Trade unions today began a strike at all plants of Solaris, a Spanish-owned Polish manufacturer of public transport vehicles that is Europe’s largest producer of electric buses.
The protest action is part of a push for 800 zloty (€176) monthly salary rises for all factory workers, and has received support from left-wing MPs. Solaris, however, has accused unions of prematurely breaking off negotiations.
The strike was called by a coalition of unions – including Poland’s largest, Solidarity – following a referendum last week in which 51.7% of those eligible voted, and 92.7% of them backed the protest action.
Negotiations for the pay raise have been ongoing since last September. Union members say that they had been willing to halve their demands to 400 zloty in December and January.
“The company’s authorities rejected our peace offer, which is why it is no longer valid,” said Wojciech Jasiński, chairman of the OPZZ Konfederacja Pracy (Confederation of Labour) union group, reports Business Insider Polska. The union has reverted to its original demand of 800 zloty and launched its strike at 6 a.m. this morning.
Jasiński added that the company’s rejection of the pay increase, which he claims was “within the company’s budget assumptions”, was a means of “showing the employees their place in the pecking order”.
In response, Solaris – which in 2018 was acquired by Spain’s CAF and the following year became Europe’s largest manufacturer of electric buses – criticised unions for showing only an “apparent willingness to talk” and unilaterally breaking off several stages of negotiations after “only two” meetings.
The company added that all of its workers had already on 14 January seen salaries boosted by 5%, meaning a minimum of 270 zloty, or 340 zloty with bonuses. Moreover, 800 of its workers had received a separate pay rise. Over the past three years, the company has set aside 60 million zloty for wage increases.