Poland: Workers at bus company strike against privatization

Workers at the state-owned bus company PKS in Gostynin have been striking since Tuesday. They are against the privatization of the company and demand its communalization. And they are threatening to escalate protests.

Workers are also demanding pay rises.

The State Treasury announced in December that it wanted to sell PKS bus companies in seven cities in the Mazowsze region. Besides Gostynin, they want to sell the companies in Minsk Mazowiecki, Ciechanow, Mława, Ostrołęka, Płock and Przasnysz. The workers are afraid of what may happen after privatization. Typically, privatized bus companies have seen stark cuts in workplaces and wages, and the introduction of worse working conditions and precarious contract labour.

On Tuesday the State Treasury announced that it would not stop the sale of this PKS. The deadline for receiving offers is today.

However, the State Treasury decides selectively about the fate of such companies, tending to sell off the profitable ones, or the ones with property. On the other hand, there was communalization of the PKS is Siedlice, Łosice and Sokolow Podlaski and local governments took them over in places such as Wadowice, Nowy Sącz, Krakow and Starogard Gdanski. And on May 6, the State Treasury transfered ownership of PKS to the local governments (poviats) in Łukow and Raciborz.

In response to the strike, PKS Gostynin is trying to hire strike breakers. 88 of the 109 workers, including all the drivers, are on strike. There are 4 unions operating in this workplace. The strikers have occupied the building and have been staying there overnight.

They are presently considering how to escalate the protests and which actions they can take.