The 1988 Polish strikes were a massive wave of workers' strikes which broke out from 21 April 1988 in the Polish People's Republic.

The strikes, as well as street demonstrations, continued throughout spring and summer, ending in early September 1988. These actions shook the Communist regime of the country to such an extent that it was forced to begin talking about recognising Solidarity. As a result, later that year, the regime decided to negotiate with the opposition, which opened way for the 1989 Round Table Agreement. The second, much bigger wave of strikes (August 1988) surprised both the government, and top leaders of Solidarity, who were not expecting actions of such intensity. These strikes were mostly organized by local activists, who had no idea that their leaders from Warsaw had already started secret negotiations with the Communists.^{[better source needed]}

The late 1980s was a time of deep economic crisis for Poland. The military regime of General Wojciech Jaruzelski did not carry out any radical reform of the economy in 1982-1983 following their imposition of Martial Law in Poland. Industrial production remained below the 1979 level. Average inflation rate climbed to 60% by 1988, and Poland’s hard-currency debt to the Western countries grew from $25 billion in 1981 to $43 billion in 1989. Furthermore, the military rule was a failure, even though Solidarity had been outlawed in 1982, which in turn forced its members to go underground. In those circumstances, anger and frustration of the nation grew, deepened by economic malaise, and constantly declining living standards. More than 60% of population lived in poverty, and inflation, measured by black-market rate of the U.S. dollar, was 1,500% in the period 1982 - 1987.

On 29 November 1987 the Communists decided to seek popular support for a 110% price increase, calling the Referendum on political and economic reforms (see Referendums in Poland) supported by the old slogan of "democratization" as the only concession. The government of Zbigniew Messner lost the referendum - according to independent sources, with a turnout of around 30%, - but officially, it was announced that 63.8% voters participated in it, and so, deputy prime minister Zdzisław Sadowski decided to go on with the price increase. The policy was introduced on 1 February 1988. It was the biggest hike since 1982. The operation was a failure, as the massive price increases were followed by 40% increase in wages, meant to offset the price increases. As a result, inflation rose at alarming speed, and by late 1989, near hyperinflation was reached.

In late 1987, Communist authorities initiated a wave of repressions of activists of underground Solidarity trade union and other oppositional organizations. On 9 November Kornel Morawiecki, leader of Fighting Solidarity, was arrested. In the same year, Lech Wałęsa resumed his post as leader of Solidarity, where he remained until 1990. Meanwhile, local branches of the movement tried to legalize themselves in courts across Poland, but all these attempts were refused. On 31 August 1987, the 7th anniversary of the Gdańsk Agreement, street demonstrations and clashes with police took place in Warsaw, Wrocław, Lublin, and Bydgoszcz. On 8 March 1988, on the 20th anniversary of the 1968 Polish political crisis, activists of the Independent Students Union organized demonstrations in Warsaw, Kraków and Lublin. Most active demonstrators were immediately repressed by the government.

On 21 April 1988, 5000 workers of Stalowa Wola Steelworks organized a meeting, during which they demanded end of repressions of Solidarity activists, and 20,000 złoty salary increase. The first strikes broke out four days later, on 25 April 1988, in mass transportation centers in northern cities of Bydgoszcz and Inowrocław. On the next day, one of the biggest companies of the country, Vladimir Lenin Steelworks in Kraków, joined the strike. The workers demanded salary increase, re-employment of Solidarity activists, who had been fired during the martial law, as well as legalization of Solidarity. Meanwhile, a strike broke out in Stalowa Wola Steelworks. Both these actions were suppressed by the Communist security forces (ZOMO), supported by anti-terrorist units. In Stalowa Wola, a demonstration of force, together with threats of use of regular army troops, was sufficient, and the strikers gave up on 30 April. In Kraków, however, the workers continued their action, therefore the government decided to use power. In the night of 4–5 May the steelworks were brutally pacified by the ZOMO and anti-terrorist units. In reaction to the attack, workers of several factories across the country organized protests and meetings.

On 1 May 1988, opposition activists organized peaceful demonstrations in several Polish cities, such as Bielsko-Biała, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Gdańsk, Kraków, Łódź, Płock, Poznań, Warsaw, and Wrocław. They were attended by thousands of people, and in some places, street fights erupted. On the next day, a strike broke out in Lenin Gdańsk Shipyard, where workers demanded re-legalization of Solidarity. Soon, Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Andrzej Wielowieyski showed up in Gdańsk, ready to talk to the management of the plant. However, the talks were fruitless, and on 10 May, after threats of use of force, the strike ended in the atmosphere of failure. The last strike of the spring took place in Szczecin, involving workers of city’s mass transit system.

During late spring and early summer of 1988, the situation in Poland did not improve. In several cities, local Solidarity branches unsuccessfully tried to legalize the union. On 19 June local elections took place, and Solidarity urged voters to boycott them. On 26 July government spokesman Jerzy Urban said that Solidarity permanently belonged to the past, and two days later, Polish sociologists announced that only 28% of Poles believed that government’s reforms would succeed. Most people thought that the reforms would end up with even deeper crisis. The first strike of summer 1988 took place in the Upper Silesian city of Jastrzębie-Zdrój, and it began on 15 August.