Youth May Revolt Over Housing Crisis, Polish Aide Warns

Young Poles, faced with waiting periods of up to 30 years for new apartments, may revolt unless the housing crisis is resolved quickly, a leader of Poland’s Communist Party-controlled unions warned Thursday.

Statistics show more than 3 million people are waiting for new apartments but only about 180,000 new housing units are built every year.

Politburo member Alfred Miodowicz--a of leader of the party-controlled unions established in 1982 after the outlawing of Solidarity--called Thursday for quick action to solve the housing crisis.

Miodowicz told 1,480 delegates attending the first congress of the official unions that if authorities fail to speed housing construction at the expense of other industrial sectors, “We will be caught by our throats by the younger generations.”

“One day a surprise attack may be made by young people who in some areas of Poland are (faced with) waiting as long as 30 years for a new apartment,” he told delegates.

Tight Security

The five-day congress opened Wednesday amid tight security in the Palace of Peace and Culture, the monolithic building built by the Soviets in 1951 that dominates the skyline of central Warsaw.

An official of the unions told reporters the “union pluralism” that existed under Solidarity undermined the unity of Polish workers and ruled out the revival of independent unions.

The party-controlled unions estimate their membership at 7 million. Solidarity put its membership at about 10 million in 1981 before martial law was imposed.

Solidarity was banned in 1982 and the Communist Party-controlled unions were set up by the government to take its place.

Observers attribute the new unions’ strength to benefits given new members, such as credits for new apartments, loans and cheaper vacations. The party-controlled unions partly imitated Solidarity by attacking the government on food price increase but they have never threatened strikes.

“The new unions are a long arm of the Communist Party,” Solidarity founder Lech Walesa, the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize winner, said Thursday.

“If they (the authorities) want to correct their mistakes, they should promote democracy and permit operation of the other unions,” he said.

Martial law was lifted in 1983 but Solidarity remains outlawed, though it has continued to operate as an underground movement. Government officials have repeatedly indicated they have no intention of ever allowing it to regain legal status.