Strikers Occupy Polish Mines in Solidarity Push

Four thousand workers began an occupation strike at a coal mine in southern Poland today demanding recognition of the outlawed Solidarity trade union, opposition sources said.

A mine official at the Manifest Lipcowy mine in Jastrzebie, near the city of Katowice, said all output of coal had stopped.

The sources said two shifts of workers had formed a 32-man strike committee with 20 demands, including better pay and conditions and reinstatement of dismissed colleagues.

They demanded recognition throughout Poland of Solidarity, which was crushed when martial law was imposed in December, 1981.

Unrest began when about 300 workers on Monday’s night shift refused to go underground, the sources said.

Day and Night Shifts

The protest spread to a total of 2,000 workers from the night shift and the same number from this morning’s shift.

“All output has stopped,” said a duty officer, who declined to give his name. The Industry Ministry declined to comment.

The miners declared their occupation after management refused to let the afternoon shift enter the mine.

They demanded pay increases to bring salaries up to 2 1/2 times the national average, the sources said. According to the official news agency PAP, miners are paid about $180, close to twice the monthly national wage of $105.