From the archives: How the STUC ratted on Solidarnosc in 1982
In late 1981 Stalinist Poland's one-party state imposed martial law in an attempt to crush the free trade union Solidarnosc. Mass arrests of its leaders were carried out, the riot police were used to break strikes, and government forces shot and killed demonstrators. The following report from Socialist Organiser (predecessor of Solidarity ) describes the debate on Poland at the 1982 STUC congress and the controversy triggered by motions advocating that the STUC sever links, as an act of solidarity with Solidarnosc, with the fake Stalinist "trade unions" in Eastern Europe. … The need for such...