Warsaw - Thousands of workers from Poland's defence industry protested in Warsaw Friday over military budget cuts and the growing financial crisis.

Members of the Solidarity trade union burned tyres and threw small explosive charges in front of the Ministry of Economy, demanding job security for the country's defence industry workers.

"The only miracle (Prime Minister Donald) Tusk has accomplished is uniting the trade unions," said Janusz Sniadek, head of NSZZ Solidarity, speaking to protesters in front of parliament.

"We came to Warsaw so that the Polish government and parliament will at last wake up. There's a crisis coming though the windows and the doors."

The Ministry of National Defence recently made budget cuts amounting to some 10 per cent for the year. The savings were part of a government plan to reduce spending by 19.7 billion zloty (5.5 billion dollars) in 2009.

Defence Minister Bogdan Klich has said modernizing Poland's army will now "go slower," but that the army's professionalism will not suffer.

Workers are worried the plan will mean cancelled orders and could spell thousands of redundancies.

"Our government is only capable of 'saving money' on its workers and retirees," said Jan Guz, head of the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions.

The alliance demands "job security and decent pay," Guz said, so the "professional army can be professional." (dpa)