a235  1333  05 Sep 80
AM-Polish, Bjt,800
Polish Leader Has Heart Ailment as Labor Concessions Taken Up
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
    WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Polish Communist leader Edward Gierek, whose
regime was jolted by the worst labor unrest in a decade, suffered a
possible heart attack Friday and was hospitalized, the
government-controlled media announced.
    Hours later, Parliament began taking up concessions his government
had made to strikers. Premier Josef Pinkowski, named to his post in a
Cabinet reshuffling at the height of the crisis, pledged to
Parliament that the government would ''rebuild the confidence of the
nation.'' He admitted some strikes were continuing.
    Gierek, 67, was hospitalized after experiencing ''a serious
disturbance'' of the heart, according to the state radio and the
official PAP news agency. He was resting under the care of five
doctors, they reported, but no further details were given.
    He had broken off a vacation in the Soviet Union last month to take
personal charge of Poland's deteriorating labor situation.
    Gierek, whose handling of the crisis drew indirect criticism from
the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations, had been expected to
attend the parliamentary session in his capacity as a member to show
that he had weathered the labor crisis. The announcement of his
hospitalization was the first official explanation for his absence.
    Western diplomats had speculated about a possible change in the
leadership following criticism in the official media of the party's
handling of the economy and the subsequent strike wave.
    News of Gierek's illness was expected to increase such speculation.
One man expected to be mentioned prominently is former Foreign
Minister Stefan Olszowski, the ambassador to East Germany returned to
the Politburo in last month's shakeup. Olszowski, 49, had been
dropped from the party's policy-making body without explanation in
February.
    Gierek had not been seen publicly since he announced on television
Aug. 24 a ''new direction'' in dealing with the strikes and the
Cabinet shakeup that ousted Premier Edward Babiuch and replaced him
with Pinkowski.
    In a two-hour speech to the Sejm, or Parliament, Pinkowski linked
his promise to rebuild confidence with a warning that his government
would oppose all efforts to undermine the communist system and ties to
the Soviet Union.
    He also promised to honor commitments made to striking workers and
praised efforts by the Roman Catholic Church to end the two-month
labor crisis.
    Pinkowski admitted that strikes and work stoppages were still
occurring although ''the basic demands of these groups are being put
into effect.''
    PAP said strikes were continuing in Bialystok, a city of some
200,000 near the Soviet border, and at various mines and factories
throughout the country. The news agency blamed the work stoppages on
''mistakes in social policy inside the enterprises, negligence in
safety and a lack of care for intrahuman relations.''
    The remarks by the new premier came during Parliament's first
session since the settlement of strikes in Gdansk, Szczecin and the
Silesian coalfields. The last of the striking coal miners returned to
work Friday.
    As part of its confidence-building program, Pinkowski said the
government would ''increase the role of the trade unions'' as a
partner with the regime.
    But the 51-year-old premier avoided using the term ''independent
self-governing'' in describing the unions, although establishment of
such organizations was a major concession granted strikers. The
meaning of this omission was not clear.
    Pinkowski said the government would stand by its pledges to freeze
meat prices, raise wages and increase consumer goods in hopes of
improving living standards for the country's 35.5 million people.
    ''We will take care to reconstruct the confidence of the nation,
especially the working class,'' Pinkowski said. ''At the same time, we
will categorically oppose all attempts to undermine our system by
anti-socialist forces, trying to undermine the irrefutable
achievements of People's Poland.''
    Pinkowski said ''economic and scientific cooperation'' with the
Soviet Union and other Soviet bloc countries remained an item of ''key
importance.'' He made no mention of efforts by Western nations,
including the United States and West Germany, to expand economic
cooperation with Poland.
    The government has already said that the key provisions of the
agreements reached in Gdansk, including independent unions, apply
nationwide.
    During his address, Pinkowski paid tribute to efforts by the church
to end the strikes, which included appeals by Cardinal Stefan
Wyszynski and others. The premier said the church's action ''brought
us evidence of the prudence and patriotic concern for the country.''
    Pinkowski also promised that the government would submit a new law
relaxing censorship by the end of the year; raise minimum wages by
$13.50 to $80 a month; boost family allowances and old age pensions,
propose five-day work weeks beginning next year, and increase the
availability of consumer goods.
    
ap-ny-09-05 1637EDT
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