Nearly 10,000 steelworkers, miners, automotive workers, and even public sector employees are protesting today in Katowice to defend their jobs. It is a joint demonstration of the country’s largest trade unions: “Solidarity,” OPZZ, the Trade Union Forum, and “August 80.”
“We’ve been pushed to the edge — our industry is against the wall, and we had no choice but to take to the streets. Today, the entire heavy industry and automotive sector are protesting… They could disappear at any moment, and there’s no alternative for these jobs,”
said Dariusz Gierek, deputy head of the Silesia-Dąbrowa region of “Solidarity,” speaking to Niezalezna.pl.
“We’ve submitted our demands to the government. But I don’t think this will end here — there will be more protests,” said Artur Jacek Wilkoń, deputy chairman of Poland’s largest Federation of Steel and Metal Workers and head of the Trade Union of Łabędy Steelworkers in Gliwice.
A Symbolic Star-Shaped March
The protesters marched through the streets of Katowice from three directions — from the Spodek arena, Gliwicka Street in Załęże, and Kościuszko Park — all converging in front of the Provincial Office, where a joint rally in defense of jobs is being held. The demonstration took the symbolic form of a “star march.” Participants chanted slogans such as “Down with the government of crooks,” “Hands off Silesian mines,” and “Don’t fear… the Green Deal.”
Nearly 10,000 people have joined the ongoing protest.
“We’ve been pushed to the edge — our industry is against the wall, and we had to take to the streets. Today, the entire heavy industry and automotive sector are protesting… They could disappear at any moment, and there’s no alternative for these jobs,”
repeated Dariusz Gierek with frustration.
“This Is a Show of Our Strength!”
“Here in Silesia, we’ve always been able to unite against bad government policy — especially this government. For us, mobilizing like this is normal. It’s a sign of our determination, unity, and strength — this is true solidarity.
We expect Prime Minister Tusk and this government to see that it’s pointless to fight us — they must sit down with us and talk. Real solutions are needed to keep Silesian industry alive. If there’s industry here, the whole country’s economy benefits.
And if we’re to rearm — rightly so — then here in Silesia we have the steelworks, foundries, and coking coal. It’s all one chain. We can’t let the Green Deal push our industry to the brink of collapse,” said Dominik Kolorz, head of the Silesia-Dąbrowa “Solidarity.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this! Earlier this year, when all the trade unions from Poland’s steelworks and foundries protested in Warsaw, no one from the government even came out to meet us. Now we’re here — but if this doesn’t work, we’ll go to Warsaw again,” declared Rafał Miś, head of “Solidarity” at the “Bankowa” Steelworks in Dąbrowa Górnicza.
Miners from the “Bogdanka” mine in the Lublin region came to Katowice carrying a banner reading “Work and Bread.”
Even though it’s a profitable mine, workers fear for their jobs.
“Why? Because it’s the best mine for the Polish government to shut down,” said one protester bitterly.
Among the demonstrators are also many employees from JSW (Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa), which is on the brink of bankruptcy, and from the “Bielszowice” mine of the Polish Mining Group. Healthcare workers have joined the protest as well.
“We support our colleagues working in heavy industry. If the mines and steelworks disappear, public services, education, and healthcare will also vanish,” said Danuta Jarosz from “Solidarity” at the Medical University of Silesia, joined by union activist Joanna Sińska from Sosnowiec.
“The Polish Government Is Doing Nothing”
The protesters are primarily opposing soaring energy prices — a direct result, they argue, of the EU’s Green Deal — which they say is killing industry. Over the past five years, industrial energy prices in Poland have risen by 80%.
The consequences are severe: in just the last year and a half, Poland’s steel sector alone has lost 2,300 jobs, with more closures and layoffs looming.
“Only Europe is destroying its own economy in the name of climate ideology. China, the U.S., and India continue producing steel and mining coal without such burdens. The EU prefers to march on into the madness of the Green Deal,” reads a leaflet distributed by the protesters.
“The Polish government is doing nothing to resist this,” the leaflet continues.
Steelworkers demand that the government stop the uncontrolled import of steel from outside the EU and introduce a fixed, preferential energy price for energy-intensive industries — a measure currently being implemented in Germany and other Western European countries.
By contrast, the Polish government “is doing nothing and merely watching as Polish steelworks face extinction.”
They also call for Poland to reject the EU Green Deal, which, they argue, reduces the competitiveness of Polish steel. Every ton of steel produced and every megawatt-hour of electricity consumed carries enormous costs imposed by EU climate policy.
More Protests to Come
“We’ve submitted our demands to the government. But I don’t think this is the end — I don’t believe the government will listen. There will be more protests,” announced Artur Jacek Wilkoń, deputy head of Poland’s Federation of Steel and Metal Workers and leader of the Łabędy Steelworkers’ Union in Gliwice.