Polish premier sends stand-in to unionists

Premier Jozef Pinkowski refused a demand by independent union leaders for face-to-face talks in Gdansk, sending his deputy premier to discuss union grievances. He also invited the workers to Warsaw for any further discussions. Deputy Premier Mieczyslaw Jagielski, who negotiated and signed the historic Aug. 31 agreement giving workers the right to strike and to set up independent trade unions, immediately met with a three-man delegation led by strike organizer Lech Walesa.

The latest labor crisis came about when the Warsaw District Court inserted a clause in the union's statutes binding the movement to the communist system and supremacy of communism in Poland. The union says this is unacceptable because it intends to be a nonpolitical labor movement. Solidarity's national committee decided unanimously to appeal the action to the Supreme Court. Strike action was ruled out for the time being, but the threat remained clear.