Warsaw strike tests limits of Polish Govt’s tolerance

Press, 13 August 1980, Page 8

Warsaw strike tests limits of Polish Govt’s tolerance

NZPA-Reuter Warsaw Bus drivers in Warsaw threatened yesterday to extend their strike •— a move yhich would present Poland’s Communist leaders with the most embarrassing public spectacle of labour unrest since, a wave of stoppages broke out more than six weeks ago. Drivers at two depots said that they would , join colleagues who began striking: at two other depots earlier this week for more pay. The strike has already disrupted some services

and there were reports that people, had difficulty getting to arid from work. It began as Warsaw’s dustmen agreed to end a six-day strike and return to work after being promised pay rises of $23 a month, better meat supplies in the' shops, better conditions, and the establishment of a workers’ council. ’ . • - Untilfthis week, most of the strikes have been in .effect, invisible. Workers iwhd. Have struck; for ‘higher pay af -more. than-.15Q enterprises since meat . 'prices iwerit up last month

have stayed inside their factories. or plants. However, the threatened absence-of/buses from the capital’s streets would bring the labour unrest into the full glare of public and world, attention. It was not clear whether the authorities, who have hitherto shown, restraint towards . the. strikers, would tolerate such a spectacle. The -police detained one of the.leaders of the striking dustmen for seven hours on Monday, a move seen as a possible warning that official, tactics could change.

Clearer indications of future policy may emerge today when a member of the ruling Politburo meets Western journalists for the first time since the labour troubles began. Jerzy Lukaszeuncz, the Politburo propaganda chief, is expected to explain how the authorities intended to handle the continuing labour crisis. In mid-July, the Politburo said that the Soviet Union could be concerned about Poland’s labour situation. Prospects of direct Soviet intervention are regarded as utterly remote