The miners are closing ranks. 125 thousand PLN for each salary in mining is not enough
During a meeting of representatives of representative trade union organizations with the management board of JSW, the unions learned that there is no money and there is no concept of healing Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa.
Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW) is in a terrible financial situation, with a huge net loss of PLN 2.08 billion for the first half of 2025, which threatens to lose financial liquidity as early as March 2026. The main reasons are a drastic drop in the prices of coking and thermal coal, as well as a large impairment loss related to the fire in the Knurów-Szczygłowice mine.
– It is not the employee who is to blame for the company’s current situation. He is not to blame for the fact that today, of the PLN 6 billion in funds accumulated by JSW for a rainy day, just over PLN 200 million remains. It is not the employee who is responsible for managing the company, but the management board and the supervisory board – adds Piotr Ryba, vice-chairman of Solidarity in Ruch Knurów, quoted by Solidarity Górnicza.
Carefree management of a mining company
During a meeting of representatives of representative trade union organizations with the management board of JSW, the unions learned that there is no money and there is no concept of recovery for Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa, which employs approximately 32,000 people. people. The capital group of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa is the largest producer of coking coal in the European Union and a significant producer of coke used to produce steel, and yet it is on the brink of bankruptcy. The company’s largest expense (46% of operating costs in 2024) are salaries – an average of PLN 15.6 thousand. PLN gross per month.
On September 1, Remigiusz Krzyżanowski, vice president for economic affairs of the company, was dismissed.
– Carelessness in managing this company over the last 10 years, when they were basking in the abundance of money, resulted in wages increasing by 60 percent and productivity dropping by 30 percent. This must have resulted in a disaster – said Jerzy Markowski, former deputy minister of economy, in the media.
Miners are afraid of layoffs and pay cuts
Trade union organizations bringing together employees of the two-run Knurów-Szczygłowice mine belonging to Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW) have joined forces. – They will start to take away more rights and pay elements, but not all at once, but gradually, so as not to cause a rebellion. This year’s coal allowance was already paid in installments. Some people have already forgotten that there used to be such a thing as “thirteen”. Why? Because it was included in the basic salary, which is why it disappeared. And now it may be similar – Piotr Ryba predicts moves in the company.
In 2025 alone, Poland will pay PLN 9 billion from the state budget for coal mining and mine maintenance. This is three times more than we spend on the Border Guard (PLN 3.17 billion). According to data from the Industrial Development Agency, over 72,000 people work in mining. people, which means that we pay an additional PLN 125,000 for each job in mining. zloty.
In February 2022, an amendment to the Act on the Operation of Hard Coal Mining entered into force. Under it, regulations were introduced enabling financial support to be directed to mines that are gradually phasing out their operations. According to the arrangements, hard coal exploitation is to end in 18 Polish mines by 2049. The contract also included provisions on employee protection, including: on miners’ leaves and severance pay, and on support for mining regions so that they can develop after the closure of mines.
