Najdłuższy strajk w Nowej Hucie. Robotniczy protest w Kombinacie Metalurgicznym Huta im. Lenina (26 kwiecień – 5 maj 1988)
The longest strike in Nowa Huta

Summary/Abstract: As the result of dramatic increases in food prices introduced by the communist authorities in February 1988, the population of the People’s Republic of Poland became increasingly deeply impoverished. This situation contributed to the outbreak of the next social rebellion. On April 26, 1988 the rolling mill worker, Andrzej Szewczuwianiec, started the longest strike in the history of Krakow’s Nowa Huta district and its steelworks. As a result of their demands, the strikers were initially limited to economic relief, but over time they included additional points with a “Solidarity” overtone to them. The steelworkers demanded pay raises not only for themselves, but also for those employed in other sectors, such as education and health care. They also demanded raises for pensioners,,the reinstatement of their colleagues and amnesty for their activities in the underground structures of the “Solidarity” movement. The protest initially involved about 5,000 striking employees, eventually falling to 3,000. The negotiations were interrupted during the night of 4/5 May by the intervention of the communist police troops. Some strike leaders were arrested and a large group of striking steelworkers were brutally mauled by the intervening police. The striking steelworkers were still able to win wage increases. They also openly began their activities to revive the Independent Self-governing Trade Union “Solidarity”. The strike of April and May at the Nowa Huta Steelworks spurred all Polish workers to action, and was a prelude to the August protests that forced the communist authorities to negotiate with the public.

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