Polish miners march against closures

Socialist Resistance no2 | page 14

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Over 10,000 marched through the city of Katowice in southern Poland to protest at government moves to close unprofitable COd mines.

Thousands of demonstrators carry. ing burning torches and blocked traffic, before gathering outside the provincial governor's office.

They chanted "thieves", and erected seven wooden crosses to symbolise the fate of the mines. Large groups of steel workers and nurses, who are demanding higher salaries and more money for health care, also joined in the Katowice protest.

"All we want is jobs that would allow us to earn money for our families," one miner, Janusz Rados, told Polish radio. "Those politicians in Warsaw don't seem to understand that."

The government of Prime Minister Lezek Miller is planning to close seven coal pits - making about 35,000 of Poland's 140,000 miners redundant.

Demonstrators burnt an effigy of Health Minister Mariusz Lapinski.

"We are here to shout out two simple things: work and bread," said Solidarity spokesman Janusz Sniadek.

Up to 40 Katowice miners were reported to have gone on hunger strike.