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36-565: In summer 1980, faced with a major economic crisis, the Polish government authorized a rise in food prices, which immediately led to a wave of strikes and factory occupations across the country. On 14 August workers at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk went on strike after the sacking of Anna Walentynowicz , five months before she was to retire. The Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee , headed by Wałęsa, issued

72-578: A concert at the shipyard in 2006 to celebrate the anniversary of the Polish revolution as part of the Solidarity movement. The concert, which attracted 50,000 spectators, closed his 2006 world tour in support of On an Island (2006) and is documented on the Live in Gdańsk (2008) album. On 24 November 1994, during a concert by the band Golden Life in the Gdansk Shipyard Hall, a fire occurred which led to

108-439: A corporation, under the name Northern Shipyard S.A. In the late 1990s the shipyard produced ferries , fishing vessels , tugboats and ships for the offshore industry. Since June 2003, the main shareholder has been Gdańsk "Repair" Shipyard. Industrial Union of Donbas obtained 75% shares of the shipyard through privatisation in 2007, with the remaining share held by the Polish government. The Polish government regained shares of

144-451: A list of 21 demands to the government. Thanks to popular support within the country, the workers held out until the government gave in to their demands, and an agreement was formalized on 31 August. In the aftermath of the strike, Solidarity emerged as an independent trade union and rapidly grew, ultimately claiming over 10 million members nationwide and establishing itself as a major force in Polish politics. First Secretary Edward Gierek

180-483: A political solution. For the nationalist communist Gomułka, Soviet dictation of internal Polish policies was too much." Edward Gierek , who appeared to be more open to workers' needs and have strong political ties to the working class, soon replaced Gomułka. This was the first occasion in Europe since World War II that labor strikes were able to remove a ruler from power. Gierek was able to stress economic reforms during

216-687: A quarter of the country's population: 10 million people nationwide. Due to its enormous size and newly found power, the union assumed the role of a national reform lobby able to change politics in Poland forever. On the second anniversary of the agreement, 31 August 1982, a massive wave of anti-government demonstrations took place across Poland . The regime answered with police force; according to Solidarity, at least seven people were killed throughout Poland. Gda%C5%84sk Shipyard The Gdańsk Shipyard ( Polish : Stocznia Gdańska , formerly Lenin Shipyard )

252-501: A strike over bread and butter issues into a solidarity strike in sympathy with other striking establishments. Due to the popular support of the citizens and other striking groups, the Gdańsk workers held out until the government gave in to their demands . The successful strikers formed the Gdańsk Agreement on 31 August 1980, as an authentic social contract with the government. This allowed citizens to bring democratic changes within

288-511: Is a large Polish shipyard , located in the city of Gdańsk , northern Poland . The yard gained international fame when Polish trade union Solidarity ( Solidarność ) was founded there in September 1980. It is situated on the western side of Martwa Wisła and on Ostrów Island . Gdańsk Shipyard was founded in 1946 as a state-owned company, on sites of the former German shipyards, Schichau-Werft and Danziger Werft , both considerably damaged in

324-404: Is very important to the politics of Poland because the strikes exposed the corruption and negligence within the state's leadership. In recognizing individual rights, such as the freedom of expression, the government is opened for the creation of civil societies. This allows citizens to come together where all people can agree on human rights regardless of party beliefs. The problems caused by

360-641: The Second World War . On 1 July 1952 a state-owned enterprise called Baza Remontowa-Ostrow was established on Ostrów Island . The name changed to Gdańska Stocznia Remontowa later in the year. During the time of the People's Republic of Poland , the complex was known as the Gdańsk Shipyard and Vladimir Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk (1967–89). The Northern Shipyard (Stocznia Północna) was also formed in June 1945, when it

396-501: The labor movements and the ensuing Gdańsk Agreement led to the removal of Edward Gierek and the installation of Stanisław Kania in September 1980. Solidarność (Solidarity), the independent trade union that emerged from the Lenin Shipyard strike, was unlike anything in the history of Poland. Even though it was mainly a labor movement representing workers led by chairman Wałęsa, it attracted an assorted membership of different citizens which quickly rose to unpararelled proportion of

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432-405: The 21st century. Gdańsk shipyards have fallen on hard times. Once a place of work for over 20,000 people, the Gdańsk shipyards employ 2,200 workers today. The European Union has backed a restructuring plan for the shipyard. About 77 companies operate on the grounds of the shipyards, including GSG Towers, which builds steel towers for wind turbines. The shipyard's Gate Number Two, for decades

468-548: The Communist Party and of enterprises, in accordance with convention No. 87 of the International Labour Organization concerning the right to form free trade unions. 2. A guarantee of the right to strike and of the security of strikers. 3. Compliance with the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech, the press and publication, including freedom for independent publishers, and the availability of

504-606: The Communist-era Polish Navy were delivered in the early 1990s. Difficulties on the world market forced radical changes and the yard began to specialize in cargo containers , mainly for Germany and Nigeria. In 1990, the state-owned Stocznia Gdańska became a joint stock company with 61% in National Treasury shares and 31% owned by employees. Since then, Gdańsk Shipyard has operated as Stocznia Gdańsk S.A. On 1 April 1993 Northern Shipyard of "Westerplatte Heroes" became

540-461: The UK, USA, and Poland. Over 60 years, Stocznia Gdańsk has delivered more than 1000 seagoing ships to owners all over the world. In recent years, the top deliveries have been container ships, reefers, bulk carriers and passenger ro-ro ferries. Most ships are designed in their own design office. Design and construction of ships has remained the main activity of the yard. Work for the offshore industry began in

576-456: The basis of socialization of the means of production and of the socialist system that exists in Poland today." Other major concerns were to control commercial prices, the use of foreign money in all internal economic dealings, ensuring the proper supply of resources within the nation and only exporting the excess. This would ensure that there would be a better chance for prosperity within the nation for all working citizens. The Gdańsk Agreement

612-436: The communist political structure. The main concern of the workers was the establishment of a trade union independent of communist party control and the legal right to strike. In creating these new groups, there would be a clear representation of the workers' needs. "These new unions are intended to defend the social and material interests of the workers, and not to play the role of a political party , they will be established on

648-580: The death of 7 people. The cause of the fire was arson, but the perpetrator was never identified. 54°22′34″N 18°38′56″E  /  54.37623°N 18.64877°E  / 54.37623; 18.64877 21 demands of MKS The 21 demands of MKS ( Polish : 21 postulatów MKS ) was a list of demands issued on 17 August 1980 by the Interfactory Strike Committee ( Międzyzakładowy Komitet Strajkowy, MKS ) in Poland . The first demand

684-478: The economy of Poland became progressively more unstable. This was due to Poland's reliance on western markets and loans that the nation could not repay. Fueled by large infusions of Western credit, Poland's economic growth rate was one of the world's highest during the first half of the 1970s, but much of the borrowed capital was misspent and the centrally planned economy was unable to use the new resources effectively. The growing debt burden became insupportable in

720-457: The entire populace of the nation. On 14 December 1970 workers from the Lenin shipyard in Gdańsk began a strike against party headquarters within the city insisting on the formation of independent trade unions . In this disturbance 75 people were killed after Gomułka ordered that the revolt be put down with force. As R. J. Crampton wrote: "The Kremlin did not agree and intervened to urge the need for

756-414: The first half of his tenure of office. According to R. J. Crampton: "The stated objective of the reforms was to increase living standards; a less publicly attested motivation was the knowledge that, with prices fixed and with demand increasing, goods had to be put into circulation to avoid rampant inflation ." In the years prior to the Gdańsk strikes in 1980 the reforms of Gierek did succeed as planned, but

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792-501: The first non-Communist trade union in the then Soviet Bloc. The move was one of the first successful steps in a campaign of civil resistance that contributed to the eventual collapse of Communism across eastern Europe. Through the 1980s, Northern Shipyard continued to produce super- trawlers , super- seiners , hydrographic units and troop landing craft for the Soviet Union – the last four were delivered in 1991. Contracts signed with

828-481: The focus of strikes and celebrations, has become a pilgrimage destination. In 2005, French electronic music composer Jean Michel Jarre performed a multimedia concert at the shipyard to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity movement. The concert was a one-off event, attracting 170,000 spectators on site, over 6 million television viewers and resulted in the release of the Live from Gdańsk (2005) album. David Gilmour , guitarist for Pink Floyd played

864-741: The gates of the shipyard on 18 August 1980. To mark the first anniversary of the August unrest, the demands were put on display in Gdańsk’s Maritime Museum. The day after Martial Law was declared one museum worker hid them in his loft, where they remained forgotten until 1996. Now added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register , they can be found housed in Gdańsk’s Roads to Freedom exhibition. 1. Acceptance of free trade unions independent of

900-541: The late 1970s and economic growth had become negative by 1979. As the economic crisis became unbearable, the Communist government authorized an increase in food prices for the summer of 1980. Once again a revival of labor disturbances erupted throughout the nation. Workers of the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk ultimately went on strike in mid-August, sparked by the firing of Anna Walentynowicz . Led by electrician Lech Wałęsa ,

936-480: The mass media of information about the formation of the Inter-factory Strike Committee and publication of its demands. 6. Bringing the country out of its crisis situation by the following means: a) making public complete information about the social-economic situation. b) enabling all social classes to take part in discussion of the reform programme. 7. Compensation of all workers taking part in

972-462: The mass media to representatives of all faiths. 4. A return of former rights to: 1) People dismissed from work after the 1970 and 1976 strikes. 2) Students expelled because of their views. The release of all political prisoners, among them Edmund Zadrozynski  [ Wikidata ] , Jan Kozlowski  [ Wikidata ] , and Marek Kozlowski. A halt in repression of the individual because of personal conviction. 5. Availability to

1008-555: The shipyard delivered 14 vessels. After 1955, the shipyard built vessels for the navies of Poland , USSR , Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and East Germany – mainly for troop landing craft , hydrographic, rescue, training and torpedo boats. In 1975 the shipyard was named " Westerplatte Heroes ". In 1980, Gdańsk was the arena for events that marked the beginning of organized resistance to Communist dictatorship in eastern Europe. A strike by 17,000 ship builders saw Solidarity (Solidarność), led by shipyard electrician Lech Wałęsa , recognised as

1044-489: The shipyard from IDS in 2018 reaching 50%. As part of the Repair Group, Northern Shipyard can offer highly technical specialized products – from design to a fully-equipped ship. The shipyard now produces specialist ships, including LNG/LPG transport ships , passenger-car ferries, container vessels , offshore boats, hydrographic, and scientific ships. These vessels sail under the flags of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway,

1080-586: The so-called internal export companies . 13. Selection of management personnel on the basis of qualifications, not party membership, and elimination of privileges for the state police , security service , and party apparatus by equalization of family allowances and elimination of special sales, etc. 14. Reduction in the age for retirement for women to 50 and for men to 55, or (regardless of age) after working for 30 years (for women) or 35 years (for men). 15. Conformity of old-age pensions and annuities with what has actually been paid in. 16. Improvements in

1116-501: The strike for the period of the strike. 8. An increase in the pay of each worker by 2,000 złoty a month. 9. Guaranteed automatic increases in pay on the basis of increases in prices and the decline in real income. 10. A full supply of food products for the domestic market, with exports limited to surpluses. 11. The introduction of food coupons for meat and meat products (until the market stabilizes). 12. The abolition of commercial prices and sales for Western currencies in

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1152-450: The workers took control of the shipyard and demanded labor reform and greater civil rights including the freedom of expression and religion , and the release of political prisoners . On the third day of the strike, 16 August 1980, management granted Lenin Shipyard workers their working and pay demands. Wałęsa and others announced the end of the strike, however the women of the shipyard, Anna Walentynowicz and Alina Pienkowska transformed

1188-454: The working conditions of the health service. 17. Assurances of a reasonable number of places in day-care centers and kindergartens for the children of working mothers. 18. Paid maternity leave for three years. 19. A decrease in the waiting period for apartments. 20. An increase in the commuter’s allowance to 100 złoty. 21. A day of rest on Saturday. Workers in the brigade system or round-the-clock jobs are to be compensated for

1224-666: Was known as Shipyard No. 3. Its activities were mainly production and repairs of trains, trams and small floating units. In December 1945 Shipyard No. 3 had a workforce of 694, including 8 engineers and 28 technicians. Launches began in 1948 – smacks for the Gdańsk Institute of Sea Fishing were delivered and 53 rescue boats were built. In 1949 the shipyard started to produce fishing lugo-trawlers. In February 1950, Shipyard No3 changed its name to Northern Shipyard. In 1951, it ended production of trains, specializing instead in small cargo ships, fishing vessels and scientific ships. In 1952,

1260-414: Was removed from power and replaced by Stanisław Kania . The labor strikes did not occur because of problems that emerged shortly before the unrest, but due to political and economic difficulties the previous ten years. Under the rule of Władysław Gomułka in the late 1960s, Poland's economy was in disarray. To counter this, the government increased food prices just before Christmas 1970 which irritated

1296-486: Was the right to create independent trade unions . Other demands called the government to respect the constitutional rights and freedoms, dismantling the privileges for Polish United Workers' Party members, and taking actions to improve the economic conditions of Polish citizens. The demands eventually led to the Gdańsk Agreement and creation of Solidarity . The charter was written up on two wooden boards and hung on

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