French unions protest against opening labor market to new EU members

This coming Monday during the Polish-French intergovernment consultations in Paris the parties will create a commission to define the terms of opening the French labor market to Poles from May 2006.

"We are negotiating with several countries. This is a delicate issue. Employers are ready to abolish restrictions, but trade unions strongly oppose this idea," explained Deputy Economy Minister Miros³aw Zieliñski. Due to this, countries such as Italy, Spain and Greece, may announce their decisions right before the second anniversary of enlarging the EU to prevent unions from attempting any counter moves. The United Kingdom, which opened its labor market to new Union member states from the very beginning, has so far benefited from its decision due to lowering the number of working illegally who have increased the GDP by GBP150 million and paid GBP20 million in taxes. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A6) M.M.

You see, they have some problems with housing: "Lancashire Fire Service served a restriction notice on the landlord because of the fire safety fears, limiting tenant numbers in the flat.Twelve people - all Polish - were sharing a bathroom and some had no bed.(...) Among the conditions found, they were three people sharing a room that had only two mattresses, investigators said One tenant, who did not want to be named, told the BBC: "There are 12 of us living here. We have only one fridge. We have to manage as best we can."
"There is no future for us. If I knew I had to live like this there is no way I would have come here."
Widow Grazzinna Zielinska, who is working to support her children back home, said a job she paying almost eight times her monthly Polish salary had attracted her to the UK.
"In Poland there is no work, it is very hard," she said.
"That is why I came here. I thought it would be a lot different to this." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lancashire/4024239.stm

"About 91,000 people from new eastern member states of the EU registered to work in the UK in the five months since the May expansion, figures have shown.(...)However, ministers said up to 45% of those registered were in the UK before 1 May, possibly working illegally." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3998725.stm

Mr. Grudzinski said he hopes that Mr. Bush in his second term will lift visa requirements on Polish tourists and continue to make Polish-American ties "one of the key branches of the trans-Atlantic relationship."
The ambassador said the visa waiver would dramatically boost Polish tourism to the United States.
"We need to have Poles come to Florida to enjoy the sun," he said.
http://washingtontimes.com/world/20041103-090137-1722r.htm
This one killed me. And you know, we are still talking about "Visa Waiver" program designed for tourists, not workers especially illegal. Illegals don't pay taxes, simply because they can't work legally and get Social Security Number to pay taxes. "We need to have Poles come to Florida to enjoy the sun," is that a sarcasm or what?

Hahaha You are so funny. When you don’t have any real arguments you are writing about problems with housing. Who has problems Brits or Poles? Brits don’t have any problems. Peoples who worked there illegally now working legally and they paying taxes as you can read in above article and Brits earning a lot of cash .

I told you one time, Poles don’t must go to the US for vacation, there is so many beautiful places in the world, Poles don’t losing anything. USA is losing, morally and financially. Staying the last civilized country with don’t abandon tourist visas for Poles and others new EU nations isn’t honorable thing IMO. But it is yours decision…

Everybody is checking a persons before they will give them keys to theirs house. It's natural and common. I'm just a bit suspicious, when somebody would like to improve my live, or sell me something what I don't need for free. As you read second link 45% from 91.000 was already in england working illegally "as tourists". Please let we don't miss the point, Visa Waiver Program is for turists, now you start speak openly that it's a fake and your target to promote VWP is illegal immigration and illegal work in States. Brits didn't got bigger income from tourism, they got it from legal workers with work permits. Be honorable man and say that you want to WVP be used as a door for illegal immigration for Poles because of Polish economy. I think that we need improve polish economy and after that everybody will be accepted as tourist. It's hard to believe in this tourism from Poland when average person gets around 400$ per month and cost of food and housing take 85% from it. It's sound for me like 4 nights in hotel here and hamburger from "dollar menu" as dinner. Help for Poland in economy instead of "immigration back door" sounds for me better.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=aLwBIGcODLK8&refer=europe

The average monthly wage in Ukraine was about $120 in September, the State Statistics Committee said on its Web site, compared with $738 in Poland.

btw I’m following Ukraine elections and incidentally I found polish average monthly wage is almost twice higher than you referred. I don’t know where you found these information. Other thing is that if you want to go for vacation you should saving your money long before you will do this. Personally I wouldn’t go to US, for example Czech Republic or Slovakia looks much better, cheaper and I wouldn’t be suspected for terrorism and other stuff. But if somebody really want to go to US, it is his problem.

Be honorable man and say that you want to WVP be used as a door for illegal immigration for Poles because of Polish economy.

No man it is just your phobia. Your problem is that you think about US as a “heaven”, and Poles though something like that maybe in communist period, but if you didn’t notice it is over it isn’t 1980 but almost 2005.

Btw Be honorable man and say that you aren’t American…

Nice that you change the theme, we were talking about average monthly wage.

But doesn’t matter, I found interesting site and I must say that I’m shocked about some facts I read there. Many of these things in Poland are just impossible. When I get my next wage I will donate for their mission as much as I can (maybe not too much but always something)

http://www.usccb.org/cchd/povertyusa

and poverty map, I think that you should analyze this map carefully.

http://www.usccb.org/cchd/povertyusa/map.htm

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