Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka should be here with me today, talking to the miners, said Piotr Duda, Chairman of the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity” (NSZZ Solidarność), who on Wednesday came to support the protesting miners at the ‘Silesia’ coal mine. The head of Solidarity in Silesia, Grzegorz Babij, presented a letter from the head of the Ministry of Energy. Motyka proposed a meeting… on 7 January.
Miners from Przedsiębiorstwo Górnicze Silesia have been protesting since 6:00 a.m. on Monday. As reported by the spokesperson for the protesters, Kazimierz Grajcarek, on Wednesday morning, about 20 people were staying 500 meters underground, with another six on the surface.
The protesters are primarily demanding that the government extend to their company the protective measures which, from 1 January 2026, will be provided under the amended mining act to employees of State Treasury-owned companies liquidating mines. From their employer, they are demanding full payment of this year’s Barbórka bonus (St. Barbara’s Day bonus) and no repercussions for participating in the protest.
“I am here today as the head of Solidarity, but also as Vice-Chairman of the Social Dialogue Council. It is the minister’s duty – as a member of the Social Dialogue Council – to be here and to talk to the miners. Likewise, it should be the duty of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Ms Dziemianowicz-Bąk, to be present and to conduct negotiations,”
Piotr Duda said.
The Solidarity chairman accused the energy minister of “apparently wanting to subordinate the strike to his holiday schedule.” “This is what we as Solidarity are saying: this is the first government since 1989 that completely refuses to engage in social dialogue, bypasses the social side, and does not want to talk to trade unions – whether agricultural unions, sectoral unions, or national trade union confederations,” he assessed.
Duda emphasized that he had come to the mine to meet the protesters underground.
“That’s why I am here – to say that I am proud, because many people today who sit and protest on Facebook are brave. This is courage: to go down underground and protest, knowing that it may last a day, a week, or dozens of days. The miners are determined, because they are not asking for anything extraordinary. They just want to be treated in the same way as everyone else. They do not want to be discriminated against,”
he said.
He assured that the atmosphere among the protesters is combative. “The miners know what they want: to be included in the mining act that has already been passed and signed by the President. That is what matters most to them. They are fighting for tomorrow and for jobs,” he said.
Grzegorz Babij, head of Solidarity in Silesia, said that on Wednesday, a representative of the mine’s owner, the Bumech Group, went down to meet the protesters. According to the trade unionist, the representative told them that Energy Minister Motyka and Deputy Energy Minister Marian Zmarzły had called him that morning.
“The arrangements are similar to what was stated in yesterday’s letter – namely, that Minister Motyka wants the protest to be called off and to meet on 7 January. There is no consent for that,”
Babij said.
At 4:00 p.m., a Christmas Eve service for the miners’ families was held at the Solidarity headquarters next to the mine. It was originally planned to take place in the mine’s lamp room, but the mine owner did not give permission. “This is very sad. I feel like crying. I can’t speak,” one of the women said, her voice breaking.
On Tuesday, trade union leaders met with the court-appointed administrator supervising the restructuring programme being implemented at the mine, as well as with a representative of the Bumech Group, the mine’s owner. They received a verbal assurance from the administrator that no consequences would be imposed on those participating in the protest. The miners, however, are expecting this assurance in writing.
Referring to this issue on Wednesday, Piotr Duda recalled that there had already been a precedent. “I am referring to the Pątnów-Adamów-Konin power plant complex, which is privately owned. The European Commission had no doubts whatsoever about the granting of state aid. I see no problem here for the Silesia mine and its miners to also be covered by state aid,” he added.
Przedsiębiorstwo Górnicze Silesia in Czechowice-Dziedzice is the largest private coal mine in Poland. In 2022, its share of the Polish market amounted to about 3 per cent of thermal coal production and 2.3 per cent of total hard coal production.
At the end of November this year, the administrator of Silesia’s restructuring estate notified the trade unions of planned collective redundancies, which would affect more than 750 employees at Silesia.
On 8 December, the Bumech Group, owner of PG Silesia, announced that it had submitted an offer to the restructuring administrator to lease the Silesia mine. Bumech also declared its intention to take over selected employees pursuant to Article 23(1) of the Labour Code. In light of this, the restructuring administrator postponed the potential layoffs until January.