A holy mass in the Katowice Archcathedral and an extraordinary session of the General Meeting of Delegates of the Śląsko-Dąbrowski Region of NSZZ “Solidarność” were the main points of the anniversary event. Each time however, the Jastrzębie Agreement was mentioned – one of the August Agreements of 1980, which became the foundation for establishing the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity” (NSZZ “Solidarność”). – We remember those galvanizing days very well – Wiktor Skworc, Metropolitan Archbishop of Katowice, said during the homily. – The agreements were signed in August and September 1980, with hope that they would be performed, even though the authorities at the time had no credibility whatsoever.
Miners from the “Manifest Lipcowy” mine (currently the Zofiówka Section of the Borynia-Zofiówka Mine owned by JSW SA) joined the nationwide workers’ protests in August 1980. The Inter-Company Strike Committee was established, grouping together 56 strike committees from a number of Silesian cities and companies. The Jastrzębie Committee added its own postulates to the 21 demands put forward by the workers from the enterprises participating in the strike on the Coast. According to the Agreement signed on 3 September 1980, the then government agreed, among others, to introduce free Saturdays and Sundays, introduce minimum wages and lift the four-shift work system in mines. But workers’ postulates were not the only important ones; the Agreements also resulted in registration of a new union. – Silesia and Zagłębie were always defiant regions. We were always a little bit different, to avoid saying “stronger”, than in the rest of the country; there were 1.2 million of us at the time – said Dominik Kolorz, president of the Management Board of the Śląsko-Dąbrowski Region of “Solidarity”. – The years 1980 and 1981 saw the workers fighting for dignity and justice, for their representation. We wanted to have our own, independent and self-governing trade union and we got it. The Katowice Archbishop added: – “Solidarity” had a unique key feature: it did not use the language of interests, but the language of rights. It spoke on behalf of the people, who discovered that they were entities with the right to have the right, ready to take responsibility for their plight.
The celebration in Katowice and Zabrze was attended by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. He emphasized the historical role and importance of the August Agreements and “Solidarity” in abolishing the communist regime. – For me, “Solidarity” is more than just a trade union. It is Poland’s second name and a phenomenon that crosses the borders of Poland. “Solidarity” is not just history – it is the azimuth of our activity, which should also set the direction of activity of every good government – Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki said in Zabrze during the Extraordinary Session of the General Meeting of Delegates of the Śląsko-Dąbrowski Region of NSZZ “Solidarność”. He was accompanied by the head of the union. – As “Solidarity”, we are committed to workers’ rights, but we are also guardians of our history. The fact that we live in a free country is a big obligation for us – Piotr Duda, chairman of the National Committee of NSZZ “Solidarność” said during today’s event.
During the session in Zabrze, Andrzej Dera, secretary of state at the President’s Office, read out a letter to the participants of the meeting from the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda.
