Polish Miners Manifestation Wins Pension Scheme

It took a manifestation and bloody confrontation with authorities for Polish miners to win a pension scheme. After commitments from Poland's lower chamber of Parliament to pass the measure into law, the chairman of that legislative body refused to put the past-service pension bill up to a vote. But 13 trade union centers of NSZZ Solidarnosc's National Section of Mining took to the streets in front of Parliament in Warsaw where 71 were arrested and a handful of both manifestants and police were injured. The late June protest, however, changed the mind of the chairman and the bill then cleared both the lower house and upper house of Parliament. It was signed into law by Poland's President just recently.