So you're Polish and want a job...

So you're Polish and want a job...

By Dominic Casciani BBC News community affairs

If there was ever any doubt that the UK is in the grips of an extraordinary revolution, then hunt out the migrant worker recruitment fairs that are starting to spring up.

Last month, thousands of young Polish workers turned up at the third recruitment fair hosted by Polish Express, the London-based newspaper for the diaspora. Just as its circulation is growing by the month, so its jobs fair gets bigger each time it is held.

This time, there were some 5,000 Polish people queuing patiently in a west London suburb for a chance to hand over a CV to 40 employment agencies. As they queued to enter the hall that was filled to its legal safety capacity, they scribbled away at resumes, going over their pitch time and time again.

Most were in their mid-20s. Some had only recently arrived, having stuffed a few belongings into a backpack, bought a one-way no-frills airline ticket. Like Dick Whittington so many centuries before, were they expecting streets paved with gold?

Enthusiastically handing out flyers for a money transfer company was David Pawlak, a 26-year-old from near Warsaw.

Back home in Poland, David was a teacher, taking home the equivalent of £200 a month. But thrusting flyers nets him £600.

"I've got no idea how long I am going to stay," said David, "But I'm earning so much more I now know why so many people are doing it. My sister came first and suggested that I follow. I'm living pretty cheaply with her at the moment.

"The papers back home are talking about how so many people have come to England to work. But people also want to live a little - that's what I am here to do."

KEY STATISTICS 427,000 workers from eight EU accession states successfully applied for work in UK Over half (62%) are Polish 82% are aged 18-34 56% work in factories* Anglia region has highest proportion of workers (15%) Source: Home Office All figures May 2004-Jun 2006 except *Jul 2004-Jun 2006

Two years ago, this was a hidden revolution; most of the eastern European workers in the UK were in industries far removed from sight, food processing and seasonal agriculture work.

Today employers in more and more sectors have latched on to the idea of picking up cheap Eastern European workers.

And so inside the recruitment fair there were agencies from the length and breadth of the UK, many of them from the north, offering work in everything from catering and hospitality to care services, clerical, technical and engineering.

One of the most specialist agencies recruits marine engineers. Next door was pub chain Weatherspoons, where Poles have begun to challenge the long-established supremacy of the Aussie barman. Clearly, it wasn't just the candidates who were eager.

Those with fluent English were doing best - but many agencies had got round that problem by employing other Poles to translate.

From recruited to recruiter

Anna Misiuva arrived from southern Poland in March to join her husband who was already working here. She now works for recruitment agency Randstad and helps to place eastern European workers in the south-east. So what kinds of jobs are people going to?

"They've got to have a minimum of English," she said. "Our clients are looking for people who can work constantly, rather than on short-term contracts.

"The work can be difficult - sometimes it's a job in the food industry where people are working up to 10 hours in a chiller, for instance.

"With one of our clients [in the chilled food industry], most of the workforce are Lithuanian, some are Indian. None of them are British."

That willingness to do jobs that employers say British workers don't want, was at the heart of the boom, said Bob Owen of Polcat, a Doncaster safety training firm targeting the Polish employees market.

"I must admit it, I have never seen a workforce like the Poles," said Mr Owen. "They want to work, you can see it in their eyes. But here's the thing - they're not in competition with the British workforce - they are finding ways of fulfilling a need that just wasn't being met and that's why they are being welcomed."

While the first wave of eastern European workers went into construction and the food industry, people are increasingly looking at a more diverse range of careers.

Adam Pawlik, resident four months, had just been joined by his girlfriend Sandra Lewandowska.

Urbane and softly-spoken with a mid-Atlantic twang, Adam was typical of many of those now arriving.

"Office jobs," said Adam. "I was studying architecture before I came over - I actually want to go to university here eventually. So we're not desperate, we won't just take anything that we are offered."

So this is long-term?

"Yes absolutely. I just don't see any chances for us in Poland," said Adam. "Back home things are terrible. Do you know what a mess they have made of the place?

"We came here to look for a better future for us - perhaps for our kids one day," he added with a cheeky smile.

Sandra raised her eyebrows and ribbed him.

"In any case, we're planning to stay," she added.

Come back during this week for more stories about Eastern European migrant life in Britain.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/5376602.stm

Published: 2006/09/25 09:30:16 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Lawyers are expecting a spate of compensation claims after a landmark case

From The Times

May 19, 2007

They work hard for so little: now Poles are fighting back

David Lister

From village pubs in the South of England to fish factories in the Shetland Isles, they are the softly spoken young men and women who are queueing up to do the jobs that nobody else wants.

There is barely a community that does not have its Polish plumber, Czech barmaid and Lithuanian cleaning lady, paid an average of £6 an hour, working 12-hour days and six-day weeks, until now slaving away without complaint.

But two years after Britain’s doors were opened to workers from ten new European Union member states, there are signs that the country’s vast East European workforce is starting to fight back against poor work conditions and discrimination.

Lawyers are expecting a spate of compensation claims after a landmark case this week in which three Polish women were awarded more than £16,000 by an employment tribunal in Scotland. Sylvia Pionkowska, Lidia Wisniewska and her sister Joanna, all in their twenties, came to Britain hoping to make enough money to set up a business back home. They found themselves living in squalid conditions at an hotel where they worked without breaks, were not paid for overtime and were insulted in front of customers as “Polish slaves” and “bitches”.

The case, believed to be the first to involve such explicit racial discrimination against Poles, has prompted a flurry of inquiries from East Europeans in Britain and is expected to lead to other cases. Ms Wisniewska, 25, who has found new work in Bute, said yesterday: “Most Polish people are too scared to open their mouths when they are treated badly. But hopefully some will read about our case and think, ‘We can do that too.’ I think things are only just beginning.”

Michal Porzyczkowski, a lawyer at Dettlaff Solicitors in Bromley, southeast London, said that he was overwhelmed by inquiries from Polish workers about workplace rights. “The number of cases is definitely growing,” he said. “They are coming up weekly now.”

The few cases have gone to court include that of a Polish waitress awarded £8,000 by a tribunal in Edinburgh after being dismissed for refusing to sleep with her manager.

Wiktor Moszczynski, of the London-based Federation of Poles in Great Britain, said: “There is still a lot of exploitation and that is why this week’s decision was such good news. I think it’s likely that we will start to see more cases.”

The Home Office says that 579,000 workers from new EU member states have registered to work in Britain since May 2004. However, the true figure could be closer to a million, and up to 100,000 more are thought to be working illegally.

— 579,000 people from the new EU states have registered to work in Britain since 2004

— 65% are Poles

Source: Home Office, Times database

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A CITY centre bank is to open a separate section to cater for its growing number of Polish customers

Sat 19 May 2007

Polish mini branch translates as a good way to do business

JANE BRADLEY BUSINESS REPORTER (jbradley@edinburghnews.com)

A CITY centre bank is to open a separate section to cater for its growing number of Polish customers.

Lloyds TSB on Hanover Street has devoted an area of the branch to brochures, advertising and information signs in Polish.

There will even be a "welcome" mat in Polish at the entrance to the new "sub-branch".

The bank has taken on an extra two Polish-speaking staff, while all workers have learnt basic phrases to be able to greet Polish customers.

Around 40 overseas customers open a new account with the branch every week - most of them from Poland.

Manager Paul Alexander said: "Of our 50 new customers every week at Hanover Street, around 40 are non-UK customers and most of them are Polish.

"While most of them have a good grasp of English, there are many who do not. This idea, which is almost like a Polish sub-branch within Lloyds TSB, will be somewhere our Polish customers can come and feel they understand what is going on."

He added: "The leaflets will make it easier for our non-Polish staff to explain services to Polish customers - it means they can take them away and look at what is on offer in their own language.

"If you were going to live in Poland and you wanted to open a bank account, you would find it quite daunting and would be grateful of someone who spoke English. This is just the same."

The Hanover Street bank was the first in Scotland to employ a Polish member of staff when it took on Robert Zebala in May last year.

Mr Zebala, now the branch's personal banking manager, said Polish customers appreciated his help.

The 28-year-old, who moved to Edinburgh from Krakow last year and now lives in Leith, said: "Even if they have got a pretty good grasp of English, a bank can be quite a confusing place and things work differently in Poland.

"It is really helpful to be able to sit down and explain everything in their own language, especially for people who plan to stay here long term and are looking at mortgages and so on as well as basic accounts."

The new Polish "sub branch" is to be launched on Monday, in an event which will include in-branch demonstrations of Polish cookery and free food samples.

Lloyd TSB also unveiled Polish services at a branch in Glasgow yesterday, and the idea is to be tried in Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness over the coming weeks.

The move comes just days after Lothian and Borders police announced it would be asking officers to cut out sarcasm when dealing with Poles, as it is considered "very rude" in Poland.

Other firms, such as estate agents, have also introduced services specifically for Edinburgh's growing Polish population, while Polish-themed club nights, starring well-known Polish DJs and musicians have also become popular in the city.

Lloyds TSB last month announced the launch of its Silver account, specially designed for new arrivals to the UK, which allows people to open an account using only their passport as identification.

THE FACTS

New estimates have shown that the Lothians has the highest Polish population in Scotland.

There are believed to be more than 35,000 Polish people living and working in the area, with around 20,000 of those based in the Capital.

And it is estimated that there are around 86,000 Poles in Scotland, almost three times the official figures, judged by those in regular employment.

The new figures were compiled by the Fife Polish Association, whose survey also included partners, children, the unemployed and self-employed.

Edinburgh City Council estimates put the figure of the Capital's Polish population at around 8000, although Scotland's register general admitted the survey may be a more accurate reflection than the official statistics.

The mass influx of Polish workers has led to Polish food being stocked in local supermarkets, Polish radio broadcasts and even training courses in Polish culture for local police officers.

The UK is thought to have a 350,000-strong Polish population.

This article: http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=780062007

Last updated: 19-May-07 13:55 BST