“We always faced an uphill struggle, or we were climbing. It was not easy, because we were attacked by liberal-leftist circles,” said Piotr Duda, the head of “Solidarity,” on the 45th anniversary of the signing of the August Agreements. “Those who used Solidarity as a springboard into politics took advantage of it, and later began to attack us,” he added.
On the 45th anniversary of the signing of the August Agreements, which led to the creation of NSZZ “Solidarity”, Piotr Duda, the current chairman of the union, appeared on TV Republika. Summing up the union’s work to date, he described his emotions as pride, hope, and faith. “Hope, faith. Ahead of us lie more years of hard work. That is why workers came up with this plan, so that after 1980 there would be an organization to carry out these demands,” he said, adding that despite obstacles, the organization continues to function and effectively pursue its goals.
“Our path was never straightforward. We always faced an uphill struggle, or we were climbing. It was not easy, because we were attacked by liberal-leftist circles. In the early 1990s, Solidarity as a trade union was no longer seen as needed. Those who had used Solidarity as a springboard into politics took advantage of it. Later, ashamed of Solidarity, they threw away their membership cards, pulled the Solidarity badges from their lapels, and simply used their ‘mother’ to get into politics. Then they began to attack us,” Piotr Duda recounted.
He noted that such attacks continue to this day.
“We are left alone. The first decision of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government, effectively Minister Sienkiewicz’s, was to terminate Solidarity’s partnership agreement with the Institute of the Heritage of Solidarity. In this Institute, we had signed an agreement with the United Right government in 2019 that we would safeguard Solidarity’s history, and that there would be funding for the BHP Hall. This is not a trade union hall or building, it is simply a historic site,” Duda emphasized.
By contrast, he pointed to the government-supported building of the European Solidarity Centre. “A chocolate-like substitute, which will never be what true Solidarity is, because the test of Solidarity must be passed through hard work every single day,” the union leader judged.
He stressed that the demands signed in Szczecin, Gdańsk, Jastrzębie, and Dąbrowa Górnicza are not “occasional gadgets” or “scarecrows for communists,” but demands that must continue to be fulfilled in the years ahead. Only recently, during President Andrzej Duda’s tenure, one of those demands was realized, namely, that police officers and prison service officers were granted the right to form unions other than the old CRZZ.
Speaking about liberals marking Solidarity’s 45th anniversary, Piotr Duda spoke bluntly: “It is like coming to the birthday of someone you hate. They hate us because we are strong, independent. Our trade union activists are being dismissed.”