Some 1,000 miners of the KGHM copper giant held a demonstration and stormed the company headquarters in the southwestern Polish town of Lubin on Thursday morning demanding a 300 zlotys wage rise for all employees.
They were confronted by the management board, which soon had to withdraw as the protest turned violent.
Some miners used beer cans and firecrackers to attack guards protecting the building and forced its glass doors. They stopped short of entering when they saw police inside.
The management rejected trade union demands to introduce universal pay hike and stood by its earlier proposals including a new motivational program, increasing premiums paid by employer to the pension program and making medical benefits a part of the collective agreement, KGHM said in a press statement after the event.
"I don't mind paying well for good work," CEO Herbert Wirth is quoted as saying. "But justice does not mean paying everyone the same amount."
"We don't want to spoil the motivational system with equal pay raises for all," he added.
KGHM argued that yielding to trade union demands would cost the group much more than 200 million zlotys, the statement read.
The management expressed its will to continue talks with the unions in the framework of public hearing.
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