In the summer of 1980 reprisals were focused on me: I was transferred from one position to another, „called on the carpet” - after 30 years of faultless work, awarded on four occasions. I remember being kept by the industrial security guards and subsequently admonished for being late. Reprisals against me were a warning for others lest they should dare to do what I did.

I was completely exhausted, all alone in the face of all those vexations, because everybody - from the guards, the brigade leader, the foreman, the line manager up to the general manager - was against me. The shipyard’s entire organisation against one person! The court ruled that I should be reinstated at work but nobody wanted to obey the verdict. I was utterly exhausted after every working day: and not because of the workload but because of the atmosphere. […]

And so it happened on 7 August - I was sacked. […] I did not suspect at that time that the shipyard would go on strike; nobody did. Members of the Free Trade Unions posted posters with information about me being fired and with a demand for a 1000-złoty pay rise.

Anna Walentynowicz became inconvenient because her example captured the imagination of others. She became inconvenient because she defended others and could organise co-workers. The authorities invariably tend to isolate those who might become leaders. If we fail to oppose this, there will be nobody to come out against higher work quotas, against violations of work safety regulations or against forcing people to work after hours.