Polish trade union challenge would make “government shutdown” possible

It is currently unlawful for Polish government officials to stop working, but this provision could be overturned if a trade union challenge is successful, making a US-style “government shutdown” possible.

“Government officials are prohibited by law from striking. This provision may soon change however,” Jacek Kowalczyk wrote in Puls Bisnesu, a Polish daily. “A month ago Solidarity challenged it in the Constitutional Court.”

Since Polish government budgets are not subject to the same approval process that operates in the US, a politically motivated fiscal lockdown is highly unlikely. However, the Polish government is far more centralized than the United States, making any walkout by officials a shutdown of the whole country. Were they permitted to do so, Solidarity and other opposition parties may move to involve government officials in strike action, as they have emergency and public services.