Polish Govt decides to ride out unrest

Press, 14 August 1980, Page 6

Polish Govt decides to ride out unrest

NZPA-Reuter < Warsaw; Poland’s leaders apparent-ly-’hope.-, to Tide out their most serious labour crisis ip. 36 years of Communist rule without making any . important political concessions. The ruling Politburo’s [propaganda chief told foreign reporters yesterday that the six-week-old .wave of; strikes might continue but] there would be no basic ! political changes in this Eastern bloc State.

I Jerzy Lukaszewicz denied ■ that the strikes, which broke out at the beginning of July when meat prices went up, were political.

“‘Workers have been seeking to redress economic grievances . . . None of the strikers has made political demands,” he said. Tram and bus drivers are bn J strike in Warsaw for higher pay, seriously disrupting the city’s transport system. They were following thousands of workers throughout Poland who have struck successfully for increased wages. His remarks, which were not reported in Polish television news yesterday, were clearly designed to reduce the impact of the strikes in the Western media. However, they left authorities open to embarrassing questions if strikes continued on a large scale.

Mr Lukaszewicz was also apparently seeking to allay fears in Moscow about ’ the

■ continuing . labour upheaval Jin the Heart of the Sovjgt bloc.;-Strikes: are virtually outlawed in; Easterns Europe. He twice emphasised Pq- ‘ land’s firm ideological, poll-, tical, and economic alliance with its powerful Eastern neighbour and referred to Poland’s desire to deepen cooperation with its Comecon partners. • , J I He said that Poland enjoyed full sovereignty in ■its internal affairs and ■ would solve its own problems. He also said Poland would survive whether, or not it secured new Western credits. Poland is already in debt to the West for thour sands of millions of dollars; and requires more to keep its shakv economy going. He brushed aside speculation in the West that Poland was embarked on a course which would lead to fundamental political change. “Anyone who thinks we are about to introduce a system which would implement the policies of a free-market economy is mistaken,” he said. “Nobody. in Poland is questioning State socialism. Nobody wants a return to private industry or a return to big landowners.” While clearly trying to play down the impact of the strikes, Mr Lukaszewicz said that more than 200 enterprises stopped work during a general strike in the south-eastern city of Lublin last month.

[ He said: .. “The strikes reached their peak in Lublin and the mass wave is dying down. But it is still bubbling in isolated- areas and 5 there could be more in the near future.” ■ .

The news conference began shortly after. Warsaw tram drivers had: joined bus drivers in a strike for higher pay. The city transport system operated only a skeleton service for much of the day and thousands of people had difficulty in getting to and from work.

Bus drivers milled around their depots but refused to talk to Western reporters, ■saying they were afraid. Mr Lukaszewicz accused the Munich-based Radio Free Europe and the Polish dissident Self-Defence Committee (K.0.R.) of trying to politicise the strikes. K.O.R, has given regular information on the unrest.

He said that pay increases awarded to workers were generally in the region of 10 per cent and he hoped industry would make up for the extra payments in increased productivity. He said that Poles could expect further price rises in staple foods like milk and butter, and “far-reaching changes in the price structures.”

In his , only hint of political reform, Mr Lukaszewicz said there might be further experiments in worker selfmanagement.