In solidarity with the dismissed postman
- Dział: English news
In July several actions took place in Poland and in other European countries. They were a reaction to the dismissal of Bartosz Kantorczyk - Workers' Initiative activist in the Polish Post Office.
On 16 July in the morning a solidarity rally took place in front of the headquarters of Polish Post Office in Gdansk, where Bartosz worked. Around 30 post workers, WI activists from Gdansk, anarchists, leftists and friends of Bartosz gathered. The dismissed worker also came there and he was wearing a t-shirt saying "Dismissed but still inconvenient". The other demonstrators held banners saying "Hands off Workers' Initiative Trade Union", "Stop repression for strikes!". There were shouting slogans "No exploitation at life's expense!", "Managers go to work for 1000 zlotys (300 euro)", etc.
There were also two protests in Warsaw - one organized by ZSP - Polish Syndicalists' Union, in front of the General Headquarters of Polish Post Office. In the rally at 7 a.m. also samba drummers and activist from LA - Leftist Alternative took part. They handed out leaflets with information on the conditions of work in the post office and about Kantorczyk's case in particular. Another rally took place in the afternoon, few dozens of people from different organizations and trade unions took part in it.
In Poznan, around 30 activist of WI and Anarchist Federation took part in the rally in front of the Post Office Local Management headquarters. They held banners saying "Priority: the safety of postmen work", "Registered letter: bring Kantorczyk back to work". In Cracow, around 30 people from WI, Anarchist Federation and Sierpien '80 Trade Union protested in front of the Post Office local headquarters. Also, in Szczecin, people from WI and ZSP protested. 10 people from LaLucza collective took part in a rally in Torun, they held a banner saying "Stop breaking workers' rights in the Polish Post Office". They handed out leaflets and gave a letter to the management to the Post Office officials complaining about Kantorczyk's case. Activists from the Workshops of Local Activity protested in the same cause in Opole. There more similar action in different towns in Poland, e.g. in Zielona Gora or in Rybnik.
In the capital city of Lithuania there was a solidarity rally in front of the Polish embassy. The activists climbed up the trees nearby and dropped a 10-meter-long banner saying "Solidarity with Kantoryczk". An activist from anarchija.lt portal presented the situation of Bartosz and also the information about Polish trade unions' activities. An activist from the Polish Organization of the New Left read a protest letter in two languages, Polish and Lithuanian and then delivered it to the ambassador's representative. They demanded bringing Kantorczyk back to work. Police illegally took IDs from all the participants of the rally, saying that the demonstration was illegal.
On 22 July Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organized a protest In London In front of the Polish embassy. They handed out hundreds of leaflets about workers' rights, one of the banner said (in Polish): "Poland is violating workers' rights".
On the same day, WI sent another letter to the General Manager of the Post Office demanding negotiations about Kantorczyk's case. The company was also sued for the illegal dismissal and WI demands bringing him back to work.
Workers' Initiative will hold another protests in defense of Bartosz Kantorczyk, including demonstrations in front of Polish embassies in other European countries.