The number of miners protesting underground in several mines of Polska Grupa Górnicza (PGG) has increased to over 230, unions said. More employees joined the action after the end of the morning shift. In Katowice, the protest committee is talking to a government delegation.
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There is an underground protest in six Silesian mines. In Halemba, Pokoju, Bielszowice and Wujek, the action starts on Monday. On Tuesday, miners from Piast and Ziemowit joined the protest. According to data collected by mining Solidarity, at Over 230 miners protest underground. Most of them were in the Halemba mine – 100 people, and in the Piast mine – 70 miners “, informed Solidarity from Silesia.
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An announcement of a demonstration
“On Wednesday, more groups of miners in other mines are to join the action. A demonstration of miners from Silesian mines is planned for Friday in Ruda Śląska. Representatives of other industries threatened by the effects of the EU climate and energy policy, as well as residents of Ruda and neighboring cities, are scheduled to support them.” . Polska Grupa Górnicza verifies the information provided by trade unions. According to the company’s data, on Tuesday afternoon the number of protesters was lower than it was suggested by the unions, and amounted to less than 180 people. PGG confirms that the most – 119 people – are protesting at the Ruda mine in Ruda Śląska. 78 people participate in the protest in the Halemba movement, which is in the Bielszowice 21 movement, and Room 20 in the movement. In the Wujek mine in Katowice, the protest is continued by 13 people, and in the Piast-Ziemowit 44 mine – 32 in Piast and 12 in Ziemownia. Some of the protesters are permanently underground, others join for a while to support the action. In the Silesian Voivodeship Office in Katowice, talks between the Inter-Union Protesting and Strike Committee and the government delegation, which began on Tuesday early afternoon, are underway. During breaks in talks, trade unionists do not comment on their course, but confirm that they are substantive. Representatives of the social side declare that they are able to talk to the “resistance” on Tuesday, hoping to reach an agreement that will enable an end to the underground protest. The ongoing negotiations concern the principles and pace of transformation of the mining and energy sectors and the restructuring plan of Polska Grupa Górnicza.
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No time limit
– We will hold talks in order to reach an agreement as soon as possible and end the form of protest that the miners started on Monday as soon as possible. I am deeply convinced that we will manage to do it as soon as possible – said the deputy minister of state assets, government plenipotentiary for transformation of energy companies and mining, Artur Soboń, before the talks.
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– Of course, we are also ready to talk as much as needed; to listen to all the demands that are made from the social side towards us. We do not give ourselves any time limit here, but our intention is to write down such an agreement as soon as possible, and then observe this agreement, implement the agreement and transform the Polish energy sector (…) in social harmony, in social peace – added the deputy minister.
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The unionists who appointed the Inter-Union Protest and Strike Committee (MKPS) a week ago and announced a strike emergency, counted on the participation of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in the negotiations. Eventually, the trade unionists agreed to talks with the delegation, which has powers of the head of government to conduct negotiations.
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The government delegation included, in addition to Deputy Minister Soboń, the Government Plenipotentiary for Raw Materials Policy, Deputy Climate Minister Piotr Dziadzio and the head of the Prime Minister’s political cabinet, Krzysztof Kubów.
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Waiting for specific proposals
Trade unionists emphasize that the opening of talks does not mean that the underground protest will be suspended or stopped. The demonstration in Ruda Śląska, announced for Friday, was not canceled either. The leader of August 1980, Bogusław Ziętek, said before Tuesday’s talks that trade unionists were counting on specific government proposals to extend the period of rebuilding Silesia.
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– We believe that this program must operate for at least 40 years, i.e. until 2060, and not – as previously announced by government factors – until 2030, and that it must be done under a great social contract that will be concluded between all interested parties because only in this way can we solve these very serious problems – said Ziętek.
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In his opinion, the agreement that trade unionists would like to sign with the government should include both provisions on long-term activities regarding the reconstruction of Silesia, mining and energy until 2060, as well as provisions on specific current matters, such as the acceptance of coal from PGG by the energy sector, payments for coal and the scale of energy demand for coal in the next and subsequent years. It is also about determining the future of the mines previously listed as those intended for liquidation.
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– I hope that we will manage to include it in an agreement that I call a great social contract – summed up the leader of August 1980, pointing out that it is both a social contract and an agreement guaranteeing further operation of coal companies.
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A new strategy
At the beginning of September, the Minister of Climate, Michał Kurtyka, presented the last one draft of the State Energy Policy until 2040 (PEP2040).
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The forecast included in the PEP assumes two scenarios: high prices of CO2 emission allowances and a moderate increase in these prices. In the first case, the share of coal in domestic electricity production drops to 37%. in 2030 and up to 11% in 2040. In the second scenario, this share is to amount to 56 and 28 percent respectively.
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