Szczecin Agreement

Strike at Szczecin Shipyard, August 1980

Szczecin Agreement (Polish: Porozumienie szczecińskie) was an accord, signed on August 30, 1980 at 8 a.m. at Szczecin Shipyard, between Polish authorities and the Szczecin Interfactory Strike Committee.^[1] The agreement was signed by deputy prime minister Kazimierz Barcikowski, Andrzej Żabiński of the Polish Politburo, and first secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party in Szczecin, Janusz Brych, as well as Marian Jurczyk (chairman of the Strike Committee), Jurczyk's deputy Kazimierz Fischbein, and delegate of the workers, Marian Juszczuk.^[2] The Agreement ended mass strikes, which took place in northern Polish city of Szczecin, in August 1980. Even though it was signed one day earlier than the Gdańsk Agreement, and turned out to be workers' success in economic and social matters, unlike in Gdańsk, the government did not promise in Szczecin to create a free, independent trades union. Nevertheless, it was one of the three historic agreements (besides Gdańsk Agreement and Jastrzębie-Zdrój Agreement), which made it possible to create Solidarity.^[3] Following protesting workers in Gdańsk (see 21 demands of MKS), a list of 36 demands was also created in Szczecin. Its originally included creation of an independent union, but that demand was later scrapped. Still, the government promised not to punish those responsible for the protests, to introduce pay rises, and to create a comprehensive plan to improve delivery of food products. Furthermore, a plaque at main gate to the Shipyard was promised, to commemorate victims of the Polish 1970 protests. On Monday, September 1, 1980, all striking workers in the city returned to work.^[4] The Szczecin Agreement was called "an unprecedented event in the communist camp".^[1]

Government and protesting workers representatives during negotiations

References

History of the Polish People's Republic

1945–48 Early post-war	Recovered Territories Polish population transfers (1944–46) Expulsion of Germans Operation Vistula Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland Polish Committee of National Liberation Provisional Government of National Unity Trial of the Sixteen Cursed soldiers Augustów roundup Polish people's referendum, 1946 Polish legislative election, 1947 Small Constitution of 1947 Amnesty of 1947 Battle for trade Three-Year Plan

1948–56 Sovietisation under Bierut's rule	Polish United Workers' Party Six-Year Plan Collectivization Socialist realism in Poland 1951 Mokotów Prison execution 1952 Constitution Stalinist show trial of the Kraków Curia PAX Association Poznań 1956 protests Polish October (1956)

1956–70 Gomułka's autarchic communism	Polish legislative election, 1957 Bishops' Letter of Reconciliation 1968 Polish political crisis Warschauer Kniefall Polish 1970 protests

1970–80 Gierek's international opening	1971 Łódź strikes Letter of 59 June 1976 protests Workers' Defence Committee Flying University Lublin 1980 strikes Gdańsk Agreement Jastrzębie-Zdrój 1980 strikes Solidarity (Polish trade union) Independent Students' Union Rural Solidarity Bydgoszcz events 1981 warning strike in Poland Summer 1981 hunger demonstrations in Poland

1981–89 Jaruzelski's autocratic rule and demise	Martial law in Poland Military Council of National Salvation Pacification of Wujek 1982 demonstrations Fighting Solidarity Federation of Fighting Youth Orange Alternative Polish political and economic reforms referendum, 1987 1988 Polish strikes Polish Round Table Agreement

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