The Solidarity Movement – Gdansk, European Solidarity Centre

Fact of the Polish figure „The Round Table – 1989”

Part of the „Dreaming about the democracy” topic

The Independent Self-Governing Trade Union „Solidarity” (Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy „Solidarność”) was Poland’s first independent trade union, established in August 1980. Its origins are closely tied to Lech Wałęsa and protests at the Lenin Shipyard, which were sparked by rising food prices and the dismissal of Anna Walentynowicz. Although Wałęsa lost his job in 1976 because of his anti-government union activities, he joined the strike and played a key role in the rise of „Solidarity”. He led the Interfactory Strike Committee, which united the enterprises in the Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia area. When a general strike was declared, the communist government agreed to meet the protesters’ demands and recognized workers’ right to organize freely and independently, out of fear of a national uprising. The agreement was signed on August 31 by Wałęsa and Mieczysław Jagielski, Poland’s first deputy prime minister. Lech Wałęsa, who later served as President of Poland from 1990 to 1995, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983.