1981 Warning Strike in Poland - Background

Background

After the Bydgoszcz events, millions of Poles reacted angrily to the brutal beatings of the members of Solidarity. The atmosphere in the country got even more tense, when the Communist government of the People's Republic of Poland denied any wrongdoings, stating that the security services were simply doing their duty to restore order and the information on the beatings was described as "claims by Solidarity sources". The mass-media informed that Jan Rulewski, one of the beaten activists, had been hurt in a car accident, not as a result of the intervention of the Communist police. Furthermore, in early spring of 1981, the Soviet Army was carrying out huge military exercises named Soyuz 81, which were taking place in Poland. The maneouvers were regarded by many Poles as the preparation of a Soviet invasion of their country and Marshall Viktor Kulikov, Commander-in-chief of the Warsaw Pact, told Polish general staff that despite political situation, the exercises would continue indefinitely. In Washington, the situation in Poland was described as "political tension at its highest level since last November". Soviet military exercises continued until April 7.

Meanwhile, leaders of Solidarity, gathered in the meeting of National Coordinating Commission (Krajowa Komisja Porozumiewawcza), ordered all regional offices of the organization to stay alert and be prepared for a national strike. In Bydgoszcz, a two-hour warning strike took place (March 21), and in a special communique, Solidarity announced that the Bydgoszcz events was a provocation, aimed at the government of Prime Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski. The government responded by sending to Bydgoszcz a special commission, headed by General Jozef Zyto, Deputy Prosecutor-General, whose task was to clear out the situation and find out who was guilty of the beating of the Solidarity activists. However, its members were not interested in fulfilling their task and their inactivity was criticized by Solidarity. Opposition activists were personally insulted by the Bydgoszcz events, thinking that if the beatings could happen to Jan Rulewski, they could happen to any of them. A statement of the Communist party did not improve the situation, as it characterized the Bydgoszcz events as a "flagrant violation of law, which created new tensions".

Most members of Solidarity's National Coordinating Commission (NCC) were in favor of an all-national, general strike, which would completely paralyze the country until all details of the Bydgoszcz events had been explained and those guilty punished. Only few were against such action, among others, Bronisław Geremek, who said that the decision for an unlimited general strike would be a decision for a national insurrection. Finally, during the March 23, 1981 meeting in Bydgoszcz, majority of members of the National Coordinating Commission voted in favor of the moderate proposal, suggested by Lech Wałęsa. According to this project, a four-hour national warning strike would take place on Friday, March 27, 1981, between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. Wałęsa's proposal was accepted only after a heated all-night session, during which the Solidarity leader threatened to walk out. The Polish Catholic Church and its leader, Primate Stefan Wyszyński, did do its best to convince both sides to avoid open conflict. On March 22, during the service transmitted by the Polish Radio, Wyszyński appealed both to the government and Solidarity to "work out mutual rights and duties", he also mentioned several times the danger of a 'foreign factor'. On March 26, Wyszyński personally talked with General Jaruzelski, two days later, he met Wałęsa and other Solidarity activists.

The demands of the opposition were:

1. The immediate punishment or suspension of officials considered responsible for the Bydgoszcz incident;
2. Permission for the peasants to form their own union: Rural Solidarity;
3. Security for union members and activists in their activities and the unions' right of reply to any criticism of their work (this right is to be exercised through the media);
4. Annulment of a government directive giving only half pay to strikers;
5. The closure of all pending cases against people arrested for political opposition to government policies between 1976 and 1980, "even if in the light of existing laws their activities constituted offenses."

If no agreement between the government and Solidarity had been reached, the general strike was planned for Tuesday, March 31. In between, a meeting between representatives of the NCC, headed by Wałęsa, and members of the Council of Ministers' Committee for Trade Unions, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Mieczysław Rakowski took place in Warsaw, but it ended without agreement. During this meeting, a Solidarity activist from Szczecin, yelled at Rakowski: "What if your wife cheats on you once, twice, three times? Will you trust her? And we do not trust you any longer".