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7
May
More plumbers needed in UK as it is impossible to find a good Polish plumbers in Poland, apparently - because all the plumbers have moved to the UK.
There have been many stories in the press recently about the influx of Polish plumbers to the UK. The media do have a tendency to sensationalise things, however in this case there is truth in their publications. Haven’t most people heard of someone who has used (or wants to use) Polish plumbers to do work on their house?
The Construction Industry Training Board calculates that almost 32,000 more plumbers will be needed by 2008, so should we be encouraging Polish plumbers at the immigration gates?
Group of Polish Plumbers
Is the UK plumbing industry being taken over by Polish plumbers?
Migration is adding 180,000 to the UK population each year and has been boosted by workers from eight eastern European states which joined the EU in 2004. The majority of these recent migrants are young, highly qualified and hard-working. They are employed mainly in low skilled, low paid jobs that can be arduous and which many indigenous people will not do. One in four migrants are ‘process operatives’ - low-skilled production line workers.
Since 2002, the number of immigrants to the UK has averaged more than 530,000 each year. Over the same period, more than 350,000 Britons have left for foreign climes each year. Overall, this has added around 180,000 a year to the population; close to the size of Luton and almost the city of Birmingham every five years
It’s estimated that about 750,000 Poles live in the UK. In the big cities, delicatessens, churches and bars have sprung up especially to cater for them. It seems that many of them may be Polish plumbers.
Are Polish plumbers cheap?
According to the latest stories Polish plumbers and builders have hiked up their prices, allowing British tradesmen to win back some of the business they lost when their Eastern European rivals arrived in the UK three years ago. It is perhaps unsurprising that the Poles have done this - they have become more accustomed to British life and want to have their own home, pay council tax and so on. Polish plumbers are becoming more selective about the jobs they do and want wages that are more in line with their British colleagues.
How easy is it for Polish plumbers to work in the UK?
The potential exploitation of migrant workers is a big issue. The migrant workers know that they are being paid less - they have to work longer hours to make up the difference in pay. Health and safety awareness is also a concern - there is a reported rise in the number of injuries to migrant workers on construction sites due to the fact they have language difficulties with signage. Many are also at a disadvantage in terms of understanding our complex legislation system.
Why do the Polish plumbers choose the UK?
The overwhelming majority of recent immigrants into the UK are from Poland, mainly because it is by far the largest country to recently enter the EU, but other factors are at play. According to the Monetary Policy Committee’s David Blanchflower, Polish citizens are more likely to come to the UK because unemployment in their home country is high and incomes and the quality of life are low. So in short, the Poles come to the UK for a better quality of life - hence the influx of Polish plumbers.
There are now another group of workers, still willing to fix a leak for next to nothing. Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in January 2007 and it is expected that soon there will be another influx of workers into the UK. Low incomes and quality of life in their own countries mean that many of these new EU citizens will be keen to move, with research showing their preferred destinations as Central and Southern Europe.
In a World Bank survey, more than 80% of Romanians said they would move to another country to work if it was legally possible. So watch this space!
Immigration is a hot topic in the UK and most people I speak to have an opinion about what should happen and how the government is handling it. Let us know what you think about Polish plumbers and are more UK plumbers needed?
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One Response to “Polish Plumbers”
Plumbers
What is really going on is there a threat to British jobs or do they really fill a skill shortage essential to our continued growth of are economy, it seems to me the figures about growth don’t always hold up under inspection.
This depends on how many have arrived, and what they actually do, Can we believe the figures probably not. Research suggests that the numbers could be two or four times those who have officially registered
I think after all many of them are doing these jobs that cannot otherwise be filled (by British workers) at the wages being offered by plumbing industry in general, take Wembley stadium, on a note of caution we have so many trainee plumbers and gas engineers who cant even find a work placement and this is a tendency which is still growing? One surely thinks it would be better to find placements for all these young hopefuls and people looking for a change in direction (who would like to become a plumber)
But this process is being allowed Low wages are staying even lower (due to migrant workers) this is great news for plumbing industry they have a supply of cheap labour and stand to make even bigger profits out of the consumer & industry alike.
But as we can all see interest rates going through the roof, people now in crisis with loan repayments
People just cant afford to live & work for nothing but the government says we’ve never had such sustained growth if this is so true why are the bank of England, putting up interest rates, I feel some people have had no choice but to borrow just to keep there heads above water.
The inflow might be lower if other EU countries opened their labour markets, as suggested by the EU but major countries like France and Germany & Spain are unlikely to do so.
There are now 1.5 million unemployed and this would be helped by higher wages, not lower. Some effort from government is needed to get training placements for young and older people alike who need a change of career some seek out training as a plumber or gas engineer but as is all to often the case some forget the wealth and resources we already have in the UK .
Yes its true people cant afford to retire on there pensions now, they will have to work until they drop dead I suspect , but on a positive note its nice to see some of the bigger firms investing in older people
As for the people saying you can never find a plumber this is not quite true most people would rather pay unskilled workers and not qualified trades persons, yes I agree all is not perfect but it never is
Stop griping lets give a chance to all people who want to learn a plumbing trade and encourage self investment for the future because very soon older people will play an important role in the years ahead in the growth of the country & society.
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