JSW between political “landing” and claims worth millions. “They employed PiS activists and their families”

Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa is struggling with an accumulation of crises. The dismal financial results and wage disputes are accompanied by reports of systemic nepotism and a prosecutor's investigation into abuses in trade union structures. The “letter to the Prime Minister” revealed by the media indicates that the company could have served as a staffing base for activists of the previous government.

Systemic “Hydra” and political cadres

According to the findings of Radio Zet, the Prime Minister's Office received a detailed report describing the “Hydra” mechanism at JSW. The document points to the mass employment of PiS activists and their family members in the parent company and its subsidiaries. The authors of the letter warn that this process had no substantive justification and served to build political influence in the region, which directly burdened the giant's operating costs.

The letter reads, among other things: “Suffice it to say that since 2018, despite the liquidation of two mining plants, the employment level has increased by 6,000 people by 2023, mainly due to the activities of trade unions, whose activists employed both their families and PiS political activists and their families.” And further: “Trade unions, especially 'Solidarity', guard their private income at JSW. They only care about their own interests and the interests of their relatives and friends.”

– This letter is dramatic and concerns a dramatic situation – comments Mariusz Gierszewski from Radio ZET in the “In connection with the investigation” podcast. He also quotes another fragment of the letter: “We hope that someone will finally be brave and say what everyone in the mine knows, but is afraid to say, because everyone has a house, a family and loans. And these gentlemen do not choose any means. In the JSW capital group, the unions are the head of this hydra devouring and destroying the company.”

Radio ZET writes more about the case.

There are more problems. Balczun: The situation is dramatic

However, these are not the only problems of trade unions at JSW. The prosecutor's office is conducting an investigation into the so-called “multiplied” trade unionists. This concerns the mechanism of financing activists, which could have exposed the company to losses of up to PLN 16 million. Despite the company's financial difficulties, unions at JSW are doing well. At the end of 2025, 82 trade union organizations operated in the company, and the unionization rate exceeded 182%. Moreover, there are as many as 112 full-time trade union activists at JSW.

Trade union problems compound the critical liquidity situation. Wojciech Balczun, the Minister of State Assets, did not mince his words when assessing the condition of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa, describing the group's situation as “dramatic”. The company, a key producer of coking coal, requires immediate and deep structural changes to avoid permanent loss of profitability.

MAP enumerates unfavorable external factors: low coking coal prices (decrease from PLN 1,510 in 2022 to PLN 693 in 2025) and exhaustion of funds from the Closed-End Investment Fund (FIZ). Implementing drastic savings and cost discipline will be crucial for survival. The Ministry emphasizes that “however, it is necessary to take savings measures, maintain cost discipline and sell unnecessary parts of assets and obtain part of the financing on market principles.”

PIP order – more millions to be paid

Despite the terrible financial condition, the JSW management board must find funds to fulfill its obligations to employees. The National Labor Inspectorate (PIP) issued an order to pay the remaining part of the Miner's Day prizes and the St. Barbara's Day equivalent. This decision constitutes another burden on the company's finances in the short term. The JSW Management Board filed an appeal to the District Labor Inspector in Katowice.

In November 2025, JSW decided to limit the payment of the “Miner's Day” bonus and the St. Nicholas Day equivalent for 2025 to 30%. due benefits. As it was reported at the time, the decision was made due to the company's very difficult liquidity situation.

For investors and the market, the key question remains about the effectiveness of the planned restructuring. Cutting off the political arrangements described in the “letter to the Prime Minister” and sorting out relations with trade unions seem to be a necessary condition for JSW to regain the trust of financial institutions and survive the current worse period on the coal market.

Prepared by JM

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