Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow

I am guessing that for PiS to win the key demographic will be young families - the 500 plus did a lot to deliver these votes in the last election but these are the same people now having to take time off work to look after their kids. I think the election will be very close but if there is a high turnout it will work against PiS.

Years ago, someone once said...a good politician is one who when bought, will stay bought. The same with PiS supporters - once they have been bought with 500+ for 2nd children and now 1st child, 13th payment for pension and other incentives they will stay faithful and true and will not bite off the hand that feeds them. One thing however, is that they do not realize is that 'it is all borrowed money that will have to be paid back by future generations.' The problem with that will be that many people currently working are not on full-time contracts, payments are being made under the table and in future there will not be as much money coming into ZUS and income tax. When that generation is due to retire, they will all be on social payments (welfare) as their old age pensions (calculated on the amounts they have paid into ZUS) will be under the breadline. I know this is very difficult to imagine, but it will happen.

The teachers either suspended their strike or didn`t obstruct people from outside to supervise students during junior high school final exams last week. There was no other option, really - students can`t suffer when adults are at odds.

The article below was written by a rightist author.

rmx.news/poland/exams-go-well-despite-teachers-strike

The Polish Teacher's Union (ZNP) suffered a surprise defeat due to the assistance of volunteers who helped run exams in Polish schools. Sociologist Andrzej Wojtyczko analyses how the ZNP's first loss weakens their negotiation position with the Polish Ministry of National Education (MEN).

Public employees should never be allowed to strike and should be summarily fired if they do. Just as we did with PATCO in 1981 when 11,000 were fired by Reagan and their union decertified.

politico.com/story/2017/08/05/reagan-fires-11-000-striking-air-traffic-controllers-aug-5-1981-241252

It worked so well that we never had a strike like this. I only wish we did the same with the striking teachers.

Well if that is your view it is just as well you are living in Russia.

Here in Poland in 1981 the c Intro was in the second year of public sector strikes that triggered the end of Communism, a bit more memorable than some Reagan era labor dispute.

a shame for a sovok like rich...

About 80% schools are on strike. That roughly means about 300.000 teachers. If they are fired, then borders will have to be open wide to employ new ones. Teachers from Africa and Asia - unite and come to Poland, vacancies are waiting! I would like to see that phenomenon - a black teacher at the blackboard. Of course, you mustn`t complain afterwards.

PS. Rich, good you are back. I hope you are in a better mood today than yesterday.

Controlling large crowds can be done easily by controlling some. Fire the first 100 publicly, with no chance of ever coming back, and the remaining 299,900 will fold like a beach chair on a windy day.

Yes, it reminds me Nazi methods - execute the first 1000 Poles with no chance of ever coming back to life and the rest will think twice before starting an underground activity. The problem was it didn`t work as Germans presumed it would - Poles resisted to the end.

The same with teachers - you can shoot 1000 and the rest will still oppose PiS government. :)

Really ? When they could walk into Amazon or KFC the same day and get steady work for more money. Just maybe the principles means something to them.

Ask your supervisor for a different script, one that has some basis in Polish reality.

It reminds me of the traffic cops. When we see one with them funny lights on top and the guy he pulled over in front of him, we slow down. No Nazis, no death camps, no morons to remind us about them. Just human nature.

From the reaction above, I would swear I wrote "fire at".

Sick minds are good to waste...

As we know from Polish history, fire 1 and the remaining 299,999 will organise a general strike that will bring the country to its knees.

I agree with others, you need a new script, because this one is painfully lacking.

First of all that is disgusting and reprehensible comparison. A Filthy partisan mind that shouldn't be allowed near young minds.

Secondly that BS, fire 3000 of them and the rest of then will cave in if they are the next in line. Thing is they believe they are untouchable hence they are cocky.

Beside, problems of education in Poland should be solved by changing system which involves a good money for teachers but as a part of a new system that includes selection of candidates and a new organization of institutions.

what is going on now is nothing new. Strong branches are blackmailing gov for more dough. Weak but even more in need of help are just left to fend for themselves.


Really? Why don't they? More work, more hours and they can fired anytime, not to mention only 1/3 of paid holidays they're entitled to now.

System is F up due to this divide into separate categories of teachers with different rights and different pay. IF that would be abolished or even changed there wouldn't be a problem of a new teachers getting paid so little.

No, you wrote fire sb, not at sb, but the tone of your whole post brought forth the association with a firing squad nevertheless.


Don`t blame me, complain to Rich about the associations he creates.

At last some words of wisdom from you,. Why so rarely?

I have more scripts than any of you, but your comment will be on my mind.


So, the strike collapsed because some crossed the picket lines? And the chest-thumping genius above tells me that, if you just fire just one, the country will rise and the civilized life in Poland will come to an abrupt end. Sure. It's so easy to support your family for a month or two with zero in your savings account.

It's you, guys, who needs a new script. The Rich Derangement Syndrome is getting tired and old.

It hasn`t collapsed yet, I said teachers suspended it in junior high schools for students` sake, to enable them to sit exams. Tomorrow they will suspend it in primary schools. But all types of schools where exams aren`t taking place are still on strike.

No Rich, the strike "collapsed" because people are poor
Because of the theory of "If people are poor, pay them less, to keep them in their place".
National strike needed to bust this scum government apart pronto.
You wouldn't know because you have never been to Poland since you supposedly left.
My guess is you have never set foot on Polish soil.

Well striking against PiS is kind of a loser's game, PiS are proven bad faith negotiators and cannot be counted on to keep any promises made to anyone.

Their modus operandi is to reward those who vote for them with zloty handouts and to lie and take form everyone else.

The longer they're in power, the bigger the crash when it all comes tumbling down (and it will, you can only cook the books for so long).

That doesn't mean you give in. Strikes are a fight and part of the long game.

The only problem is that this strike differs from police, nurses, fire brigades strikes.... We all agree they work hard and their job is dangerous and often thankless.

With teachers....of course opposition supports them as it is political move but society ....I would say some do some don't.

Every employee would like more money from their employer. It reminds me of a famous quote, and I have changed it slightly.
They came for the old - I wasn't old so it didn't concern me, they came for the young - I wasn't young so it didn't concern me, they came for the intelligent - I wasn't intelligent so it didn't concern me. Finally they came for me - and there was no one left to stand up and defend me. Substitute 'they came' for 'PiS'.

I think that unfortunately there is not enough money in budget for all these demands from state sector and the only solution would be to introduce 'podatek kastralny' something similar to council tax.

Last week I read on the Polish net that a project is being prepared about this and they will be asking 2% of the current price of the property to be paid in 'podatek' (tax). This would bring untold damage to PiS as higher value houses/flats would then be going for a song as no one would be able to afford to live there. It would be a big undertaking valuing every property in Poland.

I saw it too in some financial paper. They say in west Europe it is 2-3% of property value. I am not sure to which country they refer. In UK there is normal income tax and council tax (depends on value of property). Council have special tables to estimate it - of course it is estimated as values of properties change but it is about 0.3% not 2%.

It would hurt them badly, because the middle classes would riot, while the working classes often own large properties that they inherited, but they definitely couldn't afford to pay several thousand złoty a year tax.

I think it would depends on value not size. Small apartment in central Warsaw will have higher tax than big house in the middle of nowhere. I think idea about this tax is good but it can't be so high.

There were huge discussions about this in the UK when the Rates changed to Poll Tax and then Council Tax. There were problems with the first two systems. It seems to be better calculated by a combination of the value of the home and the number of people in. In the old system.

This would work well in PL.

I don't think that council tax is fair. It was my thought when I moved to UK. It should be combination of value and people living in. I think we can have single person living in expensive property paying high tax and big family in small house paying lower tax. But....big family uses much more services than this single man.For me it is like paying for luxury, privilege to live in nice house and nice area. My friends in Poland were bit shocked when I told them that in the past English paid for privilege of having windows.

A lot of people say the same thing, and it doesn't do much for single people and couples. Great for families with teens and grown-up kids living at home.


This was Thatchers solution, however it penalised poorer people living in big families. The pre-Thacher system was more or less the opposite.


I think that was because in those days it would have been hard to calculate incomes.

Yes. That's how it works. Quite right too. The idea of taxing people by how many live in a building would be a version of Thatcher's poll tax, and we absolutely can't have that. A tax on the poor, as if they don't contribute enough already. You want to live in a nicer area? That's chargeable. Market forces.

Of course here in Poland might be a different situation, but clearly something needs to be done, because this government is good at spending money but doesn't seem to have a scoobie on what economic policies to pursue.