At 9:30 AM, a press conference of the leaders of the European Coalition will be held in the arcades of the Senate, with the participation of Grzegorz Schetyna, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Katarzyna Lubnauer, Jerzy Wenderlich, and Marek Kossakowski. The conference is intended to focus on education and the ZNP strike.

At 11:30 AM, the head of the Polish Teachers' Union, Sławomir Broniarz, has called his own press conference. At noon, in Warsaw's Muranów district, in front of the Ghetto Heroes Monument, the central ceremonies marking the 76th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising will take place.

„A serious question mark arises when the protest of one professional group begins to limit the freedom and rights of another social group. What some unionists, local government politicians, and parliamentary opposition members are postulating, namely the radicalization of this protest and the obstruction of the matura exams, violates the rights of students. This must be clearly stated. That is why we are appealing to Mr. Broniarz and Mr. Schetyna to suspend this strike for the duration of the matura exams” - said Minister Michał Dworczyk on Radio Jedynka.

"Mr. Schetyna is responsible for the political formation he leads, namely Civic Platform, and it is its activists, especially those in local government, who are influencing the radicalization of some teacher circles. Teachers must realize that they are being treated completely cynically and instrumentally. At the end of the day, those local governments that persuade them to radicalize their protest will leave them to fend for themselves," said Minister Michał Dworczyk on Radio Jedynka.

- [Teachers] should earn more for the honest work they do. We are in the midst of a strike, today we are talking about concrete proposals that are on the table and concrete solutions that are being proposed by the government and teachers - stated Cezary Tomczyk in a conversation with Piotr Witwicki on Polsat News' "Political Graffiti".

- There is a certain trap from the government in this, because if a discussion about increasing the teaching load were to begin now, it would mean that we would have to lay off, for example, 10% of teachers in Poland. Increasing the teaching load means laying off, for example, 10% of teachers, which is 70,000 teachers - stated Cezary Tomczyk in an interview with Piotr Witwicki on Polsat News' "Polityczne Graffiti" (Political Graffiti).

- Having considered the above, the Council of Ministers approves the draft and recommends it for further legislative work, subject to the remarks made above – the government stated in its position on the so-called anti-corruption bill authored by Kukiz’15. The Minister of Justice has been authorized to represent the position on this matter.

While the Council of Ministers does have specific remarks – they are listed in a 5-page document – it is evident that PiS has given the green light for the bill’s progression. Kukiz’15’s proposal was noted yesterday by "Wiadomości" [News], and Paweł Kukiz himself was a guest of Danuta Holecka, where he was questioned about, among other things, the anti-corruption bill.

The bill has indeed been processed at a rapid pace since its submission, as we wrote on 300POLITYCE. Now, the Sejm is returning to work on it – a meeting of the extraordinary committee for codification changes concerning this matter is scheduled for Wednesday at 2:00 PM. Originally, the committee was supposed to convene on Thursday at 4:00 PM. The meeting was cancelled, possibly due to the voting block scheduled after 6:00 PM.

Photo: Sejm

- The Prime Minister says that the unions have not shown flexibility, the unions stand like granite by their proposal. I understand therefore that for Prime Minister Szydło, the best solution would be if teachers dug into their own pockets, contributed to the state budget, and renounced all expectations, altruistically supporting the state budget - said Sławomir Broniarz in a conversation with Jacek Żakowski on "Poranek TOK FM".

- The Prime Minister asked me, since my statement indicated that teachers were contesting the agreement signed by "Solidarity" and that ZNP did not want to sign it, to consult the government's proposal with the community. Yesterday, when I posted it on Twitter, after about 60 minutes it had nearly 120,000 views, and there were no praises for this idea. It seems that our consultation process is concluded - said Sławomir Broniarz in an interview with Jacek Żakowski on "Poranek TOK FM".

- We support and are emotionally with the protesting teachers. Their protest is justified. We know this and as the European Coalition, we also want to sign a declaration for Polish education today, meaning our commitment, which we will fulfill after the October elections. If the PiS government does not end this protest, does not meet the expectations of the teaching community, we will do it immediately after the elections - stated Grzegorz Schetyna at a conference of European Coalition leaders.

"I was the addressee of Mr. Chairman Kaczyński's letter regarding the euro and our opinion on this matter. I want to say that what we can and should say on this issue, we are ready, I personally am ready to say to the public, to Chairman Kaczyński, face-to-face, in a direct debate. Election campaign, elections, the pre-election period is always a time for debate, for clashing opinions, for showing the true positions of the parties we represent. I am ready for such a debate" - said PO Chairman Grzegorz Schetyna at a press conference.

Schetyna also sent a letter to Kaczyński, in which he poses three questions regarding the policy pursued by PiS within the European Union:

https://twitter.com/CTomczyk/status/1119143135647424512

• The government has failed during two weeks of protests. It is incapable of making a dignified offer to the striking teachers, parents, and students who want a better Polish school. They want better pay, but also better quality education. They are incapable of making any proposal because they lack the goodwill in this regard. We no longer have any doubts. Yesterday's offers from Prime Minister Szydło are another provocation. They want to play for time, to wait it out, to exhaust us, but you cannot achieve and fulfill the demands of striking teachers without goodwill. This goodwill is absent from the government. This goodwill lies with the opposition. For our part, by signing the declaration for Polish education today, we are able to guarantee that immediately after the elections, we will meet teachers' expectations regarding pay, as well as the expectations of parents and students in terms of teaching quality, the amount of homework assigned, the curriculum taught by teachers, and attended by students, meaning schools and their equipment. We will also meet the expectations of local government officials who need support, because today they are subsidizing education and teachers' salaries. The government is incapable of reaching an agreement with any group, previously with the disabled, today with teachers, because it simply does not want to. The opposition is incapable of outvoting this commitment, but for its part, it is doing everything possible to give a chance, hope, and a declaration that immediately after the elections, we will fulfill teachers' expectations and realize the project of a better school, a place for learning and a place of work – stated Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz at a conference of European Coalition leaders.

- What is happening in education is not a crisis at all. It is the result of neglecting teachers and education. Recently, we have seen an attempt by the rulers to divide another community. But this attempt will fail, because teachers stand alongside students, and students alongside their mentors. Parents also support this strike, which is difficult for many families. When we hear from the Prime Minister that the government is proposing some kind of roundtable, without any details or discussions, and when the Prime Minister says that this roundtable will take place at the National Stadium, we say that you don't play a match with teachers. You negotiate with teachers, and it would be best if negotiations weren't even necessary, because there would be constant debate and conversation between the rulers and teachers. This strike is not just supporting the demands of teachers. It is also a strike on behalf of local governments, which are struggling with constant problems, with the rulers constantly shifting more responsibilities onto their shoulders while giving them less and less money. I am very happy that I can participate in this real 'magnificent five' [referring to the opposition's election slogan], which stands here, and not some imaginary 'magnificent five' of imagined demands. This 'magnificent five' will realize not 5, but thousands of demands, because Poles need thousands of demands – stated Jerzy Wenderlich at the conference of European Coalition leaders.

- Teachers dared to demand their rights, their right to a future, decent earnings, their dreams. And in doing so, they became – according to PiS – public enemies. They became unfit to belong to their nation. In this way, they are doing something that is harmful to the future of Polish society, because undermining the prestige of the teaching profession, the authority of the teacher, creates eternal damage to the nation. Secondly, let's remember one thing. It's worth talking about Polish schools. It's worth making them more practical, to finally teach through practice, experience, workshops, through everything that sparks a student's curiosity for education, that makes them want to learn throughout their lives, that makes them love their school. Meanwhile, Minister Zalewska has murdered everything that was best in Polish schools, without offering anything in return. What she did with the education reform was the entrenchment of a 19th-century system. It showed that school is obsolete, it kills creativity, the autonomy of the teacher. If we want to restore the prestige of the teaching profession, we must ensure decent earnings, but also ensure the autonomy of the teacher, the ability to shape the curriculum according to the abilities and skills of the class. It's the ability to shape one's own canon of readings, beyond the basic ones. It's the ability to develop and educate oneself, not just to regurgitate content provided by the minister – stated Katarzyna Lubnauer at a press conference of the European Coalition leaders.

- Let's remember that Polish schools require changes, of that we have no doubts. Therefore, we will participate in the round table. Only a round table can be a discussion about how to systematically solve certain educational problems, but now, as quickly as possible, the basic problems of teachers related to their earnings must be resolved. I was hoping until yesterday, when the final meeting was supposed to take place, that we would sit down for the holidays peacefully, knowing that the matters of Polish education and teachers were settled. Now I am losing that chance, because I see that the government doesn't care about this, that the government is being stubborn, that they are playing a very unfair match with the teachers. A match where only one can win, that they want to starve them out. In this situation, let's be clear: we stand on the side of the teachers, of Polish education – added the leader of Nowoczesna.

- We are entering the Easter period with somber moods, and next week, on Tuesday at 11 AM, a demonstration is being organized at the Ministry of National Education headquarters. We cordially invite all teachers and non-teaching staff to this demonstration. In the afternoon, there will be a meeting of the Social Dialogue Council, which will discuss the format of a round table discussion - said Sławomir Broniarz during a press conference.

- The presidium of the main board, which will discuss various scenarios, will convene after this demonstration - added Broniarz. 

- Your words unfortunately empower those who want to crush teachers and break the strike by force - Adrian Zandberg wrote on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/ZandbergRAZEM/status/1119168234257887232

The Council of Ministers will convene next week on Wednesday at 3:00 PM. The agenda includes the State's Multiannual Financial Plan for 2019-2022, as well as the draft National Reform Programme for the implementation of the "Europe 2020" strategy. Update 2019/2020.

https://twitter.com/MichalOlech/status/1119223224880041985

„The proposal put forward by President Jarosław Kaczyński, the Prime Minister, is current. There will be zero PIT [for young people] for higher incomes [than 43 thousand]. Of course, it depends on the parliament, but I am convinced that we want to move in this direction” – said Minister Łukasz Schreiber in an interview with Justyna Dobrosz-Oracz for wyborcza.pl. 

- The start of the roundtable is a meeting of all participants. Today, that's about 60 people, because we're talking not only about trade union representatives but also about parent representatives. I'm urging parent councils and organizations uniting parents to go to the MEN [Ministry of National Education] website, where they can currently nominate their delegates, from whom participants, representatives of associations and foundations, and experts will be chosen. The beginning is with this large group at the roundtable, and then there's a division into 'sub-tables' and work at the 'sub-tables'. The Belvedere is simply not suited for such undertakings in terms of its capacity. Yesterday I spoke with Minister Dera, and we were considering how to organize it – everyone agreed that the National Stadium is the place that is functionally the best solution – stated Michał Dworczyk in an interview with Marek Kacprzak on the WP program "Tłit".

The PiS spokeswoman responds on Twitter to today's words from Grzegorz Schetyna.

https://twitter.com/beatamk/status/1119291213318950912

https://twitter.com/beatamk/status/1119295345618558977

- This is precisely the nature of my proposal, the proposal of Nowoczesna, that it is flexible, meaning municipalities, by being able to divide the eight-year primary school into individual stages, are able to adapt it smoothly, without revolution, to the situation of a given population. Meaning, for example, that in a particular town the school will be preserved, but only for the youngest children, while the central school will be in a larger town, where it can even be combined with a high school - said Katarzyna Lubnauer in a conversation with Piotr Witwicki on the program "Wydarzenia i Opinie" on Polsat News.

– One fundamental thing. We will need to increase societal activity through financial incentives for longer work. There must be a system, for example, the thirteenth pension, as a form of incentive for people who will combine retirement with professional work. So that they can later retire, but without compulsion, meaning without changes involving the automatic extension of the retirement age, but through financial incentives – said Katarzyna Lubnauer in an interview with Piotr Witwicki on the program “Wydarzenia i Opinie” Polsat News.

„There was no explanation for why I am not running. This was the most surprising thing for me. And the explanation that appeared in the media was, unfortunately, false, and that is why I felt such embarrassment. That's how I would put it” - said PO MEP Bogdan Zdrojewski in an interview with Grzegorz Kajdanowicz in "Fakty po Faktach" on TVN24.

„I declared my willingness to continue my mission in Brussels, including the possibility of resigning from this mandate in some specific future if there were a need to return to domestic politics. I had discussions with the chairman, Grzegorz Schetyna, who stipulated that perhaps I wouldn't be running from first place because a coalition is being built, and perhaps the coalition's requirements would entail consequences such as moving me to, for example, second place. However, I had no other signals before that” – said PO MEP Bogdan Zdrojewski in an interview with Grzegorz Kajdanowicz on "Fakty po Faktach" on TVN24.

Asked if he was ready to run from second or third place, Zdrojewski replied, "Of course, I declared that I have no problem with that".

"I'm staying in Civic Platform, though without a function, without a role, and without a project. I have a few months for reflection, for contemplation. As I declared in 2014, and repeated last year, I do not intend to return to the Sejm. I never return to roles that I have finished," said PO MEP Bogdan Zdrojewski in an interview with Grzegorz Kajdanowicz on "Fakty po Faktach" on TVN24.

„The coalition was supposed to receive this bonus of agreement, a bonus for forming a coalition, meaning it should have more seats than if individual parties ran separately. Five years ago, Civic Platform won 19 seats, SLD 5, and PSL 4, totaling 28 seats. For this bonus to exist, there should be more than 28, and so far, nothing indicates that, which worries me” – said PO MEP Bogdan Zdrojewski in an interview with Grzegorz Kajdanowicz on „Fakty po Faktach” on TVN24.