Agricultural Solidarity joins forces with Krajowa NSZZ “S” and announces joint participation in farmers’ protests.
On February 28, there was a meeting between the chairman of the National Commission of NSZZ “Solidarność”, Piotr Duda, and the chairman of NSZZ Rolników Indywidualnych, Tomasz Obszański. The heads of the unions announced that they had taken joint actions to support the farmers’ protests.
Obszański: the government ignores farmers
As the trade unionists emphasized, their goal is to jointly face the Green Deal and the leaky border through which agricultural products from Ukraine flow in, destabilizing the Polish market.
Farmers are determined. There was a warning protest yesterday and no one in power came out to the protesters. It was very disrespectful. On March 6, there will be a large general protest to show everyone how critical the situation in agriculture is. We will do everything to ensure that the entire Green Deal and everything related to it is abolished. Similarly, we will fight to stabilize the situation with the inflow of grain from Ukraine, because for now there are no controls or services that could act rationally. We approach this topic together, as two Solidarities, as one big family that will do everything to fight for Poland. The idea is that Polish tables will have bread made from Polish grain, not Ukrainian grain, said Tomasz Obszański, head of NSZZ RI Solidarność.
Obszański emphasizes that the union intends to strive for the government to finally start talking to farmers.
So far, this is disrespectful. I don’t know if the government is deaf and blind that there are no talks with farmers. This is a disregard for the Polish farmer and Polish farms, he said. – We will do everything to ensure that the assumptions of the unfortunate Green Deal are as least harmful to Poland and our society as possible – he added.
On February 22, the National Commission of NSZZ “S” adopted a resolution in which it supported agricultural protests against the European Green Deal with the assumption that it would support them not only passively, but also actively.
We are entering these protests hard. Today at the meeting we agreed that the Solidarity trade union – the workers’ union – will join the protest in Warsaw on March 6. We have also established a joint protest team, where we will plan and prepare our next protest actions, because it will not end on March 6, said Piotr Duda, chairman of NSZZ “S”, today at the Warsaw headquarters of the National Commission of NSZZ “S”.
Solidarity is planning an information campaign
Duda also announced that Solidarity has planned an information campaign that will aim to increase public awareness of the European Green Deal and the costs associated with it.
We need to reach society and show that the effects of the Green Deal will reach not only agriculture, mining and our entire industry, but also individual recipients. Because soon the so-called ETS 2, i.e. emissions fees for individual recipients. Poles can’t stand this, he argues.
The Solidarity chairman also indicated that the union is preparing for a “big event in Warsaw”, about which the public will be informed later.
–We will surprise those in power with our actions until we succeed. And just like in 2012, when Donald Tusk’s government did not agree to a referendum not to raise the retirement age, I said: We will win anyway! And what? We won. The retirement age has been lowered, we have bridge pensions, and soon there will also be internship pensions. And the same will happen with the Green Deal. We will win anyway! – he concluded.
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