Shutdown of Ozarow cable factory prompts "desperate" protests by workers

Trade unions at the Ozarow cable factory, owned by Tele-Fonika Kable, are blocking the entrance to the plant in a protest against its closure and the loss of 600 jobs. "People are desperate," said Arkadiusz Sliwinski, deputy head of the Solidarity trade union in Ozarow. "They will stand here until the owner of the plant rescinds the decision to shut it down." However, Tele-Fonika spokesman Jerzy Jurczynski says the decision cannot be reversed due to the slump in the telecom market and the resulting decline in demand. "We are only using 10% of the company's potential," he stressed. The unions claim that Tele-Fonika only took over the Ozarow plant in order to shut it down and move production to its other factories. (Zycie, p. 5) T.J.