LABOR

WARSAW — Seven million strong,
the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions,
known here as the OPZZ, is proving it-
self as the self-governing independent
trade union movement it set out to be-
come four years ago.

While anti-communists within the
Brussels-based International Confedera-
tion of Free Trade Unions were trying to
give Solidarnosc, (also based in Brus-
sels), the ‘‘kiss of life’? by accepting its
affiliation, OPZZ was holding its second
congress during the last four days of No-
vember.

More than 1,400 delegates took part in
the congress that saw more than 500
Interventions made during the plenary
Sessions and commission meetings.

The debates were sharp and critical.

- Not only the OPZZ’s performance since
last year’s congress, but the Alliance’s
members of parliament in the Sejm, and
the state and economic administration
oe under the delegates’ critical scru-
iny.

_ Re-elected to the presidency of the Al-
liance, Alfred Miodowicz summed up
the role trade unions are called upon to
play in socialist Poland.

‘Although socialism liquidates ex-
ploitation’’ he said, ‘‘it doesn’t auto-
matically eliminate conservative moves,
errors, distortions or ordinary stupidity.

““That’s why we think that the exis-
tence of strong, class trade unions, inde-
pendent of the administration, serves the
consolidation of socialism.”’

Miodowicz said that the Polish trade
unions, in order to be authentic and cre-
dible ‘“‘must demand implementation of
social expectations.

“Even if these expectations are not
fulfilled to the full, but only partially,
which under the present circumstances
can be justified, we must know exactly
what are the true reasons for it and in
what degrees it is determined by really
objective factors, as opposed to pro-
Crastination of the central .administra-
tion’s planning and decision making.”’

His view was underlined by Wojciech
Jaruzelski, leader of the Polish United
Workers Party. ‘“‘We’ve found that
deformations within the labor movement
mevitably contribute to corruption of the

whole socio-economic structure of the

country.

“Thus, strong socialist trade unions —
the largest organizations of the working
People — are an indispensable stabilizer
of the people’s state.”’

The congress’ main document out-

lined the role trade unions see for them-
selves in Poland’s recovery. It demanded
stable prices for food and other essential
commodities; opposed extending work-
ing time if it can’t be justified for tech-
nological or economic reasons; sup-
ported state subsidies to produce con-
sumer goods but opposed unjustified
subsidies to unprofitable enterprises; and
reserved the right of the unions to set the
minimum level of the social living stan-
dards as the basis from which welfare
and economic policies will be based.

The document also focused on the
country’s housing crisis, demanding that
investment allocations in the national
socio-economic plan for housing con-
struction be increased even if it means
shifting investment from other alloca-
tions.

In fact the congress program was criti-
cal of the projected national economic
plan for failing, “‘to take sufficient ac-
count of the trade union stand and (to)
meet social expectations.”’

The projected targets in the current
national economic plan will not raise liv-
ing standards fast enough the OPZZ
document pointed out.

The central issue in the 1986-90 eco-
nomic plan should be the restructuring of
the Polish economy, the union stressed.
‘We believe that the improved supply of
food and consumer goods, fulfillment of
the demand for housing, health care,
education, upbringing and culture, and
halting the degradation of the natural en-
vironment are tasks to which all plans
concerning the working of the national
economy (in the next four year period),
should be subordinated’’, the document
asserted.

Miodowicz also called for the con-
vening of an all European trade union
conference to advance the effective de-
fence of working people’s interests in
countries with different socio-political
systems.

This was particularly important in the
fight for peace, he said, where estab-
lishing nuclear weapons free zones in
Europe and the withdrawal by both sides
of intermediate range missiles, ‘“would
make a good start to building mutual
confidence and security.”

The report also stressed the need for
the OPZZ to restructure its international
contacts, though it recognizes the com-
plex environment in which this process
would take place. It noted the coopera-
tion it has received from trade unions in
the socialist world as well as the restora-

The renewed Polish trade union movement, expressed in the OPZZ, is oriented on

developing strong, independent and class trade unions to guarantee the implementation
of social expectations and the consolidation of socialism.

tion of some contacts with labor in the
developing countries and the capitalist
world.

In a press conference following the
OPZZ congress, Miodowizc said the tim-
ing of Solidarnosc’s admission to the
ICFTU, and the World Confederation of
Labor, was designed to undermine the
congress’ credibility and the Alliance’s
recent move to join the International
Labor Organization.

The ILO’s recognition of the Polish
trade unions he said will lead to a situa-
tion where structures like Solidarnosc
will have no real basis for representation
in international organizations.

Some 56 foreign delegations attended
the OPZZ congress, including repre-

.sentatives from the World Federation of

Trade Unions, the Soviet trade union
central — AUCCTU, the Austrian trade
union federation, the All China Federa-
tion of Trade Unions, the Irish Congress
of Trade Unions, the Union of Namibian
Workers, the General Union of Palestin-

Protest makes ‘Mothers’ pay

ian Workers and Nicaragua’s Sandinista
Trade Union Central.

In a joint statement on behalf of all the
foreign delegates, read to the Congress
by Nicaragua’s Damasco Vargas Loaia-
siga, the delegates from abroad noted
how they could, “‘see for themselves that
the Polish working people and nation
have been taking vast efforts to head off
their economic problems. . .”’

The statement went on: “‘The repre-
sentatives of the fraternal organizations
express their full support and respect for
the new direction of the Polish trade
unions, seeing them as capable of defend-
ing the interests of the working people
and expecting that this new road will lead
to the consolidation of the labor move-
ment in Poland.”

Vargas added that the fraternal or-
ganizations, “‘are convinced that the Po-
lish working people, trade unions and
nation will overcome all difficulties and
wish them success in the implementation
of the task.”’

iF YOu THINK THE
TORY ORUG PLAN
MEANS CHEAP
DRUGS Fak

ST. JOHN, N.B. — Fighting
Mad about losing their last week’s
Pay when their boss went bank-
Tupt, 63 Mothers Restaurant
Workers forced company big wigs
to “come home”’ to the workers
with the money owing them.

The restaurant had closed Oct.

8 over a dispute about rent be-
tween the company that owned
the franchise and the manage-
Ment of Market Square, a local
Shopping mall where the res-
taurant was located.

Following the closure the com-
Pany successfully petitioned and
that left the workers out in the
Cold as far as their back pay and

nefits were concerned. Under
federal laws, employees are treat-

as unsecured creditors, so are

the last to be considered when
creditors are to be paid.

In practice this usually means
they don’t get a nickel.

But the workers had other
plans. With Christmas approach-
ing, they launched a protest cam-
paign in early December aimed at
marshaling public support for
changes in the federal legislation
that would protect workers’
wages and benefits in the wake of
a company bankruptcy.

They marched through the
streets of St. John to underscore
their plight and the injustice-in-
flicted on them by the wealthy,
Ontario-based corporation.

About a week before Christ-
mas, St. John Common Council

voted to ask the provincial gov-
ernment to exert whatever pres-
sure might be needed to make
sure the workers got their back
pay and benefits.

Mothers is a company that
trades heavily on, and makes
healthy profits from its ‘‘family”’
image and so the mounting public
pressure in St. John moved com-
pany honchos in Burlington, On-
tario to initiate a little damage
control.

At the same time the company
is planning a major expansion in
the Maritimes over the next 18
months with plans to open res-
taurants in Halifax, Fredericton,
St. John’s Nfld., and Sydney.

So Mothers president Jerry
White announced on Dec. 17 that

the company would present the
workers with ‘“‘pre-Christmas’’
cheques representing the $12,000
the former franchise owner owed
the workers. In addition, the new
owner agreed to give the 63 for-
mer Mothers workers the first
crack at the 70 new jobs to be
created when the restaurant re-
opens.

About 50 workers were on hand
Dec. 23 to see White play Santa
Claus with their back wages, but
seizing an opportunity to milk a
bit more public relations out of the

situation, he decided to make the ‘

$12,000 a gift, that wouldn’t have
any bearing on whatever clairns
were outstanding with regards to
back pay and benefits owing
them.

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JANUARY 21, 1987 e 7