Protests will run daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., including in Czechowice-Dziedzice (DK1 and ul. Mikołaja Kopernika), Dąbrowa Górnicza (al. Józefa Piłsudskiego 117), Wasilków (DK19) and Warsaw (ul. Marywilska 39), union chief Leszek Miętek told Poland's PAP news agency.
Miętek told PAP that thousands of rail freight workers are being laid off while road haulage expands.
He argued that heavy building materials now go by truck over long distances, though “one train could carry what 100 trucks do,” and warned that losing trained drivers—whose training is lengthy and costly—will weaken rail companies irreversibly.
The union says the action answers years of systemic government neglect, culminating in the crisis at state-owned railway company PKP Cargo and deeper degradation of rail freight.
Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak told PAP the ministry’s policy aligns with union goals and that freight and passenger volumes should rise, enabled by new rail investments, including new and modernized rolling stock for PKP Intercity.
Deputy Minister Piotr Malepszak said freight drivers should not fear job losses, noting many are moving to passenger operations after retraining.
PKP Cargo decided in July last year to conduct group layoffs, cutting 3,665 jobs; it now employs about 10,000 people.
In early June, it announced plans for further group layoffs—up to 1,041 in 2025 and up to 1,388 in 2026. In late June, management proposed replacing some collective agreement privileges with a performance-based incentive system to avoid mass layoffs.
(jh)
Source: PAP