Luddites of the Twenty-First Century? The Influence of Trade Unions in Hard Coal Mining on Sector Reforms in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The article examines the influence of trade unions on the 2015–2019 reforms of the hard coal mining (HCM) sector in Poland and the Czech Republic, the only two European Union states still mining hard coal. Using the power resources approach, it finds that Polish mining trade unions, characterized by high union density, strong political ties, and significant structural power due to coal’s dominant role in Poland’s energy mix, effectively shaped reforms to maintain state ownership and secure miners’ employment until at least 2049. In contrast, Czech trade unions, with weaker structural and institutional power and operating in a less coal-dependent energy context, achieved their goal of state takeover of bankrupt mines but could not prevent the planned closure of all hard coal mines by 2022. The study concludes that while trade unions in both countries temporarily delayed sector decline, broader EU decarbonization policies make the eventual phase-out of hard coal mining inevitable.