Polish customs officers continue strike after failed talks
The negotiations between the Polish government and customs officers ended in fiasco Wednesday evening in Warsaw. The customs workers have continued their protest action, while truck drivers threaten to block highways across Poland. The situation at the Poland-Belarus border can become unpredictable. “The protest is continuing. Our demands are being disregarded. We have just wasted our time”, Ivona Folta, a spokesperson for the protesters, told a news conference at the Polish Finance Ministry. Meanwhile, the government accused the customs officers of having disrupted the negotiations and of trying to have their colleagues from the country's other regions join the protest.
The Polish customs officers, who have no right to strike, protest by massive illness leaves or vacations. The protest has caused terrible truck queues at the Poland-Belarus border. Drivers have to wait for as long as 130 hours in order to cross the border. Several clashes were reported.
The Polish customs officers are not satisfied with the proposals from the Finance Ministry which has pledged to raise salaries by Zl500 ($200) effective from January 1. The customs workers demand three times more. In addition, customs officers want their status equalized with other government workers. The government has not been ready to discuss it.
The Russian news agency Ria-Novosti reports that angry truck drivers have announced that beginning from Friday they will block high-ways across Poland. On January 30 in Karoszczyna at the Poland-Belarus border, over 1000 trucks lined up in a 20-km queue waiting to exit Poland.
Gazeta.pl reports that Polish officials do not rule out that the Polish customs officers that do not come to work could be replaced by their collegues from Lithuania or Slovakia.
Photo: gazetawyborcza.pl
The Polish customs officers, who have no right to strike, protest by massive illness leaves or vacations. The protest has caused terrible truck queues at the Poland-Belarus border. Drivers have to wait for as long as 130 hours in order to cross the border. Several clashes were reported.
The Polish customs officers are not satisfied with the proposals from the Finance Ministry which has pledged to raise salaries by Zl500 ($200) effective from January 1. The customs workers demand three times more. In addition, customs officers want their status equalized with other government workers. The government has not been ready to discuss it.
The Russian news agency Ria-Novosti reports that angry truck drivers have announced that beginning from Friday they will block high-ways across Poland. On January 30 in Karoszczyna at the Poland-Belarus border, over 1000 trucks lined up in a 20-km queue waiting to exit Poland.
Gazeta.pl reports that Polish officials do not rule out that the Polish customs officers that do not come to work could be replaced by their collegues from Lithuania or Slovakia.
Photo: gazetawyborcza.pl
