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Respect the rights of emigrant workers  POLAND
now wants its builders to come home because they say that their country
needs them. Apparently over 2million workers have left their homeland
to work abroad since 2004 when Poland joined the European Union.
It is estimated that approximately half-a-million settled in Britain.
I don’t actually know how many are working in Ireland but I suspect
quite a significant number.
Dublin’s Evening Herald newspaper even has a Polish section now.
Poland wants to make a serious bid for The World Expo Fair in 2012 and
says that it needs workers.
The country also has ambitions to co-host the Euro 2012 soccer championships
so obviously there is a lot of building work to be done.
So what would happen if they all left tomorrow and returned home?
Well, I suspect that there would be a fairly large gap in the labour market
with no British workers rushing to fill it.
Some British workers would no doubt be happy to see the back of them because
they moan about migrants providing cheap labour.
It cannot be denied that while in some cases they may have a legitimate
grievance nevertheless it is not always down to the workers.
It cannot be denied that generally speaking these migrant workers do work
hard and want to make a better life for themselves and their families.
They are simply taking advantage of opportunities that are already available
to everybody else and I don’t believe they should be criticised
for it.
What is abhorrent is when employers see an opportunity to increase profits
by paying migrants less than they would pay British workers and exploit
them.
It must be remembered that it is not only British employers who take advantage
of the migrants.
They are also vulnerable to the greed of some of their unscrupulous fellow
countrymen who spot an opportunity for easy cash by exploiting that vulnerability
in unfamiliar surroundings.
We Irish, above all, should have some sympathy for people who find it
necessary to move to another country to try to better themselves and we
should wish them every success.
It is easy to be smug now that Ireland has a thriving economy. We have
emigrated around the world for countless decades in search of opportunities
for a better life and faced similar difficult situations without the advantages
of modern communications and cheap air travel.
We should count our blessings and respect the rights and aspirations of
others to pursue a better future.
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