Key Economic Reforms Supported in Poland : Bureaucracy Would Suffer and Prices Could Rise; Parliament to Meet Saturday on Plan

The Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party endorsed major economic reforms Thursday that could boost consumer prices in Poland and reduce the number of government ministries by half.

The action came amid warnings that workers are upset over economic conditions.

The committee also approved holding an unprecedented referendum that would allow Poles to express their views on solving economic problems.

“The major significance of the proposed changes . . . makes it necessary to submit it to the nation in a referendum,” Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, the party’s leader and the nation’s president, was quoted as saying by PAP, the official news agency.

Parliament will hold a rare Saturday session to act on the plan endorsed Thursday.

The process is being watched not only for its meaning for the economy but for what it augurs for the political stability of the Soviet Union’s largest East Bloc ally. The reforms in some ways may mirror the economic regeneration plans proposed by Mikhail S. Gorbachev in the Soviet Union.

Popular Uprisings

Economic difficulties were the catalyst for popular uprisings in Poland in 1956, 1970 and 1980, and Communist authorities are sensitive to the need to get the economy on track to preserve today’s relative political calm.

Although the general direction of the reform has been known since April, when the government presented 174 theses for debate, the particulars have been the topic of rumors here for weeks. Reforms could start taking effect Jan. 1.

Most dramatic among them is reducing the number of ministries involved in direct management of enterprises and allocation of resources. Marek Holdakowski, head of the Central Committee’s socio-economic department, told a news conference Thursday evening that the number of government ministries and offices would be reduced from 40 to 20.

The ministries employ tens of thousands of workers, many of whom may be retired or thrust into new positions in the near future.

“Many people see their empires crumbling,” said one Western diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Bureaucratic Resistance

The proposed elimination of the ministries is more than simple belt-tightening. Instead it is a repudiation of centralized management of enterprises by Warsaw-based bureaucrats who are seen as resisting change.

By getting rid of the ministries, reformers hope to force plant managers to rise and fall on the basis of their own decisions, presumably resulting in greater efficiency and productivity.