The All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions ( pl, Ogólnopolskie Porozumienie Związków Zawodowych, OPZZ) is a national trade union center founded in 1984.

History

Following the decisions of the Polish government declaring the Solidarity trade union illegal, the OPZZ was created on 24 November 1984 according to the 1982 trade union act which made trade union pluralism illegal. The OPZZ inherited all of Solidarity's property, and also that of the former

Association of Trade Unions The Association of Trade Unions ( pl, Zrzeszenie Związków Zawodowych, ZZZ) was a national trade union federation in Poland. The federation was founded in 1945. It claimed 4,000,000 members by 1956, and 12,000,000 in 1980. It was closely linked ...

. It was part of the pro-government Patriotic Movement for National Revival (''Patriotyczny Ruch Odrodzenia Narodowego'' - PRON). In 1985 it joined the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). Until 1990 the OPZZ was tied closely to the

Polish United Worker's Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...

(PZPR). Following the end of communist rule in Poland the federation aligned with various post-communist and social-democratic parties (e.g. Democratic Left Alliance, SLD). In 2006 the OPZZ affiliated to the European Trade Union Confederation and the International Trade Union Confederation. In the summer of 2006, Roman Giertych, the

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland is the deputy of the Prime Minister of Poland and member of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland. They can also be one of the Ministers of the Republic of Poland. The Constitution of ...

and a stalwart of the ultra-right-wing and chauvinistic

League of Polish Families The League of Polish Families (Polish: ''Liga Polskich Rodzin'', LPR) is a conservative political party in Poland, with many far-right elements in the past. The party's original ideology was that of the National Democracy movement which was heade ...

, voiced his support for the confiscation of OPZZ property and the dissolution of the organization, branding it a mouthpiece of the Social-Democratic Union (SLD) and the heir of the Communist PZPR.

Activities

The mission of OPZZ is stated as the defence of social and worker's right of the trade unions. OPZZ has strongly supported the demands of state owned industry sector. The OPZZ is governed by Congress (Kongres), Council (Rada) and Presidium (Prezydium). OPZZ associates 90 nationwide trade union organisations (uniform trade unions and federations) grouped in 12 branches: # Raw materials and power industry # Manufacturing # Education, science and culture # Health care and social insurance # Agriculture and food economy # Construction, forestry, wood industry, environment protection and water economy # Municipal economy # Co-operatives # Trade and services # Transport and maritime economy # Railways # Communication OPZZ also has its internal territorial structures, with territorial range corresponding to the administrative division of the country. These are voivodship (regional) councils (16) and powiat (district) councils (240). In 2013, the OPZZ was estimated to have 500,000 members.

Presidents of OPZZ

Alfred Miodowicz Alfred Miodowicz (28 June 1929 – 17 September 2021) was a Polish politician and trade union activist. He was born in Poznań. A member of communist Polish United Workers Party, he held posts in the State National Council, Central Committee an ...

(1984 – 1991) *

Ewa Spychalska Ewa or EWA may refer to: Places ; Ethiopia * Ewa (woreda) ; Nauru * Ewa District, Nauru ; United States * Eastern Washington, the portion of the state of Washington east of the Cascade Range * ʻEwa Beach, Hawaii, a census-designated place * E ...

(1991 – 1996) *

Józef Wiaderny Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

(1996 – 2002) *

Maciej Manicki Maciej (Polish pronunciation: ) is a Polish given name, the etymological equivalent of Matthias. Its diminutive forms are Maciek, Maciuś. Namedays according to Polish calendar: 30 January, 24 February, 14 May Maciej may refer to: Arts and ente ...

(2002 – 2004) *

Jan Guz Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

(2004 – 2019) *

Andrzej Radzikowski Andrzej is the Polish form of the given name Andrew. Notable individuals with the given name Andrzej * Andrzej Bartkowiak (born 1950), Polish film director and cinematographer * Andrzej Bobola, S.J. (1591–1657), Polish saint, missionary and ma ...

(2019 – 2022) * Piotr Ostrowski (since 2022)

References

{{Authority control 1984 establishments in Poland History of Poland (1989–present) National trade union centers of Poland Trade unions established in 1984