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Restructuring the Coal Mining Industry: Unionism, Conflict, and Cooperation: Evidence from Poland

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  • Piotr Zientara

Abstract

Apart from periods of temporary profitability, Poland's state-owned coal industry has generated huge financial losses since 1989. Despite restructuring efforts that cost taxpayers billions of zÅotys, the government has failed to make Silesian pits economically viable. This stands in contrast to the experience of the Bogdanka colliery, which managed to turn itself into a profitable economic business. This paper explores coal-mining reform in the broader context of conflict and cooperation in the workplace. Unions' nonconfrontational stance and managers' participative style support consensus building and cooperation, which, in turn, facilitates restructuring efforts, ultimately producing win-win outcomes. This paper also enters the debate on the role of trade unions in modern economies. Polandâthe largest ex-communist East European country, in which Solidarity transformed itself into a political forceâand its union-dominated mining sector offer particularly informative insights.

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  • Piotr Zientara, 2009. "Restructuring the Coal Mining Industry: Unionism, Conflict, and Cooperation: Evidence from Poland," Eastern European Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 41-59, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:mes:eaeuec:v:47:y:2009:i:1:p:41-59
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Pollitt, Michael G., 2012. "The role of policy in energy transitions: Lessons from the energy liberalisation era," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 128-137.
    2. Katarzyna Tobór-Osadnik & Bożena Gajdzik & Grzegorz Strzelec, 2023. "Configurational Path of Decarbonisation Based on Coal Mine Methane (CMM): An Econometric Model for the Polish Mining Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Aleksandra Kozłowska-Woszczycka & Katarzyna Pactwa, 2022. "Social License for Closure—A Participatory Approach to the Management of the Mine Closure Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-26, May.
    4. Brauers, Hanna & Oei, Pao-Yu, 2020. "The political economy of coal in Poland: Drivers and barriers for a shift away from fossil fuels," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 144.
    5. Baranyai, Nóra & Lux, Gábor, 2015. "Upper Silesia: The revival of a traditional industrial region in Poland," MPRA Paper 73962, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Brauers, Hanna & Oei, Pao-Yu, 2020. "The political economy of coal in Poland: Drivers and barriers for a shift away from fossil fuels," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    7. Vasev, Nikolay, 2017. "Governing energy while neglecting health – The case of Poland," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(11), pages 1147-1153.
    8. Tooraj Jamasb & Rabindra Nepal & Govinda Timilsina & Michael Toman, 2014. "Energy Sector Reform, Economic Efficiency and Poverty Reduction," Discussion Papers Series 529, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.

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