Why did the PUWP not dare to suppress the opposition in 1976-1980?

The PUWP is the Polish Association of the Workers’ Party. In order to answer this question, one must recall the events of that time. Since the mid-1970s, workers’ uprisings have broken out in Poland every now and then. In July 1980, after a rise in meat prices, the boiling point of workers reached its climax. The workers openly put forward their demands to improve the lives of workers, provide them with social guarantees, carry out democratic reforms and create a trade union independent of the ruling PUWP. The fact is that in November 1980 they did manage to register the independent trade union “Solidarity”, which quickly evolved. into a mass popular movement against the communist regime. The PUWP did not dare to suppress the opposition because its duty to protect workers’ rights was now carried out by another organization. This was a consequence of the fact that the workers no longer trust the leaders of the ruling PUWP, and the PUWP is afraid and does not want to go against government policies.