Inter-Union Protest and Strike Committee established by the trade unions operating in Silesia and the government delegation signed an agreement on the principles and pace of transformation of the mining industry, the parties' representatives informed. The last hard coal mine in Poland is to close in 2049.

Negotiations have been going on with breaks since last Tuesday. The content of the agreement is now to be notified to the European Commission. The chairman of the government delegation, deputy minister of state assets, government plenipotentiary for the transformation of energy companies and mining, Artur Soboń, assessed that the agreement defines the model of "a fair path to the transformation of the Polish mining and energy industry".

The head of the Silesian-Dąbrowa Solidarity movement, Dominik Kolorz, assessed the agreement positively, although he noted that it de facto meant consent to the liquidation - from a long-term perspective - of the Polish mining industry.

"We have signed the liquidation of one of the most important industries in the history of the Republic of Poland," Kolorz said.

The negotiations of the agreement have been taking place with breaks since last Tuesday. During several rounds of talks, an agreement was reached on the principles of the transformation, but last night its schedule, i.e. the time of operation of individual mines, remained disputed. The parties were to return to the talks on Friday at noon, but before the scheduled time of the meeting, it was possible to agree on the disputed issues. An agreement was announced shortly in the afternoon.

It was previously reported that the parties had agreed that the transformation of the mining industry was to be spread over many years, and that the underground miners were to be guaranteed employment in the mines until retirement.

(Puls Biznesu)