17. Assurances of a reasonable number of places in day-care centers and kindergartens for the children of working mothers. 18. Paid maternity leave for three years. 19. A decrease in the waiting period for apartments. 20. An increase in the commuter's allowance to 100 złoty from 40, with a supplemental benefit on separation. 21. A day of rest on Saturday. Workers in the brigade system or round-the-clock jobs are to be compensated for the loss of free Saturdays with an increased leave or other paid time off. Impact The Gdańsk Agreement is very important to the politics of Poland because the strikes exposed the corruption and negligence within the state's leadership. In recognizing individual rights, such as the freedom of expression, the government is opened for the creation of civil societies. This allows citizens to come together where all people can agree on human rights regardless of party beliefs. The problems caused by the labor movements and the ensuing Gdańsk Agreement led to the removal of Edward Gierek and the installation of Stanisław Kania in September 1980. Solidarność (Solidarity), the independent trade union that emerged from the Lenin Shipyard strike, was unlike anything in the history of Poland. Even though it was mainly a labor movement representing workers led by chairman Wałęsa, it attracted an assorted membership of different citizens which quickly rose to unpararelled proportion of a quarter of the country's population: 10 million people nationwide. Due to its enormous size and newly found power, the union assumed the role of a national reform lobby able to change politics in Poland forever. On the second anniversary of the agreement, August 31, 1982, a massive wave of anti-government demonstrations took place across Poland. The regime answered with police force; according to Solidarity, at least seven people were killed throughout Poland. References Further reading Stokes, Gale. From Stalinism to Pluralism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996 Szporer, Michael Solidarity: The Great Workers Strike of 1980. Lexington Books, 2012 1980 in Poland History of Gdańsk Solidarity (Polish trade union) August 1980 events in Europe 1980 documents Events in Gdańsk