On 26 May, member organisations of the PEMC commemorated one of the darkest chapters of communist-era Poland — the killing of nine miners at the KWK Wujek coal mine in Katowice, which took place 45 years ago on 16 December 1981.

When General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law on 13 December 1981, workers across Poland rose in protest. Miners at the KWK Wujek mine launched a strike in solidarity with the banned Solidarność (Solidarity) movement. Three days later, heavily armed ZOMO riot police units with armoured vehicles stormed the mine to crush the strike. Officers opened fire on the unarmed miners, killing nine men and wounding dozens more.

The nine victims — Józef Czekalski, Józef Giza, Ryszard Gzik, Bogusław Kopczak, Andrzej Pełka, Zbigniew Wilk, Joachim Gnida, Kornel Płatek and Jan Stawisiński — became enduring symbols of resistance against totalitarian oppression. A monument at the mine site stands to this day in their memory.