Polish miners protest in Katowice demanding halt to closures of Sośnica and Bolesław Śmiały

Demonstration in Katowice

Hundreds of mining sector workers gathered outside the Ministry of Energy regional office on Powstańców Street in Katowice on Monday, 5 October 2026. Organised by the Sierpień 80 trade union, the demonstration began at 10:00 with blaring sirens, flags, and banners. Participants included underground miners from across the Silesian coalfields, lignite workers from the Bełchatów region, and delegations from the steel industry. The demonstrators demanded an immediate halt to scheduled mine closures and a suspension of foreign coal shipments into Poland.

Polish energy and mining are in a deplorable state, and there is no time left to allow the continued destruction of our energy system.

Mine closures and power plant modernisation

A central focus of the protest is the planned decommissioning of the KWK Sośnica and KWK Bolesław Śmiały collieries. Union representatives stated that both facilities contain approximately 5 million tonnes of extractable coal and requested an operational extension of 4 to 5 years. Demonstrators argued that shuttering domestic pits while maintaining imports threatens national energy security. They also urged the government to overhaul and maintain existing domestic coal blocks, including the 200-megawatt units, rather than decommissioning them. They pointed to the ongoing transition at the Rybnik Power Plant, where coal units are being replaced by combined-cycle gas turbine blocks, as a policy error given the lack of domestic gas resources. Female participants at the rally also drew attention to the substantial number of women working in surface processing and coal preparation.

Demands for Bełchatów and EU climate rules

Beyond Silesian hard coal operations, the union delegation raised demands affecting brown coal operations in central Poland. They called on authorities to approve the development of the Złoczew open-pit deposit to supply the Bełchatów Power Plant. The union also demanded formal negotiations with the management of PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna SA to sign an agreement securing employment and wage levels until the Bełchatów and Szczerców deposits are exhausted. On a regulatory level, unionists called for Poland to withdraw from the European Union Green Deal and demanded that Warsaw advocate in Brussels for the suspension or revision of the EU Emissions Trading System rules, arguing that carbon costs drive energy poverty.

Enough coal imports. We need to halt the liquidation of the Bolesław Śmiały and Sośnica mines, decide on the Złoczew open pit for the Bełchatów Power Plant, and decide on the continued operation of coal blocks in the system.

Government strategy and potential escalation

Protesters expressed conditional openness to discuss the coal sector transformation framework put forward by Deputy Minister of Energy Marian Zmarzły. In a proposal published on 7 September 2026, Zmarzły outlined a restructuring model based on a unified center of responsibility, a coordinated balance of domestic supply and demand, a state commercial-logistical pillar, and economic consolidation of mining assets. Union leadership described Zmarzły's proposal as a comprehensive basis for talks, but insisted that formal negotiations must begin immediately. Union leaders stated that if the government fails to address their demands, protests will escalate and expand to Warsaw.