JSW under the scrutiny of the prosecutor's office. Multiplied trade unionists and a PLN 16 million loss?

The management board of JSW signed a key wage agreement with the unions, which is intended to save the giant's financial liquidity. Restructuring, including, among others: the suspension of the 14th salary, however, coincides with the prosecutor's office attacking trade unions. Investigators are investigating whether the number of members of the organization was artificially inflated for a decade, which could have cost the company up to PLN 16 million.

At the beginning of February, the Minister of State Assets, Wojciech Balczun, stated that the restructuring of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa is a condition for it to obtain financing. If an agreement is reached with the social side, there will be ways to maintain the company's liquidity in the coming weeks.

Last Friday, it was announced that the Management Board of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa had signed an agreement with representative trade unions on adapting labor costs to the company's financial capabilities. The agreement was concluded after an employee referendum in which over 97 percent employees voted in favor of its adoption. The company listed among the key changes: suspension of the right to the 14th salary for 2026, postponing the payment date of the 14th salary for 2025 to 2027, and introducing the payment of the St. Barbara's Day award in installments for 2025-2027. Additionally, the payment of the coal allowance and the limitation of other benefits will be suspended.

The number of trade unions under the microscope of the prosecutor's office

“Gazeta Wyborcza” reports further problems at JSW. The case is supposed to concern… trade unions and “misleading as to the actual number of members, certifying untruths in documents, including those submitted as part of court proceedings, as well as causing damage to JSW in the amount of over PLN 16 million” – confirms prosecutor Agnieszka Bukowska, spokeswoman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Gliwice. She added that the investigation covers the last ten years – from 2016 to 2025. The proceedings are at an initial stage, no charges have been brought against anyone.

According to the newspaper, the key task of investigators will be to determine the actual number of members of trade union organizations covered by the proceedings. It's important because the number of members influences how many activists are delegated to trade union work. Then they do not perform professional duties, but the company pays them remuneration. According to the regulations, if the union has at least 150 members, one activist will be delegated, if there are 500, two, and if there are 1,000, three.

– At JSW, trade union organizations have expanded in individual mines, so we need to check whether individual committees were created based on the same people – admits a person familiar with the background of the investigation.

The number of trade unionists is a bone of contention not for the first time

Internal inter-union fights had already come close to the courts when, at the end of 2023, Solidarity informed the management of JSW that it had 9,149 members. The company's authorities did not question this number. However, this was done by the Jedność trade union, which stated that many organizations at JSW were created based on the same people.

At that time, Solidarność did not fulfill the court's obligation. The union “only presented membership declarations, but failed to fulfill the obligation to submit declarations of union members,” the court in Jastrzębie-Zdrój wrote in the justification of its decision.

The court then recalled that in accordance with the regulations, only members who belong to only one organization or who have submitted a declaration indicating in which organization they want to be included as members are subject to counting.

According to “Gazeta Wyborcza”, Sławomir Kozłowski, the leader of Solidarity in JSW, only stated that he was not worried about the proceedings in Gliwice. He assured that there were no irregularities in Solidarity.

Prepared by JM

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