After less than two years at the mine, dissatisfied with low wages, he attempted to resign. On June 15, 1981, he submitted a request to leave his job, but his supervisor refused due to a shortage of skilled workers. Two weeks later, on June 30, he submitted another request—this time asking to be transferred from surface work to underground duties. His supervisor described him as a good employee, and on July 24, Pełka withdrew his earlier resignation request.

On December 16, 1981, he was admitted to the Mining Hospital in Ochojec at 5:40 p.m. with a gunshot wound to the head sustained during the pacification of the strike. He was still alive and underwent surgery. According to medical records, the bullet was removed, but during attempts to stop the bleeding it fell into the sewage system—likely one of the bullets that could have served as evidence in the investigation of the shootings at Wujek. His condition temporarily stabilized, but after midnight his circulation stopped again, and resuscitation failed.

Although his gravestone lists December 16, 1981, as the date of death, official records—including the death certificate—state December 17, 1981. Another document issued by the military prosecutor’s office in Gliwice indicates approximately 1:00 p.m. on December 17, revealing discrepancies of several hours depending on the source.

The funeral of the youngest victim of the Wujek pacification was closely monitored by the authorities. A coded message sent on December 18, 1981, ordered local militia to supervise the مراسم. Andrzej Pełka was buried on December 20, 1981, in his hometown of Niedośpielin. Around 150 people attended the funeral, which was secured by ZOMO units and security service officers.

His name appears on the membership list of NSZZ Solidarność, prepared on January 20, 1981, before the election of the union’s workplace commission at KWK “Wujek".

On August 29, 1990, he was posthumously awarded the Gold Cross of Merit with Swords by the President of the Republic of Poland in exile, Ryszard Kaczorowski. On December 7, 1992, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta by the President of Poland, Lech Wałęsa. In 2015, he was also posthumously awarded the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity.

He is commemorated, together with the other miners killed on December 16, 1981, by the Monument to the Fallen Miners of “Wujek" (1991).