The history of trade unions in Poland began with the formation of the Trade Union of Mechanical Engineers and Metal Workers in 1869. By 1906, there were over 2,000 trade unions nationally, and many divisions among them.
All trade unions were suspended starting in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland and remained prohibited for the duration of Nazi control. Many labor activists were killed by the Nazi party, either in violent clashes with soldiers or after deportation to concentration camps.
After the end of the war, unions were reformed and incorporated into the newly-established communist leadership. Many union members opposed state control and wanted to remain autonomous, leading to violent clashes between union members and the government. The All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (OPZZ) was established by the state as an umbrella organization for all workers.
The OPZZ continued to operate after the fall of the communist government and remains the largest trade union in Poland, though its membership numbers have dropped significantly from their peak in the late 1980s.
The first 120 years 1869–1989
As in all countries of Central Europe also in Poland trade unions were active since the end of the 19th century, particularly in the Prussian and Austrian partition regions. 1869 the first Trade Union (of a branch) of Mechanical Engineers and Metal Workers in Bromberg. In 1889 the first general 'Union of Mutual Help' (ZWP) was founded in the town of Bytom (Beuthen) in Silesia. Some of the historical trade unions maneuvered their way through all system changes, for example today's biggest affiliated union of the country, namely the Polish Teachers' Union (ZNP) which was established in 1905. Around 1906 there were already over 2000 trade unions gathered in about 30 central associations. Much of the trade union movement was ideologically divided.
After the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 all socio-political organisations, including trade unions, were prohibited by the German occupying forces. Many activists were deported to concentration camps and murdered, others died in the resistance movement. After 1945 the communist system forced all refounded trade unions into line. Regime trade unions became the fundamental element of workers' organisations, which was also aimed at preventing solidarity in state combines and regions. The aim was to make unions an instrument of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR). However, this repeatedly met with violent resistance of the workers in the industrial centres, like in Poznań in 1956, in the northern coastal cities in 1970, in Radom and Ursus in 1976 as well as at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk in 1980. The most significant result was the foundation of the Independent Self- governing Trade Union ‘Solidarity’(NSZZ Solidarnosc) in August 1980, a mass organisation with almost 10 million members. This led in autumn 1980 to the self-dissolution of the Association of Trade Unions (ZZZ) which was subordinated to the PZPR. During Martial Law, which was introduced on 13 December 1981 and lasted until June 1983, Solidarnosc was banned and the controlled refoundation of trade unions dependent on state orders began. In establishments and state combines affiliated unions were founded. Only in 1984 the 'All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions' (OPZZ) was set up as an umbrella organisation to coordinate them. The OPZZ received not only all properties of the CRZZ, but also of the banned Solidarnosc.
Development of trade unions and membership after 1989
After the regime changes of the year 1989 OPZZ remained the strongest trade union federation, but like all other trade unions it recorded a dramatical decrease in membership. While in the middle of the nineties about 4.5 million people were members of OPZZ, this number fell to under 2 million by the year 2001 and it is estimated that in 2007 there were less than 750.000 members. At the beginning of 2002 a new trade union federation split away from OPZZ, namely the Trade Unions Forum (FZZ) with 515.000 members mainly from civil service, local governments, railways, energy, mines and other state-owned enterprises. In autumn 1981 ten million people belonged to NSZZ Solidarnosc, but after its second legalization in April 1989 it did not manage to regain its previous significance and number of members. While in 2001 there still were about 1.1 million members, in December 2005 there were only 721.8561. At the same time there are drastic differences between state enterprises and civil service, where about 28 per cent of employees belong to trade unions, and the private sector, where only 3 per cent are organised in trade unions2. From 1982 until 2005 the overall degree of unionization fell from 80 per cent to below 14 per cent. This dramatic decline lead to Poland being one of the EU-countries with the lowest degree of unionization. Most of the trade unions' members (51.7 per cent) are women, especially in the educational sector, health and civil services, but also 35 per cent of members of mining trade unions are female. Only 2.4 per cent of employees under the age of 25 belong to a trade union.
1 Report of the 20th national congress of NSZZ Solidarnosc, 28–20 September 2006, p. 33
2 Public Opinion Research Center CBOS, Polish Public Opinion, 11/2006, p. 4
3 Juliusz Gardawski, Declining trade union density examined, 'Foundation Institute of Public Affairs', Warsaw 2002, published in 'Eiro-Portal' (European Industrial Relations Observatory on-line).
4 Juliusz Gardawski, Declining trade union density examined, 'Foundation Institute of Public Affairs', Warsaw 2002, published in 'Eiro-Portal' (European Industrial Relations Observatory on-line).
The reasons for this rapid deterioration are essentially as follows4:
- massive shrinkage of traditional industries and sectors, such as mining and steel,
- in privatised establishments ("brownfield investment") with over 250 employees trade unions mostly remained, in mid-sized establishments about one third remained. In small establishments there are almost no trade unions,
- new private enterprises ("greenfield investments"): among big enterprises only 5 per cent of Polish establishments and 33 per cent of foreign establishments have trade unions, in mid-sized and small establishments there are practically no trade unions,
- technology-orientated undertakings like those in the IT-branch with their young staff, who often have academic degrees, have almost no unionization,
- due to high unemployment, which in some regions reaches 30 per cent and in the whole country 12 per cent (November 2007), many employees are afraid of founding or joining a trade union.
The role of trade unions in Polish politics after the transformation 1989
From its beginning in August 1980 Solidarność was not only a trade union but also a political movement. Many later political groupings and parties stem from this environment. All in all 23 political parties had their roots and leaders linked to Solidarność, amongst them today's biggest governing party ‘Civic Platform’ (PO) and the biggest opposition party ‘Law and Justice’ (PiS). Although the relations between political parties and trade unions used to be close, this decreased after 2000, but is still visible. Solidarność sympathises with the conservative parties of the national catholic right-wing, whereas OPZZ tends towards alliances with the post-communist Left.
During the transformation period national trade unions were highly politicised. Lech Wałęsa, the first chairman of Solidarność became president of Poland in 1990 and many trade union members held government offices and seats in Parliament and on management boards of big state-owned companies. As a result, Solidarność gained enormous influence, but as a trade union simultaneously lost most of its leaders to politics. This led to a loss of authority of Solidarność as an institution representing workers' interests and separated it away from its grass roots members.
In the parliamentary elections in 1997 one of the parties running for parliament was the Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS), a political party coalition gathered around Solidarność. It consisted of 20 small parties and 16 further groupings. AWS became by far the biggest party with almost 34 per cent of valid votes and gained 201 seats in the Sejm (out of 460), as well as 51 out of 100 seats in the Senate and thus had the absolute majority in the second chamber of the Polish parliament. Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek as well as most of the AWS ministers came from the trade union. The trade union's chairman Marian Krzaklewski (from February 1991 until September 2002) was simultaneously chairman of the AWS and its parliamentary grouping in the Sejm. His most important collaborators came from the trade union's National Commission and took part in negotiations even when they were not members of parliament. Consequently, Krzaklewski – as chairman of the trade union, of the party and of the parliamentary grouping – and the members of the trade union's National Commission became an extra-parliamentary centre of influence.
The 'rule of trade unions' ended in the year 2001. Due to conflicts within the party and accusations of corruption AWS became unattractive and weak in the eyes of the electorate. In the parliamentary elections of 2001 it did not manage to get over the legal hurdle of 8 per cent of votes for electoral coalitions and since then has not had a single parliamentarian in the Sejm. Now came the time of the coalition of the Left led by the 'Democratic Left Alliance' (SLD), where many parliamentarians came from OPZZ. In 2005 'Law and Justice', a party very near to Solidarność, and its partners removed the Left Alliance which was related to OPZZ. After the September 2005 and October 2007 elections seven parliamentarians from the OPZZ still belonged to left alliances.
The structural reforms of the nineties lead to the impoverishment of certain parts of the society, to dismissals and growing unemployment, for which not only the government but also the trade unions were blamed. Their direct engagement in Polish politics had produced negative effects. Due to their participation in less than pristine governments trade unions almost forfeited their reputation and support. Nevertheless, a large part of the leaders and members believe until today that in order to achieve something in politics one has to use one's own people. The trade union Solidarność openly favours the 'Law and Justice' party PiS. During the presidential elections in 2005 it intensively called on the electorate to vote for PiS candidate Lech Kaczyński. The weekly newspaper 'Tygodnik Solidarność' constantly supported the policy of PiS which governed from 2005 to 2007 with the rural interest party Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland (Samoobrona) and the extreme right-wing League of Polish Families (LPR).
Even the hitherto neutral FZZ was close to getting involved with political parties. In June 2005 its board decided to sign an agreement with the populist Samoobrona. However, already in August 2005 FZZ annulled this agreement, because Samoobrona did not grant FZZ the promised places on the electoral lists for the parliamentary elections in 2005.
Current situation of Polish trade unions
The landscape of Polish trade unions is shaped by three national umbrella organisations, many autonomous organisations on the local level (i.e. 'Sierpien 80', Solidarnosc 80, etc.) as well as independent trade unions in individual plants and firms. All Polish trade unions accept the social market economy, parliamentary democracy and European unification.