Exploiting Polish Workers by the UK businesses

Seanus 15 | 19666

24 Nov 2009 / #61

Maybe he was talking about Lithuanians as they are Eastern Europeans?

Free movement was established A LONG time ago and it wasn't Gordon Brown that just thought it up.

wildrover 98 | 4430

24 Nov 2009 / #62

Whats the betting he is a fat balding council tennant thats tried chatting up some Polish girl , or guy , and not suprisingly got told to take a hike....?

Seanus 15 | 19666

24 Nov 2009 / #63

That's what I thought in my 14:12 post, wildrover. A disgruntled old fart who has had his hopes dashed over and over.

Avalon 4 | 1063

24 Nov 2009 / #64

Seanus

Free movement was established A LONG time ago and it wasn't Gordon Brown that just thought it up.

So which political party was in power when Poland was admitted to the EU?

Seanus 15 | 19666

24 Nov 2009 / #65

Labour as we know. Did they create Dassonville or Van Binsbergen? Eh, no!

Avalon 4 | 1063

24 Nov 2009 / #66

What was discussed previously is irrelevant, the actual decision was made by Labour in 2004
or do you want to go back prior to 1973 (Tory government) when the UK joined the common market after telling everyone it was a "trade agreement"

Seanus 15 | 19666

24 Nov 2009 / #67

Yes, Labour under Blair at the time. A bumbling buffoon of a man. A liar and wicked cheat! Sorry, he's not Scottish so let's get that straight. No, the decision was made by the Poles to join in May 2004, they acceded.

Do you know anything about those cases, btw? You can't just avoid them. Did Blair impose caps? Did he do as they did in Holland etc? No. So stop barking on about Brown.

wildrover 98 | 4430

24 Nov 2009 / #68

A bumbling buffoon of a man. A liar and wicked cheat!

But apart from that ok...?

Harry

24 Nov 2009 / #69

Sorry, he's not Scottish so let's get that straight.

Are you for real?

Blair was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 6 May 1953, the second son of Leo and Hazel Blair (née Corscadden). Leo Blair, the illegitimate son of two English actors, had been adopted as a baby by Glasgow shipyard worker James Blair and his wife, Mary. Hazel Corscadden was the daughter of George Corscadden, a butcher and Orangeman who moved to Glasgow in 1916 but returned to (and later died in) Ballyshannon in 1923, where his wife, Sarah Margaret (née Lipsett), gave birth to Blair's mother, Hazel, above her family's grocery shop. George Corscadden was from a family of Protestant farmers in County Donegal, Ireland,[15] who descended from Scottish settlers who took their family name from Garscadden, now part of Glasgow. ... After attending Durham's Chorister School from 1961 to 1966,Blair boarded at Fettes College, an independent school in Edinburgh.

Scottish born, Scottish descent and Scottish educated: he's a Scot!

Avalon 4 | 1063

24 Nov 2009 / #70

Harry

Scottish born, Scottish descent and Scottish educated: he's a Scot!

Harry, you should know better than to correct a teacher!!!!!

BritishEmpire - | 148

25 Nov 2009 / #71

Hmm,

I think we have a BNP member on the board. Still, that's democracy, just a shame they feel inadequate.

So every person that is pissed of with immigration is a BNP member?.

Where i work the ones who do the crap jobs on the factory floor even rip each other off for cash if they get away with it. So much for poles looking after poles....

Yes you have a point about their honesty.

Thats exactly what Hitler said...Do you share his medical problems also...?

Its impossible to be wrong about everything.

I was reading a newspaper in a bar in Poland in February of 2004, the the artical was a quote by the then foriegn minister, David Blunkett, who stated that around 11-13,000 people from Eastern Europe were expected to travel to the UK to look for work.

They knew full well how many would come but it was all part of the secret policy of flooding britain with immigrants. And before you go calling me some whacko it was a labour politician that blew the whistle on his party over their secret immigration policy.

jonni 16 | 2475

25 Nov 2009 / #72

So every person that is pissed of with immigration is a BNP member?.

No. Most people are far too sensible to touch them with a bargepole.

But there are one or two suspicious posters who only post on matters of UK immigration.

BritishEmpire - | 148

26 Nov 2009 / #73

No. Most people are far too sensible to touch them with a bargepole.

Lets be honest here no one likes any politician but people will always vote for who they think will represent them the best.

But there are one or two suspicious posters who only post on matters of UK immigration.

Maybe because thats what their pi**ed off about.

Seanus 15 | 19666

26 Nov 2009 / #74

Then we have had 2 PM's, the last two :) :) I never saw him as a Scot, nor Brown for that matter. Balfour was likely Scottish too.

Avalon 4 | 1063

26 Nov 2009 / #75

Seanus

"Sorry, he's not Scottish so let's get that straight."

Sorry does not always make it right, so lets get that straight.

Seanus 15 | 19666

26 Nov 2009 / #76

I don't really care tbh!! 2 Scottish PM's to carry on from the delusional old hag they called Thatcher. That woman was becoming so out of touch with reality. All the senior guys knew it, Clarke, Portillo and Howard etc etc.

Besides, this is about Polish workers in the UK. I heard about an exploitation case where a cleaner tried to sue her prospective employers because she couldn't understand English. The thing is, she would have had a case had she requested them to furnish her with a Polish copy and they refused. However, all she wanted to do was lock horns and that was her mistake, she didn't explore her options.

BritishEmpire - | 148

27 Nov 2009 / #77

The thing is, she would have had a case had she requested them to furnish her with a Polish copy and they refused.

So why did she come if she couldn't understand English or be bothered to learn it?.

Seanus 15 | 19666

27 Nov 2009 / #78

Beats me, lad, beats me. Another bonehead who escaped without even being aware of her EU obligation to procure employment before leaving or have contacts in mind when there to get the ball rolling.

Such idiots are really irresponsible and should not waste peoples' time. Spurious applications should be kicked to the kerb/curb. I can negotiate contracts in Polish with no previous school learning but some of these clowns can't with years of English behind them. Pathetic, feckin pathetic!!

jonni 16 | 2475

27 Nov 2009 / #79

but people will always vote for who they think will represent them the best

And the BNP councillors all half-a-dozen of them have a deplorable record of incompetence and idleness.

seanus

The lady in question could have handled it better. Seems like a ham-fisted attempt to try it on. Surely her employers were fully cognizant she didn't speak English when they hired her. In that case it is their responsibility to make things understandable for her. Locking horns wouldn't work here.

Seanus 15 | 19666

27 Nov 2009 / #80

True enough, jonni. They wanted to pull an unprecedented low wage out of the hat, probably sth like I got in 1996 for cutting grass (3.71, then 3.82). Both sides were to blame. Once you take the time to prepare the contract in 2 languages, you can start to fulfil it but too many are just fast, fast, fast. I hate such people.

jonni 16 | 2475

27 Nov 2009 / #81

Seanus

I agree. It fucks it up for people who are really exploited, like the binmen in Leeds who had their wages reduced from 18000 a year to between 11000 and 15000, and had to go on strike to make sure they could feed their families.

Seanus 15 | 19666

27 Nov 2009 / #82

People need to see that the logic of doing a job remains the same, assuming the duties are constant (which they are for scaffies). Inflation suggests salary increases and not decreases. They get 18,000 as that is the monetary value which is attached to the job. It is hardly justifiable to swick them out of a few thou through what, a whim?

I'd hate to be at the lower rung of the career ladder in Scotland or the UK in general. Few guarantees and a constant battle.

jonni 16 | 2475

27 Nov 2009 / #83

(which they are for scaffies)

You'd think so, wouldn't you.

After the 9th week of strike, the council said they could keep the same wage providing they increased their productivity to emptying the bins of, wait for it, 233 houses an hour. Taking the **** is barely adequate to describe that. If they wanted to hire Clark Kent they'd have to pay much more.

Today the union announced they've ended the strike, with "in some cases, increases" and a lower productivity deal. The fact that it's confidential suggests it not a great victory for the dignity of labour.

Seanus 15 | 19666

27 Nov 2009 / #84

It's nothing less than modified slavery when they start pulling that crap. You enter dangerous territory when you start arbitrarily discussing the worth of any job. The fatcats can throw in an extra 20,000 or even 50,000 quid but those at the lower end can't. That's hardly fair!

BritishEmpire - | 148

27 Nov 2009 / #85

Such idiots are really irresponsible and should not waste peoples' time. Spurious applications should be kicked to the kerb/curb. I can negotiate contracts in Polish with no previous school learning but some of these clowns can't with years of English behind them. Pathetic, feckin pathetic!!

Maybe someone gave her the wrong idea about England, funny to hear though.

And the BNP councillors all half-a-dozen of them have a deplorable record of incompetence and idleness.

First i have heard but if it were true it shows that they are striving to be good politician :D

In that case it is their responsibility to make things understandable for her.

Lets go back to the part where she decided to leave for the UK, having no desire to learn any english (trust me when i tell you i have met a few that are the same) is her fault and not anyone else's. Nobody will change to accommodate you because it doesn't work like that, not even in poland.

I agree. It fucks it up for people who are really exploited, like the binmen in Leeds who had their wages reduced from 18000 a year to between 11000 and 15000, and had to go on strike to make sure they could feed their families.

I don't want to drag this down to yet another debate on immigration but many problems like the bin strikes do spur from it. All the companies are taking advantage of the excess of labour to force people into accepting lower standards and pay, in essence it gives them more leverage because you have to like it or lump it because they can always get someone to fill your shoes.

Seanus 15 | 19666

27 Nov 2009 / #86

It's possible but common sense helps you through so many situations these days. She seemed to lack it in abundance. A bit of savvy goes a long way.

The truth is that many Poles let themselves become exploited. They still earn better in the UK and are in such a hurry to leave Poland.

It is important to at least make an effort in a foreign language. I could have meetings in English at my language school but I make it easier for them by conducting them in Polish.

delphiandomine 86 | 17823

27 Nov 2009 / #87

Wasn't this partially due to the fact that their jobs were overpaid to begin with, compared to more 'female' jobs?

I can't remeber the details, but there is/was havoc in Aberdeen City Council because of the agreement to once and for all sort out the differences in pay between men and women - which uncovered the nasty truth that men had been quite considerably overpaid for jobs that required a similar level of education and experience as the more 'female' jobs.

Seanus 15 | 19666

27 Nov 2009 / #88

They are sharks in Aberdeen City Council. They have been ripping off my mum for years. She is a fully qualified Hatha Yoga teacher and they are just having a laugh by paying her too little. She works across in the Bridge of Don, just behind Tesco in Danestone. She works elsewhere too but that's her main workplace.

This just goes to show that it isn't only Poles that they are fleecing!

szkotja2007 27 | 1497

27 Nov 2009 / #89

Aberdeen City Council.

I wouldn't let them run a raffle.
Due to corruption, fraud and general incompetence, one of the most prosperous areas in the country has to make cuts due to a massive overspend - outrageous.

Seanus 15 | 19666

27 Nov 2009 / #90

And where are the tangible results of their spending? They rip people off and for what? The AECC hasn't undergone much transformation over the years so little investment there. I can just imagine some Poles labouring away there for peanuts. The Job Centre in Little Belmont Street is a friggin joke. I think some peoples' brains must be grinding to a halt due to the mind-numbing nature of the work.