Polish trade unions threaten protests over weak support for steel sector

Polish steellworkers’ unions have announced their intention to intensify protests in the fall due to the lack of real support for the industry from the government. Although the Ministry of Industry has set up a working group and presented an “Action Plan for the Sustainable Development of the Steel Industry” on June 13, the unions consider the document to be empty and ineffective. This was reported by niezalezna.pl.

“It’s just a list of wishes that doesn’t give any real tools,” said Artur Jacek Wilkoń, vice president of the Metallurgists’ Federation and head of the Łabędy chemical plant workers’ union.

He added that the government’s current consultations, including the meetings planned for July, are not yielding results, and the situation in the industry is only getting worse.

According to trade unionists, previous government promises, in particular about almost a billion zlotys for ArcelorMittal or the Węglokoks group companies, have not been backed up by specific funding. At the same time, rising electricity prices, competition from China and India, and pressure from European climate policy are creating additional risks for the metallurgical industry.

The unions are demanding a single electricity rate of €60 per MWh for all energy-intensive industries in the EU, reform of the compensation system, protection of the domestic market from steel imports from countries without a “green course,” and reform of the scrap metal trade.

If no decisions are made by September, the unions promise a large-scale nationwide demonstration in Warsaw. In May, about 10,000 metallurgists protested outside the Sejm.

It should be noted that Polish metallurgical companies increased steel production by 3.7% in January-May 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, to 3.12 million tons. In May of this year, the industry produced 641,000 tons of steel, which is 3.1% more than in May 2024 and 1.3% more than in the previous month.

The recovery of Poland’s steel complex is being facilitated by the restart of an important enterprise, Huta Częstochowa. Since February 3, the plant has been operating at full capacity after more than a year of downtime.