by our trade union). Persecution is done mostly to new employees. A lot of them come from regions of massive uneployment, which is ruthlessly used by the authorities of the company who know that even using frightening, demeaning, manipulation, no one will protest against that, being afraid of losing job. This situation is in conflict with current work law. Also immediate workers' sacking when they demand a respect for workers' rights is illegal. In the factory of Bridgestone that employs 1000 people there are no trade unions. The internal regulation of the company bans distributing leaflets.

We request to all trade unions to stand in defense of a trade union activist victimized for his activities.

The management of the Jutrzenka factory- a popular producer of sweets - has dismissed Dariusz Skrzypczak, the chairman of the Solidarity trade union in Goplana company in Poznan (Poland) (from January 2005 owned by Jutrzenka). He was fired on disciplinary grounds for the interview published in local press. Although Skrzypczak had only confirmed the fact that Jutrzenka had introduced new conditions of wages, which are unfavorable for most of the workers of Goplana, the management of the plant acknowledged those words as harmful to the company. It is the second attempt to fire Skrzypczak - the first one took place at the beginning of year 2005.

Polish workers took action today at Tesco Distribution on GreenhillsRoad in Dublin

Ireland's economic boom over the last decade has seen the migration ofIrish workers out of the country in seach for work reverse and a large migration of workers into the country from all over Europe. Both multi-national and Irish employers have been taking advantage of the precarious position of such workers to focce them to work for low (and often illegal) wages and in harsh conditions. The bosses are relying that as these workers often feel isolated in a new country where they may not fully understand the language they will not resist such exploitation. But over the last months the bosses have not been getting it all their own way as migrant workers have started to collectively organise. Thelargest dispute to date involved GAMA construction which was both massivly underpaying Turkish construction workers and forcing them to work many unpaid hours of overtime. Strike action by the Turkish workers forced the payment of significant amounts of extra money and the 'discovery' of a large percentage of their wages in accounts in the Netherlands that they were not aware of.

To: General Union of Oil Employees' Iraq

The All-Polish Trade Union "Workers' Initiative" would like to send our support for the struggle for workers&' rights of Iraqi trade unions. We are impressed that even in those extreme conditions there are some activists that managed to rebuild the workers movement in Iraq.

The eight women workers who were fired or forced to resign in connection with sexual harassment by a supervisor are still being victimized at PepsiCo's Frito-Lay plant near Warsaw

Although the perpetrator of the alleged crimes remains imprisoned, the victims are still without jobs or financial income from PepsiCo. As the legal cases continue at a slow pace, there have been some new developments:

LIVERPOOL

Five Polish former agency workers organised a picket of TESCO in Liverpool town centre in solidarity with the demands of the TESCO Temps Defence Committee in Ireland. The five, all members of the Transport and General Workers Union painted T-Shirts, banners and Placards in Polish with the following statements:

The largest banner read: 'WE CAN CHANGE THIS SITUATION. WE'RE FIGHTING FOR IMPROVEMENT NOW! LETS NOT ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE EXPLOITED BY EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES'.