The Order of the Banner of Work was a governmental award in Poland during the twentieth-century era of the communist People's Republic of Poland

People's Republic of Poland

The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...

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The order

Order (decoration)

An order or order of merit is a visible honour, awarded by a government, dynastic house or international organization to an individual, usually in recognition of distinguished service to a nation or to humanity. The distinction between orders and decorations is somewhat vague, except that most...

 was established by the Sejm

Sejm

The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....

(a chamber of the Polish parliament) on 2 July 1949. It given in recognition of "unique achievements for the Nation and the Country". In 1960 the criteria for receiving this award were changed to "special achievements for building socialism in the People's Republic of Poland."

The Order was also awarded to institutions, and was automatically awarded to miners after 20 years of dedicated labour.