Polish workers in Denmark

Polish people who works in Denmark have bad conditions.
They get jobs under falsh conditions. Many workers are being cheated in the agreements with the employers. Lowere salaries that promised, because a very high

payment of the apartments, who they stay in. Many apartmens are in bad shape and the polish workers must live many persons together in one flat.

Shamely and unjustified!!!!

The history is going around. Fore many years ago my grandparents where wanderarbei -
tern (seasonworker) in the prussian Breslau. They came from Dankow, northwest from
Czestochowa to Olesno and the prussian border. "Packed" in closed cargoweagons they
and many others from Poland were transported to Breslau. Hard working conditions and
lot of discrimination from the german schlesian was the daily life of my grandparent.
Im crying in my soul - The same history can i observed in Denmark and Sweden........

Hola Jola :)

Sadly poorer countries (EU or otherwise) all suffer the same kind of social problems.
A lack of resilience, self pride, inventiveness and determination to make the 'grass on their side of the
hill' as green as anyone else's.

Apparent wealth and happiness doesn't fall out of the sky and into your hands.
Citizens of any given country have to show the right qualities in their population/culture at large,
and be more positive about their identity.

It is a very easy route for individuals to take by uprooting to somewhere else where the work is already done ( over decades, even centuries).

A very recent and pitiful example is Africans in make shift boats going to the Canary Islands and arriving on tourist beaches. How sad is that? ....

Generally people that work in those "work camps" don't treat it as a serious, long term job, but rather like something seasonal that will help them stand on their own feet. Let us don't forget that skilled workers and specialists like for example doctors don't have these type of problems. Low skilled workers don't have the luxury of being picky when it comes down to finding a job. No work equals no food, and where's no food pride and dignity shifts back on the second place. Simple as that. After some time they either go back to their own country with the savings they made for this "slave job" or they are off to find another, this time a better job, leaving their places for other desperate new arrivals.

It's true that some poles do have a tough time of it here, and non-professionals aren't presented with a whole lot of options. The language barrier can be a challenge for poles that don't speak english, as the majority of language classes and translation are in english. One thing to consider about apartments is that they are very expensive for everyone here, also that rentals are uncommon and reasonably priced ones are next to impossible to find. Even so, Many poles are able to build a very good life here.

None of my comments are meant justify unfair and poor treatment of workers, rather to add another perspective. We are very privledged here in scandinavia, natives are used to a high standard of living, and can be naive in understanding what it's like not to have that, or even how it is to have to work very hard to survive. Sometimes what happens with illegal work is that poles looking for jobs don't know the value of their services and agree or offer to work for too low a wage. One that may seem like a lot compared to how much they earn in poland. It's easy for anyone to underestimate how expensive it is to live here. Or how hard cultural integration can be, people are usually pleasant and friendly on the surface, but it can take years to build close relationships with danes and to get a good grasp on danish culture and social interactions.

Since poland joined the EU, there are a growing number of legal jobs and legitiamate polish businesses here in denmark. I hope it contines and that denmark attracts more polish people. :-)

hello

I see many polish people some work here in our town im from denmark!

And i can say this they live in very bad flats

they workd many hours a day and the danish people cheta them for there money

i hate something like that!

If somebody got in trouble with some people some dont want to pay in Denmark let me know i can arrange something so the workers can get the money

It seems like there're more people from Denmark than I thought.

Stolte hilsener til jer begge.

Yea it's sad to "your people" getting used like that, but what makes me really mad is the danes that blames the polish workers instead of the morrons that hire them.

Og hej med jer alle - er ny på forummet, vil gerne lære mit modersprog hvilket jeg har været for doven til hidtil, så tænkte jeg ville starte her :D

Mazurek, hjertelig 'welcome' til forummet!
Det er hyggeligt nok, selvom en del af brugerne desværre er lige lovlig venstraradikale for min smag..

My story is a bit like yours.. My father doesn't see any point in me learning Polish, and earlier on, when my mother tried to teach some few things, then I just rejected to answer her.

As a child it was so easy just to do nothing.. And my mother just didn't do anything about it, so I've never learned much, until now, recently.

Maybe we can support eachother, in learning Polish.

How old are you, by the way?

I'm going to Szczecin the 14th to the 19th of this October, with the travelling agency at stettin.dk - those people who also arrange the so-called 'dentist-busses'.

Pozdrawiam!

Jaszczolt

Jo tak :-)

I'm 16 years old, I turn 17 at October 18, when I'm in Poland I live in Szczecin too, I'm travelling with Polferries though.

And "when my mother tried to teach some few things, then I just rejected to answer her.", exactly.
Even though almost everyone I've ever known have told me how great and usefull it is to know several languages, and how much I love to be in Poland, I was just too lazy :(

I've been looking for an online english/danish-polish dictionary for quite some time, do you know one?
Poltran is useless, takes 2+ minutes just to open/refresh the page, and same with the search results.

Regards

We have got our pride.But the social conditions in Poland and other eastern countries makes us to work everywhere in Europe,no matter where.I work in Denmark and its not easy but I love this country and I love the people who lives here.Denish people,you are the best.I want to stay in Denmark forever,to the end of my life....

Davs te' jer, Danske! Hvorfra kommer I saa? Og hvor laenge har I laert jer polsk?

Jeg er ikke polsk, men jeg boede nogle maaneder derover og kunne meget godt lide landskabet, isaer i sommertiden! 'Du danske sommer, jeg elsker dig'.

Danish or Polish are probably easier than English, but, our forum does insist on certain rules.

Jeg haaber, at kunne faa en hyggelig lille snak me' jer allesammen!

English only please unless in languages forum (even then only Polish) or off topic!

Where you both guys with polish roods live in Denmark? I'm Polish live in Scotland and movind soon to Denmark to Ringsted. If you need some polish classes give me a shout my email ; agamal79@o2.pl or malinowska.agnieszka@yahoo.co.uk.

Take care :) hope Denmark can be my home :)

Hi there, Agata!

Allow me just a corrective "recast" of your English sentences:

'Where do you both who have Polish roots live in Denmark? I'm Polish but live in Scotland and will soon be moving to Ringsted in Denmark. If you need some Polish lessons, just give me a holler by e-mail.....'

Thanks, the help is appreciated. Where in Poland are you from? I'm from the States, but I lived for a summer in Denmark (I know Ringsted, in fact, there's a somewhat vulgar Danish pun connected with that city!!) and know Danish even more fluently than Polish, along with a few other languages. In Poland, I've only visited Szczecin.

Hope to hear from you again soon. (..and please don't think me rude that I offered to correct your English. -:) :) )

Hallo,
There is no limit for unknowledge and arrogance to tell the others stories based on own imagination. Use the facts and you will know, that Danish are rasists and no good people. I can't understand that Polish diplomats in Cousulat who knows about the miserable treatment and bad condition for Polish peple in Denmark do nothing about it.

I can speak english, danish-fluently because I am educated in DK an have a Danish family, but nothing help me, I was keeping from the job-market in 20 years!. I was working only in the lowpay jobs and the Danish hate me because i can i many cases more then they can. I am so deanger, that they are using umpolaid methonds against me at the job. My story is much longer end that, and I know many other with a similar experience. The rest is a silence. Pleas don be silly all of you Polish people, do not believe in danish smile because is not honest one. Best regards Lucy W. Jensen.

Lucy,

Quite sure you understand what you've written??-:)

Sorry Jola I must speak up.Your english is very bad.You wrote "polish people who works".It's wrong ,it should be "polish people who work". CZESC

You might wanna brush up yourself before correcting others. It's actually "Polish people who work."

Cześć now.

And in Norway! :((

As a dane, I feel embarressed about some of the working conditions some danish companies offers polish workers. I have heard about high prices for accomodations etc.

However, like in all other matters in live, it's about avoiding bad company. Many good companies offers very good conditions and I believe that we wouldn't have 16.000 polish workers in Denmark if all were bad.

My friend has a company (construction business) and he offers good conditions for a polish friend of mine. If not, I kick his ass!

I have a polish girlfriend and respect polish people very much - you are a proud and hard working nation and like every body else, you are looking for better living conditions. 100 years ago, danish farmers went to America......sometimes we should think about this and show more respect for foreigners.

Polish people are always welcome in Denmark:-)

good thing Danish are very socialistic minded! very good!

Even too much! It is allowed to have sex with animals if they show that their not beeing harmed!

As I said before bad conditions for all foreign work force in all Scandinavia :S

It all depends on if you choose a good or bad company. I'm from Sweden, and I know that there are a lot of both good and bad Scandinavian companies that hire Polish people. The best thing is to ask other people who worked for the company how it was.

I really feel sorry for people who were treated badly when working abroad. Unfortunately there are cowards in all countries that abuse foreign workers. Normal people must show that this is not acceptable.

Hi Guys,

I have a question, basically if you are a skilled tradesman, plumber, electrician, bricklayer e.t.c. and you want to work in a country that has that profession regulated, and want to work directly (as in not for a company), so you can install a boiler or rewire a house, have you done it ?

My brother is a plumber, and I live in Denmark, he wants to come over and do work on my house for me, in return for his family staying here for a couple of weeks, so no money, to worry about. I have looked on the EU pages and found the list of regulated professions at "ec.europa.eu internal_market qualifications

regprof index.cfm?fuseaction=regProf.show&RPId=3590" (replace spaces with /), listing the details for their legal requirements, basically stating that there are regulated professions listed under the EU directives and that it is illegal to perform certain tasks in Denmark, without their approval and registration, and that countries must under the Directive, recognise other EU professionals, (or that would be a restriction of trade).

The problem is that legally the Danish authorities are required under law to comply, however it is not that simple, as they have a protectionist attitude, and make it difficult, for instance the rather technical process, is all in Danish, and refers to other things, that are also in Danish. If you look at the UK one they have even put information in Hindi (spoken in which EU State ?)

What annoys me most is that I have worked for big building companies in the UK for 20 years, managing millions of pounds of building and civil engineering contracts there, but, I can't lay a brick, pipe, or anything on their list, wheras I spent my carrier, checking others did it right !

Any suggestions.

Joe

By the way, The Danish people always smile, but watch out for the gritted teeth

Jola
Hi Jola

I agree that the Dansih society shows many examples of exploitation of workers from eastern Europe.

I am a student of Ethnology on the university of Copenhagen in Denmark - and right now I am working on a project about polish migration to the Danish farms.

I can see from your post that you are interested in polish workconditions in Denmark - and also have a historical knowledge - would you maby be interested in being an informant on my assignment?

I am interested in investigating the historical basis for the lack of Respect for Polish workers in Denmark. There is a deeply rooted prejurdism about polish moral and quality of work in Denmark - and I would like to investigate the cultural and historical reason for this.

I hope to hear from you

Regards Sidsel

I have heard that Polish workers are good so i would like to hire a polish worker to do some work in my house. Payment to be agreed between us. i am not danish but i live in Denmark (Copenhagen). If anyone can recommend one, please write to me.

I can attest as someone who lives in the US, that Polish workmen are proverbially reliable, diligent, and honest, their foreign-language speaking skills notwithstanding:-)

They typically work solely on a cash-only basis and probably know limited English, although as many Danes know English, little reason for the former to know Danish except perhaps for the basics of "yes", "no", "thank you" etc.

Do recall the amusing, probably typical, incident whereby a Pole asks their Danish boss a simple yes or no question, to which the latter responds with "Ja, tak!" (lit. "Yes, thank you!), leaving the Poles momentarily confused, since in Polish of course, "tak" means "yes", not "thank you", and "ja" mean "I", rather than "yes"LOL

Yet they, particularly polish girls judging other girls, complain about the ukrainians lol. its like they dont smell their owns het but want to look at someone to put down so the umrainians are the fault of everythign bad in poland. even on this forum you see it. fact is, Ive never seen as many failed ukrainians or russians in the west or in foreign countries or even in poland than what I see among the polish in the west. and ukrainians give. a chance usually strike gold or make it rich if you ever run i to them in places like London.

It is funny because ai went to th Pijalnia in Warsaw the other day and talked to a oman from Sweden I believe she was, or maybe Norway, and she apparently confronted some young and up tight polish girls ho said something about ukrainian girls when I was gone telling them we get treated exactly the same way they twlk trash about in the west. I mean same way they were twlkimg trahs about them. but i domt believe it. i really think that the polish are way worse and deserve more of it thsn ukrainians even in poland. thats my opinion thouh. the ukrainains have cukture, have dance, music, strike rich when given a chance, etc. polish are a bunch of ultra right ignorant conservstive rude, cockeyed faced non romantic etc. Id much rsther be ukrainian.

Ukraine is a country? Lol sure whatever you say. Putin will absorb the rest of the hole after the world cup and we can stop talking about it.

stick to the topic please

I need 4-8 bricklayers with experience working with aerated concrete ( YTONG BLOCKS ).
Should speak english and reading plans / drawings.
Working area is Copenhagen.
Working time: 4-6 months

Anybody who can recommend some ?

Thanks

At least a passing (and not merely a "passive") knowledge of Danish should also come in handy as well, I would think.