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By CONRAD KOMOROWSKI

[IN FOCUS ===

Events in Poland

eat would be hard to imagine that there are so

’ Many friends in the United States of Polish labor
_and ‘‘free trade unions’’ as have suddenly ap-

peared here,. but, there they are, crawling out of

_ the most unexpected places, such as, for exam-

ple, the Wall Street Journal.
Forty thousand striking copper workers in the

_ United States do not rate one word of sympathy,

and U.S. trade unionism, especially of the rank-
and-file variety, is combatted. This should im-
Mediately give rise to suspicions about the mo-
tives of these ‘friends’ of ‘‘Polish labor’ and

_ “free trade unions.”’ :
If the situation is looked at more carefully, it —

will be seen that these sympathizers are not
“friends” at all of Polish workers, but only of that

relative handful who have tried to inject into
_ legitimate workers’ demands political issues

which have an anti-socialist thrust.
Thus, Franz-Josef Strauss, an ultra-Rightist

who is running for chancellor of West Germany, ©

demands that the West German government

_ withdraw its guarantee of a part of a loan by West

German banks to Poland, unless Polish workers’
demands are met. Strauss, who is an enemy of

West German labor, is serving not Polish labor’s ©

interests, but the class interests of West German

_ heo-nazi and other reactionary circles which seek

to destroy Poland’s socialist system.

A Wall Street Journal editorial (‘‘Polish
Prism’’) in the Aug. 21 issue in effect expressed
regret that open encouragement by the U.S. gov-
ernment cannot be given to the ‘‘dissident’’ cir-
cles in Poland. =

The New York Times, in an Aug. 19 editorial,
“Demanding the Unthinkable in Pland,”’ even re-
fers to the work stoppages along the Baltic sea-

_ coast as “‘an uprising of some 50,000 Polish work-
ers’’ and calls it ‘‘an even greater setback’’ —to

the Soviet Union!

Now, the New York Times declares, ‘‘Insur-
gent workers are not talking about just food and
wages. They are also demanding the unthinkable
— political rights.”

And the editorial containes this remarkable
lament: ‘‘Yet not even in the heat of a political
campaign can Americans sanely hope for a vio-

_ lent confrontation between the Gierek regime and

the strikers...”
The New York Times, and the big business
interests for whom it speaks, cherish the thought

of a bloody confrontation in Poland and regret

only that it cannot “‘sanely”’ be hoped for!

The reactions in ruling circles in the United
States and in reactionary circles in other coun-

tries show that it is necessary to distinguish bet- -

ween the genuine demands presented by striking
workers and the efforts of parasites using the
strike situation for their own purposes.

The real issues

Even reports in the big business press indicate ;
that demands of the striking workers, concen-

trated in the seacoast cities in the north, have

been confined to economic issues — prices,
wages, family allowances, and the like, with one
additional factor — a demand that the system of
worker self-government be improved. There are
many complaints of failure to carry out policy
which was intended to expand worker-crew par-
ticipation in plant and industry decisions.

‘A New York Times’ report Tuesday acknow-
ledged: ‘It is not clear how many of the demands

originated with the strikersorhowmanyfromthe .

dissidents.’’ The statement was made in relation
to a list of 23 or so political demands, including
‘taccess by all religious groups to the mass
media,”’ although such groups have many news-
papers, journals, books, and other means of pre-

senting their views. Who can forget that Pope ©

John visited Poland last year?

Another demand is ‘‘Guarantee of the right to
strike.” This is meant for foreign-consumption,
because the Polish workers have that right, and
have exercised it. The “right to strike’ under

- socialism has a far different aspect than under
» capitalism, but it does exist. ~

As for the economic demands, the government
has met demands not only in the scattered strikes
in July in Lublin, Lodz, Warsaw, but reached an
agreement with the workers at the Lenin Ship-

yard _.in. Gdansk which was approved by the over-..

whelming majority of the workers who were to
return to work Monday. The agreement was bro-
ken by aminority — actually a relative handful —
who continued the sit-in. :

Premier Edward Babiuch declared on Aug. 15
that the government was ready to discuss and
negotiate the economic issues. Edward Gierek,
secretary of the Polish United Workers Party
(PUWP), spoke on television on Aug. 18 in a simi-
lar vein. pe a as

The price of meat and meat products will be
frozen until autumn of 1981. Price controls on food

prices, particularly those of basic importance to
workingclass families, will be tightened. The
wage increases already granted, ranging from 10
percent to 30 percent, have been confirmed and
will be extended gradually to other workers.

Babiuch, Gierek, and others have stated
firmly that the workingclass trade union move-.
ment will take measures to correct mistakes and
bureaucracy, but will not yield to demands by
small groups which seek to destroy socialism.

Gierek said: ‘‘We understand the weariness
and impatience of the working people with every-
day troubles, supply shortages, lines in front of
shops, the rise in the cost of living, gaps in the
supply of intermediate and raw materials, the
lack of progress in the organization of production
and collective life. However, strikes will change
nothing for the better. On the contrary, they only
multiply difficulties.”’ a

This is particularly true for a socialist coun-
try, where every loss is a loss in the collective

_Wealth of the whole society. When the building of

Ships is delayed, the loss is felt in the overall
economy.

Gierek underlined the two-sided character of
the situation: One the one hand, legitimate grie-
vances of striking workers, and, on the other, the

- attempt by dissident elements to take advantage

of this situation, to block efforts to negotiate and

_Settle matters, and to prolong and sharpen the

situation.

Gierek stated: ‘‘A dangerous aspect of the re-
cent developments in some work establishments ©
in the Gdansk and Szczecin coastal region are the
attempts made by irresponsible individuals,
anarchic and anti-socialist groups to exploit work
stoppages and moods of excitement for political
ends. It is our duty to state most firmly that no
acts aimed against the basis of the political and
social order in Poland can or will be tolerated. On
this fundamental issue, no one may count on con-
cessions, compromises or even hesitation.’ *°*" _

Trade union action

Problems occur under socialism as under
capitalism. But they are fundamentally different
problems and are solved in the interests of the

_ working class and all the people. The virtue of

socialism is precisely that —not that problems do
not occur, but that they are resolved in the in-
terests of the people. ae

The situation in Poland shows this process at
work. The PUWP and government leaders do not
deny that mistakes have been made. As Gierek
said: ‘‘I wish to say with all sincerity, we are
aware that, besides numerous objective factors, a
serious role was played by mistakes in economic

’ . policy. In many sectors, practice was out of tune
with the provisions of the party’s post-December ~~

(1971) policy. We were unable to notice this in
time and to counteract it effectively.”

The presidium (leading body) of the Central
Council of Trade Unions met Wednesday, and
immediately went to work to change the situa-
tion. An analysis of its actions is presented
elsewhere in this issue. Here it is only necessary
to emphasize that it stressed that the overriding
duty of all trade union bodies must be to effec-

_ tively defend the working people’s interests.

Of course, such claims are made under
capitalism, too. But consider the difference. The
CCTU stated that no important decisions, par-
ticularly those concerning wages, prices, the cost
of living and the level of old age and disability
pensions can be taken without the consent of the
trade unions.

Workers’ self-management already exists in
Poland, but it will now be expanded and otherwise
improved. This, too, is an advance. Poland has
been and remains a socialist state. The strikers
did not intend it to be otherwise. That was proven
in 1970-71, when strikes occurred in Poland, and
were resolved. The present situation will not
change that. ;