immigrants

[leewayne]

hello i want to know how the british feel about immigrants and foreign people such as polish coming to our country, i am not a racist but i feel that they are bleeding our country dry as they come to work live ten to a room to make it cheap send there money home and go back after a few years and there set. i feel this is why our wages are low now coz they get foreign workers cheaper and they get housed over us, i know this coz i have been in this position and the council told us if you was foregin you would get housed tomorrow. i know this is very blunt but i feel its true what are you thougths on this? by the way its not leewayne,its her partner.

[ruby27]

I think you have mis posted, this is not News. I think this should be in society and culture.

[sp1814]

leewayne

Specifically - my experience with Polish workers has been very positive.

I've used a company which employed Polish workers when we moved house and when we had our current place renovated.

I found both sets of workers shockingly professional, efficient and diligent.

There are also quite a few Eastern European workers in some of fhe restaurants/bars we go to in our part of London. Again, I've always found them a pleasure to do business with (apart from one girl who seems to be in a permanent bad mood, possibly because she has eyebrows like Hong Kong Phooey).

With regards to the housing issues - I'm not sure what you mean...economic migrants simply don't get council houses or flats. Those that I know of either rent privately or rent from their employees.

As to bleeding the country dry - not sure what you mean. You say they're coming over here and working like the devil, which is surely the opposite of 'bleeding the country dry'.

[sp1814]

Duh...I meant to write 'rent from their employers, not employees!

[ELVIS68]

sp1814, did you watch the Panorama programme on tv last week about the immigrants in Slough? 7 adults per house,overcrowded schools etc....why is it you never comment on these issues?...you seem to see life through rose tinted glasses....it is ok to speak out about eastern europeans flooding our shores without feeling guilty or are you so far up your PC arse to realise this?

[Aschenbach]

Why are the words 'I am not racist but...' always followed by race-based generalizations?

If you can fit ten Poles in a single room then surely they are quite cheap and easy to house?

[sp1814]

ELVIS68

Blimey! That's a bit strong.

I did say that my post was based on my experience didn't I?

And I didn't watch Panorama the other night. In fact, I've not watched it for years.

I've just re-read my post, and I reckon I've answered the points that leewayne raised from my point of view.

Are you saying that unless I agree with you, I'm not entitled to a voice.

That would be a bit limitng, wouldn't it?

And the whole 'rose tinted glasses/PC a*se thing'...oh c'mon...raise your game!

[leewayne]

what i mean is when people such as your self need someone to work for them like you said to move you removal companys use polish for example over english coz they work for less money which means that emplyers expect to pay less so lowering wages they send ther money home coz its worth more there then go home after a few years with money to set them up but this means that the british workers cant live on these lower wages as inflation keeps going up and wages dont this is how they bleed us dry

[ruby27]

leewayne
I wonder if you are able to provide a definition of racism, so that I can be helped to understand the difference/similarities between your perspective and mine

thanks in anticipation

[ELVIS68]

No need to raise my game, you always jump in on any thread where someone has something to say about immigrants, like you say you were only talking about personal experience but do you not think this country has far too many?

[sp1814]

leewayne

Errr...you do realise that lower wages is a component of low inflation don't you?

Furthermore, I don't know if you're old enough to remember, but back in the 70s when unions were a lot stronger now, wage demands fuelled the high inflation that nearly crippled the country.

We had to go cap in hand to the IMF for a loan to prevent total meltdown.

Nothing to do with immigration back then. It was a vicious cycle of high wage settlements fuelling high inflation which in turn meant that workers needed higher wage settlements to keep up with the cost of living.

But I digress...the expanded European market is an opportunity for everyone...especially the young. There are opportunities in key areas where the UK leads the world (communications, network support, systems analysts) all over Europe where they pay higher rates (and tax less) than here.

This is the 'upside' of the open door policy throughout the EU and I know personally of a few people who have made a killing by going contracting in....guess where!

Slovakia!

[leewayne]

legend007 i dont see that being a doctor is a menial job and british dont work coz they are better off not as wages are so poor here i work and have been on the dole so have seen both sides of the coin and i can tell you i was better off when i was on the dole

[Bazile]

I've not had any experience with the poles so far , therefore i wont make any generalizations APART from this one -
They do seem to be addicted to the cancer sticks - judging from the ones i see daily

[sp1814]

ELVIS68

I think I've given reasoned responses and kept my cool, despite provocation.

I'm simply trying to give an alternative point of view.

If I didn't, surely this thread would just be a series of people saying:

Yes


Yes


Yep


Yeah


Yes


and so on. Not exactly great reading!

Do I feel we have far too many immigrants? I've never thought of it that way, but now that you say it...no - I'd like the number of immigrants to grow and for immigrant families to move out of the inner cities and into the suburbs so that we don't have a 'ghettoisation' of particular races.

I don't think it's healthy to have 100% white schools or 100% Muslim (or whatever) schools.

People need to mix more, not less.

And it would be good if a member of the royal family could marry outside their race.

...say Zara Philips marrying a fella from Ghana.

That would make everyone smile, wouldn't it?

[isis4691]

I don't know why we can't all live and let live. If I was really poor in another country and had the chance to make a better life for myself and my children I would take it. We have a relatively good stable economic society in Britain and I don't think we really appreciate how poor some others in europe and farther afield really are.

There will always be people who mistreat the system and abuse it but I think that the majority are willing to work for a better future and I say good luck with their new life.

[ELVIS68]

What about all the Poles and Romanians working on building sites for �30 a day cash in hand...leaving brickies and chippies who have been less than bone idle, out of work...open your eyes you mugs

[leewayne]

this is not an argument i want poeples views . sp1814 my geuss is that you are in a well payed job and you may have one or to years on me but i feel you dont see what gose on at base level i have been turn down jobs even as a temp coz they get polish to do them cheaper this means agencies get more money out of it what you say sounds good on paper but its not reality things ant as they seem you seem quite intelligent but do you not see what i am saying in any aspect

[isis4691]

ELVIS68 Do you always have to stoop to insulting people we're all adults and I'm sure we could all get abusive and rude but there's no need. We are all entitled to our own opinion after all.