PKP strike causes national havoc

20th August 2011

Hundreds of thousands of rail travellers across the country had to contend with the misery of disruption after a one-day strike brought Poland’s biggest railway company to a shuddering halt.

Workers at PKP Przewozy Regionale downed tools on August 17 for 24 hours owing to a dispute with management over pay and conditions. Some 2,500 services were cancelled, affecting an estimated 300,000 passengers.

Employing some 13,000 people, PKP Przewozy Regionale (PKP PR) transports thousands of customers everyday on short journeys, and forms a vital segment of the country’s transport infrastructure.

The company laid on buses in a desperate attempt to provide some stranded passengers with tra ...