STRIKES AND DEMONSTRATIONS 
(up to 1976)

 
ZOMO’s detachment in the Old Town in Warsaw.
In 1973 the government introduced so-called "concealed price rises". It meant that products' names, the way of packing were changed and they were brought in as new products with a new higher price. However people could see the breaking of promises by the authority concerning price's stabilization. In 1974 the economic management realized that it was really necessary to introduce rises. Since January 1975 they prepared a plan of those rises. Before they were introduced, in Militia offices there had been created investigative teams, which had to find potential organizators of manifestations, collect evidence against them and prepare inquiries. On June 24th 1976 there was a sitting of Seym. Then prime minister Jaroszewicz presented a project of carrying over the rises , which would make the market's situation better. He pointed at difficulty, particularly in agriculture. He planned the new prices to come on June 27th.

For many people price rises meant decrease in standard of life below the social minimum. That is why people started to buy as plenty of products as possible. On June 25th strikes and illegal breaks during the work involved about forty institutions in ten provinces. Even after price's withdrawal some strikes did not stop.
 
Information of MKS directed to Treble City residents about strikers' situation.
Workmen' protests in Radom and Ursus (Warsaw) were especially dramatic. In Radom strikers came out from factories into the streets and went to the edifice of Province Committee (Komitet Wojewodzki). They demanded cancelling all rises. After 2 p.m. detachments of Militia appeared in the centre of Radom and attacked demonstrators. Workmen set fire to the edifice of Province Committee and cars in the car-park. Later they also burned two other governmental buildings Between 2 and 3 p.m. the fight started: the striking workmen against MO and ZOMO. Nobody used weapons. Police had gases, canes, water's cannons. Demonstrators defended themselves using stones, bottles. They burned asphalt, built barricades of cars and buses. During the fights 2 demonstrators were killed.

Also in Ursus employees started to strike. A part of demonstrators went out into railroads and stopped the trains blocking the tracks: Warsaw-Lodz, Warsaw-Poznan. In this way they wanted to inform people from all parts of Poland about the strike and put the pressure on authority. After 9 p.m. Militia detachments dispersed the crowd. The wave of strikes moved to Plock, where the building of Province Committee was damaged.

The government decided to cancel the price rises. The prime minister Jaroszewicz announced it on TV at 8 p.m. Simultaneously the party management decided to get the people's support back through propaganda actions. During twenty four hours there were organized manifestations which condemned demonstrators. Also they used reprisals for striking.

On June 28th Edward Gierek went to the conference of communist countries to Berlin. He met Brezniew, who for fear of uproar in Poland, objected to the price regulations.

On July 1st society calmed down. In Katowice there was a big demonstration, which Gierek took part in. The members of management were greeted by national anthem and cheers. Gierek delivered a speech, in which he thanked for trust, did not agree for stopping work and said that the democration had to be connected with social discipline and responsibility. People shouted: "Party, Gierek, Party, Poland, Party, Gierek, Poland, Gierek!!!". The manifestation in Katowice finished the propaganda campaign.

At the same time arrested demonstrators were tortured in Militia offices and courts sentenced them. In Radom and in Ursus arrests started on June 25th and lasted to the end of July. Only the declaration of a policeman that he had seen the accused person in the crowd was enough to be able to arrest somebody.