The anniversary of the signing of the August Agreements and the formation of "Solidarity" is important for all citizens, regardless of the political tradition in which they were raised.

"We are the government of the Republic today precisely because, 44 years ago, workers and people from culture and intelligentsia from all over Poland decided on a great upheaval [...]. For me, it is important that we seriously treat the legacy of those strike days [...]. Nothing has lost its power regarding the desires, demands, and actions of the strike committees at that time,"
– the Prime Minister emphasized.

A particularly important issue of August 1980 was the question of dignity in the relationship between the authorities and citizens.

"Firstly, people demanded - and they also demand from us - full transparency of intentions, decisions, conversations, and the reasons for which we make such and not other decisions,"
– the head of government explained.

The striking workers felt that trust between them had to be built on loyalty, transparency, and truthfulness. Thanks to this, they were a great force that could oppose the communist authorities.

"A deep trust was built between the leaders of the great social movement and the citizens, because there was no hypocrisy and no one was deceiving anyone [...]. People were very proud of this [...]. What united then 10 million people was the conviction that the truth was on our side, that we were right, that we had nothing to be ashamed of, and therefore, that we could be open, transparent, and that telling the truth could be a weapon as effective as tanks or batons,"
– Donald Tusk said.

The Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of joint – governmental and municipal – celebrations of the August 1980 events and the outbreak of World War II at Westerplatte.

During the speech at the Gdańsk Town Hall, the Prime Minister reminded that the anniversary of the October 15th elections is approaching – a time important for millions of people who felt that they were loyal to each other and had a common goal, and that telling the truth was their great asset.

"That's why I would like us to have a big governmental 'public confession' in the coming months at meetings with people [...]. I am talking about well-organized meetings with communities that have reasons for concern, or perhaps have lost some trust or faith in our determination,"
– the head of government explained.

As he added, ministers must remember that they hold power for the good of the people, not for their own positions.

"Everyone should realize where their work could have undermined trust or the foundations of mutual loyalty. Just like then, 44 years ago, we will surely get through all the troubles. Not because we are infallible, but because we will have the courage to organize meetings with the most interested groups,"
– the Prime Minister promised.

As examples of meetings, Donald Tusk mentioned a conversation about the state of the rule of law, a discussion about the future of public media, or a meeting on the problems of the timber industry.

"I will expect very thorough and painfully truthful mini-reports from the ministers [...]. All of you must take responsibility for meetings and difficult conversations on your shoulders. The truth can be difficult,"
– Donald Tusk addressed the ministers.

Only open and honest communication with citizens will allow building trust and strengthening social bonds.

 

The head of government appealed to the ministers to learn from the historical lesson of August 1980 and to treat their own loyalty and the sense that they are a great team as a treasure.

"People want to feel that all their effort and great support made sense because it built our team loyalty [...]. The sense of unity in a good cause is also important [...]. We must pass the test of solidarity, otherwise, someone else will hold us all accountable for our power,"
– the Prime Minister explained.

As he added, power that is not accountable is power that corrupts.

"We will be relentlessly held accountable for every situation in which we are not fair to people [...]. Without the sense that we will be held accountable, we should not even push ourselves into power. So, I ask you very much to remember this every day,"
– the head of government said to the ministers.

The Prime Minister concluded that holding power accountable is the essence of true public life and the foundation of democracy.

On August 31, 1980, in Gdańsk, an agreement was signed between the Inter-Factory Strike Committee and the delegation of the government of the People's Republic of Poland. Agreements were also reached in Szczecin, Jastrzębie-Zdrój, and Dąbrowa Górnicza – all four agreements are known as the August Agreements. They concluded the events related to the strikes in August 1980.

As a result of the Agreements, on September 17 in Gdańsk, representatives of workers from all over Poland established the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" – for the first time, the omnipotence of the communist regime in our country was broken.