Polish coal miners planning a protest in Warsaw later this month may find it more difficult than ever to secure their pay hike demands.
The workers, whose strong negotiating position harks back to the Solidarity union’s emblematic fight against communism, have so far seen most of their expectations met by every government in the last 30 years. This time it could be different.
Coal is becoming less popular in the European Union’s largest eastern economy that’s also one of the heaviest polluters. The government, which came to power in 2015 with the firm support from miners, has signaled that the good times for coal are over.