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14 June, 2001Formerly, the Polish people were told that everything in the West was terrible and everything in the East was OK. That picture has changed, says Marek Danowski, working at a shipyard in Gdansk.
BY LAILA LARSEN KILDESGAARD and MOGENS HAVNSOE PETERSEN
It is 5:15 a.m. when 33-year-old Marek Danowski leaves his family in their 2-room apartment to go to work at the Remontowa shipyard in Gdansk, Poland, to start his 12-hour working day. It is one of Northern Europe's biggest shipyards, specialised in the repair of tankers. Following a period of uncertainty and crisis for Poland's many shipyards, Remontowa is getting back on track.
Over the last ten years, the number of employees at the shipyard has gone from 6,000 to just under 2,600. Even if the yard is doing well, there is no indication that it will take on more people. The yard's transition to become a private sector company in a tough industry means that more and more assignments are solved by companies hired for individual jobs.
THE WORK IS DANGEROUS
In his everyday work, Marek is a mix of a foreman for a team of about 15 and then part of the process himself. The workshop where Marek works renovates pipe systems. The work is difficult -- and sometimes dangerous. The pieces of the pipe system which have to be repaired when the ship is at the shipyard are those which are not easy to access. The easier repair jobs are handled by the ship's own crew while they are sailing or when the ship docks in a port.
"Most of the pipe sections we have to replace are below the floor of the engine room and we cannot weld there because of the fire risk," says Marek.
And certainly the work is not standardised. Being asked whether there are repetitive assignments, his answer is very brief: "Even two ships built in the same series are not the same."
You feel an aura of respect around Marek, not because he shouts out. He doesn't. When Marek speaks, his tone of voice is calm -- sometimes with a little smile underneath that moustache. Often he takes the lead and shows the others how to do things, with no other explanation being given than that offered by his skilled hands. In addition, it seems as if most employees are able to operate all the machines. They work with assignments which require different tools at different times.
CHEEKY REMARKS
The fact that Marek is not a "run-of-the-mill" employee can be seen from the fact that he has been a foreman for nine years and is the youngest worker in the history of the yard to have acted as such. Also, it is probably not without reason that during his two-week holiday he has been able to find work in both Singapore and Hamburg.
However, his position does not make him feel distant from his colleagues. The dressing room is full of cheeky remarks from the very morning, as the -- slightly old-fashioned -- civilian garments are replaced by work clothes that are not too clean. The social feeling of togetherness is seen also during the lunch break, when everyone seems to be talking all the time. The same applies at the hand-out window for tools and spares, where time is also taken for a chat.
What is noteworthy here is that milk is also handed out to the employees, based on a rather outdated idea about health and safety, saying that milk will counteract pollution in the body.
WORKING OVERTIME IS THE RULE
Leisure time is not a word in Marek's vocabulary. He has to work hard and long hours to be able to live with his wife Elzbieta, her son Marcin, who is 12, and their new-born Kamil, who is just a couple of months old, in their 2-room apartment. Marek has to be at the plant, dressed and ready by 6:00. Officially, working hours end at 2:00 p.m., but overtime work is the rule rather than the exception, so normally he will not be home until 7:00 p.m. After dinner he has a few hours for cuddling the baby and talking to Elzbieta and Marcin. At bed time, 10:00 p.m., there is not much strength left and the next day the whole thing starts all over again -- mostly also on Saturdays.
However, there is no doubt that this small apartment and this small family are at the centre of Marek's heart. Despite being small, the apartment is cosy and shows clearly that here lives a man and his family -- a man characterised by pride and dignity.
The smaller of the two rooms is Marcin's room. The walls are plastered with pictures of football players. There are Lego toys and a computer, where Marcin is just installing the Polish version of Windows 98. The second room in the small apartment is the living room, dining room and bedroom. One wall is dominated by a shelf system with a -- turned-on -- TV set and a video recorder, plus a miniature stereo system which also emits sound to the room. There are two armchairs and a small coffee table between them. Along the other wall is a couch that folds out to become a bed and in between they have found room for a cradle and a nursing table for the baby.
A SHARED-OWNERSHIP FLAT
The kitchen is not big, but it has everything -- fridge, micro and freezer. The bathroom has a tub and everything seems neat and new. There is a reason for that. Marek, together with some workmates, has made this old, worn-down, third floor apartment with sloping walls habitable. Just like a number of other Poles, the family has purchased their dwelling from the state housing association. It is not an owner-occupied flat as such, more like a shared-ownership flat. The rent is 600 zloty (US$152) per month and their share of the ownership has been financed via a loan at the bank. Marek and his wife have chosen a tough repayment scheme, which means that they pay 800 zloty (US$203) per month on the loan, with three more years to go on their five-year loan. The apartment is heated by electricity, which is expensive -- 400 zloty (US$101) per month.
PLANNING TO BUY A CITROËN AX
You can see on the properties in the street which staircases have been purchased by the residents and which have not. The staircases which still belong to the state housing association have loose plaster and miserable windows with very little paint left. This must be seen in the light of Marek's income of 2,700 zloty (US$685) a month including overtime and bonus. When she is not on maternity leave, Elzbieta has a monthly income of 1,400 zloty (US$355) in the window company where she works in the office. During her leave, she receives about half that amount.
From these amounts, 19 per cent tax must be deducted. The employer pays 48 per cent of the amount the employee receives to the government towards social funds and pension. So in order to reach the gross wages, Marek's wages must be multiplied by 1.5.
When you ask the two of them what their wishes are for the future, their answers are almost identical. Elzbieta says: "I wish Marek would have to work less and if we could get a bigger apartment at some time, that would be wonderful."
However, the family is planning to purchase a car. Not a Polski Fiat. They are looking at a used Citroën AX. Despite everything, prosperity is beginning to grow in Poland. This can be illustrated by the fact that within the last year the shipyard has had to add two extra personnel parking lots. However, prosperity is very unevenly distributed.
"POLAND HAS BEEN DORMANT"
Today there are 2,600 employees at Remontowa. To this figure must be added approximately 1,000 in the companies to which some of the work has been outsourced, and subdivision into independent companies is widespread. The yard's internal conveyance system is operated by a subcontractor; the same applies to the canteen and a number of minor production-oriented functions, such as the paintshop. Piotr Soyka, the managing director of the Remontowa shipyard for the last three years, puts it quite bluntly: "Poland has been dormant."
Piotr Soyka is a charismatic person with dark, strong eyes. His office is characterised by things that look like the old communist system, with pictures and heavy cabinets and a phone system that has so many buttons it looks like the switchboard of a major command centre. Behind the Iron Curtain that is no more, to have many phones was a status symbol.
CHINA IS THE WORST COMPETITOR
However, his way of speaking is far from the old Communist era. Competitiveness and efficiency are words that are used over and over again. He is fully aware that the yard must cultivate its strong sides -- including repair of tankers. At the moment, his work focuses on making the turn-around for the yard from state ownership to listing on the stock exchange. That assignment is expected to take six months:
"It is a difficult process, but I am very confident. We have demonstrated good results and in our field we are one of the biggest yards in Europe. However, it is also a difficult process. We need to think differently -- which includes working with marketing, because we, too, can feel the competition. Both from other Polish yards and from our worst competitor at the moment -- China."
Piotr Soyka is fully aware that in a modern industrial society, it is necessary to have a good, close cooperation with all employee groups. Consequently, the yard is open to member unionising. However, the company does not interfere into whether the union is the Christian-oriented Solidarnosc, which comes from Gdansk originally, or from the Communist OPZZ union.
MORE WORKERS NEED TO JOIN THE UNION
The secretary of Solidarnosc at the yard, Miroslaw Piorek, says that at the yard there are 1,400 members of Solidarnosc and about 500 members of the Communist trade union OPZZ. Solidarnosc has three full-time officials at the yard -- in addition to Miroslaw Piorek, there is a deputy secretary and a clerk.
The fact that there are many members at the yard is not typical of the unionisation percentage in Poland. Only about 20 per cent of those on the labour market are in a union. Among employers, the percentage is even lower. Janusz Sniadek, the vice-president of the national Solidarnosc, sees the low unionisation rate as one of the main problems: "We cannot negotiate decent terms if we cannot get more people to join the union. A number of our political parties are working to liquidate trade union rights; consequently, it is only via a strong trade union movement that we can protect the Polish workers."
When Solidarnosc -- headed by Lech Walesa as leader and subsequent president -- acted as a forerunner to the tumbling of the Berlin Wall, it happened hand-in-hand with the Catholic Church. However, today there are no formal ties between the Church and Solidarnosc and Lech Walesa's role is a thing of the past.
THE ROADS ARE MISERABLE
"We would like to develop Gdansk to become a transport centre in relation to the former East Bloc. In the first years after the turn-around, we were too much oriented towards the West, but Poland -- including Gdansk -- does have a special location in relation to Russia. Our languages are similar and we can thus become an important hub for contact with the giant Russian market," says Jerzy Gwizdala, the deputy mayor of the city. One of the goals that Gdansk's city council is working on is to improve transport connections into Poland and towards the east. Motorways are a key priority, because the roads are pretty miserable, once you get just a little outside the city.
"We must give high priority to infrastructure if we are to attract foreign investment capital. However, we also focus on improving the standard of housing, as our housing blocks are really worn down. Gdansk is a shipyard town by tradition, but we also have many other qualities, and I believe we will also be able to develop tourism in our city," says Jerzy Gwizdala.
A BRIGHTER FUTURE
Back to Marek. Talking about unionisation and faith, his analysis of the political situation is sharp: "If workers do not join the union, our interests will be neglected. We have to keep a keen eye on the political system if we are to oppose such factors as corruption and avoid seeing the old tyrants replaced by new ones. When I joined Solidarnosc, I did it because I felt the workers had to be an important factor in the process of change."
He doesn't mind working hard. He's been doing it all his life: "But I want to see a purpose. I want to see that I contribute towards giving our children a brighter future than we have had. I would like to learn foreign languages, but that has not been possible. I want the children to have that possibility. Formerly, we were told that everything in the West was terrible and everything in the East was OK."
That picture of the world has changed, he says. "Our children will be part of an open world."
Note: The authors are Danish journalists. The text has been published in "The Global World of Metalworkers -- Six Portraits from a Changing World" which is obtainable in Danish or English from Dansk Metal, by e-mail on [email protected], or at P.O. Box 308, 1780 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Over the last ten years, the number of employees at the shipyard has gone from 6,000 to just under 2,600. Even if the yard is doing well, there is no indication that it will take on more people. The yard's transition to become a private sector company in a tough industry means that more and more assignments are solved by companies hired for individual jobs.
THE WORK IS DANGEROUS
In his everyday work, Marek is a mix of a foreman for a team of about 15 and then part of the process himself. The workshop where Marek works renovates pipe systems. The work is difficult -- and sometimes dangerous. The pieces of the pipe system which have to be repaired when the ship is at the shipyard are those which are not easy to access. The easier repair jobs are handled by the ship's own crew while they are sailing or when the ship docks in a port.
"Most of the pipe sections we have to replace are below the floor of the engine room and we cannot weld there because of the fire risk," says Marek.
And certainly the work is not standardised. Being asked whether there are repetitive assignments, his answer is very brief: "Even two ships built in the same series are not the same."
You feel an aura of respect around Marek, not because he shouts out. He doesn't. When Marek speaks, his tone of voice is calm -- sometimes with a little smile underneath that moustache. Often he takes the lead and shows the others how to do things, with no other explanation being given than that offered by his skilled hands. In addition, it seems as if most employees are able to operate all the machines. They work with assignments which require different tools at different times.
CHEEKY REMARKS
The fact that Marek is not a "run-of-the-mill" employee can be seen from the fact that he has been a foreman for nine years and is the youngest worker in the history of the yard to have acted as such. Also, it is probably not without reason that during his two-week holiday he has been able to find work in both Singapore and Hamburg.
However, his position does not make him feel distant from his colleagues. The dressing room is full of cheeky remarks from the very morning, as the -- slightly old-fashioned -- civilian garments are replaced by work clothes that are not too clean. The social feeling of togetherness is seen also during the lunch break, when everyone seems to be talking all the time. The same applies at the hand-out window for tools and spares, where time is also taken for a chat.
What is noteworthy here is that milk is also handed out to the employees, based on a rather outdated idea about health and safety, saying that milk will counteract pollution in the body.
WORKING OVERTIME IS THE RULE
Leisure time is not a word in Marek's vocabulary. He has to work hard and long hours to be able to live with his wife Elzbieta, her son Marcin, who is 12, and their new-born Kamil, who is just a couple of months old, in their 2-room apartment. Marek has to be at the plant, dressed and ready by 6:00. Officially, working hours end at 2:00 p.m., but overtime work is the rule rather than the exception, so normally he will not be home until 7:00 p.m. After dinner he has a few hours for cuddling the baby and talking to Elzbieta and Marcin. At bed time, 10:00 p.m., there is not much strength left and the next day the whole thing starts all over again -- mostly also on Saturdays.
However, there is no doubt that this small apartment and this small family are at the centre of Marek's heart. Despite being small, the apartment is cosy and shows clearly that here lives a man and his family -- a man characterised by pride and dignity.
The smaller of the two rooms is Marcin's room. The walls are plastered with pictures of football players. There are Lego toys and a computer, where Marcin is just installing the Polish version of Windows 98. The second room in the small apartment is the living room, dining room and bedroom. One wall is dominated by a shelf system with a -- turned-on -- TV set and a video recorder, plus a miniature stereo system which also emits sound to the room. There are two armchairs and a small coffee table between them. Along the other wall is a couch that folds out to become a bed and in between they have found room for a cradle and a nursing table for the baby.
A SHARED-OWNERSHIP FLAT
The kitchen is not big, but it has everything -- fridge, micro and freezer. The bathroom has a tub and everything seems neat and new. There is a reason for that. Marek, together with some workmates, has made this old, worn-down, third floor apartment with sloping walls habitable. Just like a number of other Poles, the family has purchased their dwelling from the state housing association. It is not an owner-occupied flat as such, more like a shared-ownership flat. The rent is 600 zloty (US$152) per month and their share of the ownership has been financed via a loan at the bank. Marek and his wife have chosen a tough repayment scheme, which means that they pay 800 zloty (US$203) per month on the loan, with three more years to go on their five-year loan. The apartment is heated by electricity, which is expensive -- 400 zloty (US$101) per month.
PLANNING TO BUY A CITROËN AX
You can see on the properties in the street which staircases have been purchased by the residents and which have not. The staircases which still belong to the state housing association have loose plaster and miserable windows with very little paint left. This must be seen in the light of Marek's income of 2,700 zloty (US$685) a month including overtime and bonus. When she is not on maternity leave, Elzbieta has a monthly income of 1,400 zloty (US$355) in the window company where she works in the office. During her leave, she receives about half that amount.
From these amounts, 19 per cent tax must be deducted. The employer pays 48 per cent of the amount the employee receives to the government towards social funds and pension. So in order to reach the gross wages, Marek's wages must be multiplied by 1.5.
When you ask the two of them what their wishes are for the future, their answers are almost identical. Elzbieta says: "I wish Marek would have to work less and if we could get a bigger apartment at some time, that would be wonderful."
However, the family is planning to purchase a car. Not a Polski Fiat. They are looking at a used Citroën AX. Despite everything, prosperity is beginning to grow in Poland. This can be illustrated by the fact that within the last year the shipyard has had to add two extra personnel parking lots. However, prosperity is very unevenly distributed.
"POLAND HAS BEEN DORMANT"
Today there are 2,600 employees at Remontowa. To this figure must be added approximately 1,000 in the companies to which some of the work has been outsourced, and subdivision into independent companies is widespread. The yard's internal conveyance system is operated by a subcontractor; the same applies to the canteen and a number of minor production-oriented functions, such as the paintshop. Piotr Soyka, the managing director of the Remontowa shipyard for the last three years, puts it quite bluntly: "Poland has been dormant."
Piotr Soyka is a charismatic person with dark, strong eyes. His office is characterised by things that look like the old communist system, with pictures and heavy cabinets and a phone system that has so many buttons it looks like the switchboard of a major command centre. Behind the Iron Curtain that is no more, to have many phones was a status symbol.
CHINA IS THE WORST COMPETITOR
However, his way of speaking is far from the old Communist era. Competitiveness and efficiency are words that are used over and over again. He is fully aware that the yard must cultivate its strong sides -- including repair of tankers. At the moment, his work focuses on making the turn-around for the yard from state ownership to listing on the stock exchange. That assignment is expected to take six months:
"It is a difficult process, but I am very confident. We have demonstrated good results and in our field we are one of the biggest yards in Europe. However, it is also a difficult process. We need to think differently -- which includes working with marketing, because we, too, can feel the competition. Both from other Polish yards and from our worst competitor at the moment -- China."
Piotr Soyka is fully aware that in a modern industrial society, it is necessary to have a good, close cooperation with all employee groups. Consequently, the yard is open to member unionising. However, the company does not interfere into whether the union is the Christian-oriented Solidarnosc, which comes from Gdansk originally, or from the Communist OPZZ union.
MORE WORKERS NEED TO JOIN THE UNION
The secretary of Solidarnosc at the yard, Miroslaw Piorek, says that at the yard there are 1,400 members of Solidarnosc and about 500 members of the Communist trade union OPZZ. Solidarnosc has three full-time officials at the yard -- in addition to Miroslaw Piorek, there is a deputy secretary and a clerk.
The fact that there are many members at the yard is not typical of the unionisation percentage in Poland. Only about 20 per cent of those on the labour market are in a union. Among employers, the percentage is even lower. Janusz Sniadek, the vice-president of the national Solidarnosc, sees the low unionisation rate as one of the main problems: "We cannot negotiate decent terms if we cannot get more people to join the union. A number of our political parties are working to liquidate trade union rights; consequently, it is only via a strong trade union movement that we can protect the Polish workers."
When Solidarnosc -- headed by Lech Walesa as leader and subsequent president -- acted as a forerunner to the tumbling of the Berlin Wall, it happened hand-in-hand with the Catholic Church. However, today there are no formal ties between the Church and Solidarnosc and Lech Walesa's role is a thing of the past.
THE ROADS ARE MISERABLE
"We would like to develop Gdansk to become a transport centre in relation to the former East Bloc. In the first years after the turn-around, we were too much oriented towards the West, but Poland -- including Gdansk -- does have a special location in relation to Russia. Our languages are similar and we can thus become an important hub for contact with the giant Russian market," says Jerzy Gwizdala, the deputy mayor of the city. One of the goals that Gdansk's city council is working on is to improve transport connections into Poland and towards the east. Motorways are a key priority, because the roads are pretty miserable, once you get just a little outside the city.
"We must give high priority to infrastructure if we are to attract foreign investment capital. However, we also focus on improving the standard of housing, as our housing blocks are really worn down. Gdansk is a shipyard town by tradition, but we also have many other qualities, and I believe we will also be able to develop tourism in our city," says Jerzy Gwizdala.
A BRIGHTER FUTURE
Back to Marek. Talking about unionisation and faith, his analysis of the political situation is sharp: "If workers do not join the union, our interests will be neglected. We have to keep a keen eye on the political system if we are to oppose such factors as corruption and avoid seeing the old tyrants replaced by new ones. When I joined Solidarnosc, I did it because I felt the workers had to be an important factor in the process of change."
He doesn't mind working hard. He's been doing it all his life: "But I want to see a purpose. I want to see that I contribute towards giving our children a brighter future than we have had. I would like to learn foreign languages, but that has not been possible. I want the children to have that possibility. Formerly, we were told that everything in the West was terrible and everything in the East was OK."
That picture of the world has changed, he says. "Our children will be part of an open world."
Note: The authors are Danish journalists. The text has been published in "The Global World of Metalworkers -- Six Portraits from a Changing World" which is obtainable in Danish or English from Dansk Metal, by e-mail on [email protected], or at P.O. Box 308, 1780 Copenhagen, Denmark.