Dummy blackbirds, firecrackers, Solidarity flags and whistles mark the protest of about 1,000 arms defence trade unionists standing before the Ministry of Economy demanding the return of their jobs.

The unionists are marching from the Ministry to the parliament building in Warsaw and causing large blocks in traffic.

“One cannot die without taking a stand,” stated Stanislaw Glowacki from the Solidarity trade union.

The unionists are incensed after the Tuesday meeting between heads of the Ministy of Defense, Ministry of Labour and Social Politics and Treasury Ministry at the ‘Lucznik’ Arms Factory in Radom, central Poland to discuss streamlining factory production and cutting overhead.

“We were counting on the fact that the government would release basic information about the future of the manufacturing sector of the arms industry, but after the meeting, we were told to wait three to four months for information. No one answered any questions about how workers and their families are supposed to survive this,” stated Zbigniew Cebula, organizer of the factory’s unionists.

At the end of 2008, the Ministry of Defense was required to cut 3 billion zloty (about 632 million euro) from their budget. As well, the Ministry was required to cut a further 1.9 billion zloty (400 million euro) from the budget as part of the government’s plan to fill the 20 billion zloty hole from errant planning for 2009. As such, Minister of Defence Bogdan Klich decided to halt all arms production in the country. (mmj)

Sourece: IAR, wnp.pl