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Events on Sunday 31 August 1980 2
1980Gdansk Agreement SignedPoland's communist government recognizes independent trade unionsStrikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, led by electrician Lech Walesa, forced Poland's communist government to sign an agreement on 31 August 1980 permitting independent trade unions. The accord led to the formation of Solidarity, the first independent labor union in the Soviet bloc. It marked a pivotal step toward the eventual collapse of communist rule in Eastern Europe.
1980 – 1989Solidarity MovementSolidarnośćThe first independent trade union in a Warsaw Pact country, which led to the fall of the Iron Curtain.