Unemployment 1.7 million - why 500,000 poles ?

[vehelpfulguy]

Unemployment has today hit 1.7 million.

Can anyone explain why then we need 500,000 poles here (the number that have come since they joined the EU).

If the Poles will do the jobs the English wont (or cant) then maybe it is time to stop featherbedding people on the dole and tell them they have 3 months to find a job or their money stops.

One UK bus company is bringing poles over to be bus drivers. Why the h*ll, with 1.7 million people unemployed, do we need to bring poles over to do bus driving, hardly the most difficult job in the world.

[jonnythebosh]

In this country now there is a sizeable % who not only would never dream of doing a days graft, even if they did decide to give it a go they would be unemployable. Due to poor communication skills, lack of common sense and most frightening of all being illiterate, suitable employees are getting rarer each year. So its hardly suprising that willing workers move here to take advantage of the wages, that when sent home can give them a standard of living they could only dream of. My problem is with the system that has churned out a generation of cretiins who think that living off the state is a career rather than a last resort. If Poles want to come here and pay their way then good on them, its a pity that more of our fellow citizens can't be a*sed to.

[jacksy]

i work for a company where the poles bend over backwards to help anyone,whilst theyre with an agency ,soon as they get a contract theyre just like others if not worse not all are as dull as they make out.basically found they will shirk and play the system pretending they struggling with the language but underpay them a quid or two theyll suss and they will even tell you watch out for the moldovans when they turn up through romania bunch of crooks most of em allegedly.

[THECORBYLOON]

Official Government estimates are that 264,560 Poles had applied to work in the UK between May 2004 and June this year. Some of those would have stayed a short time before returning home and the Office of National Statistics say there were 17,000 long term Polish migrants in 2004 and 49,000 the following year.

So then ,hardly 500,000 eh? Then again, why let the facts and figures spoil a good story?

[rosepetal]

My Dad is a hard-working, intelligent man who was made redundant last year. He struggled to find work, and applied for loads of jobs (mostly unskilled, as that's all that was on offer), most of which he didn't even get a interview for. He worked for the same company for 35 years and didn't have a day off sick in the last 20. He knows of several others in a similar situation.

Although there are people who don't want to work, there are people like my Dad who do. Many of the jobs that he went for were only offering the minimum wage, yet hundreds of people were applying for them!

[matt66]

Corby....why let the facts spoil the numbers game eh. You think 500000 was wrong, the cheif of bank of england thinks 2 million is a correct figure. go figure that one now.

i for one love the new EU states. Let them all come here. You wanted a bigger europe. you voted for a govt that does what it pleases. now you have got it. Come on you turks next.

[JudgeJ]

And have a look at this, where this very issue was aired at considerable length abot three months ago:

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question27 6600.html

[ayrforce1]

Why 5000,000 Poles? To do the work for the London Olympics on the cheap and not inconvenience the South of England by depriving them further by a shortage of tradesmen when the work begins.