(c)2006 Associated Newspapers. All rights reserved
MANY RECENT ARRIVALS SUPPORT RESTRICTIONS ON BULGARIANS AND ROMANIANS
POLISH Londoners today lavished praise on the capital but backed the Government'sdecision to impose curbs on Romanians and Bulgarians who want to work inBritain.
A snapshot survey of Poles conducted by the Evening Standard found an almostuniversally positive verdict on the jobs, wages and cultural opportunitiesavailable in London.
Some said they were unlikely ever to return to their home country. Others expressedconcern they still found it difficult to gain acceptance from the British public but the more common view was that the capital's multicultural atmospherecreated a vibrant and stimulating environment.
However, on the issue of whether citizens of Romania and Bulgaria should be allowed towork here freely once the two countries join the EU next year, most supportedstricter controls on immigration. One said curbs were necessary because toomany unskilled people with poor English, including some from her own country,were coming to Britain and taking jobs from long-standing London residents.
Other Poles disputed the need for controls announced by Home Secretary John Reid,under which only around 20,000 Romanians and Bulgarians will be allowed to cometo Britain initially. They said it was 'only fair' that the new entrants weregiven equal treatment.
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Agnes Wrodarczk , 27, Kent.
Founder of recruitment consultancy specialising in finding work for Poles in the UK.'In terms of running a business in the UK, legislation, paperwork andbureaucracy is much easier than back home. The Government is not so strict andunderstands if you have made a genuine mistake and allows you to correct it.
'I truly do not believe [quotas] will stop people from Romania and Bulgaria fromflooding in. They will simply come anyway and find jobs on the black market.The UK needed the Poles two-and-a-half years ago, there was a big labourshortage. The problem now is that these gaps are being filled and there is notso much need here for more labour.'
Gosia Zakowska, 30, Balham.
Web developer.
'I had a picture in my head of London as being a very attractive place and verycosmopolitan. The job market in London is totally unique, there is nothing likeit anywhere else. Many people want to come here but it is so crowded. Beforepeople come they should realise that.
'An influx of people from Bulgaria and Romania is unlikely to affect me as I am nowsettled with a good job and qualifications but I can see how for people who areunskilled it might be a big problem, whether they are Polish or English.'
Joanna Lisowska, 29, Walthamstow.
Teacher.'Some people seem to think of the UK as a land of unlimited opportunities butyou need the skills in the first place to get a job here.
'I am always a bit conscious that I am not English but am teaching English. Idon't think that there is anything weird about it. At the end of the day, I amteaching a set of skills as much as anything else. But many Polish people areworried about the competition that Bulgarians and Romanians will bring as theywill no longer be the cheapest workforce.'
Magda Krol, 34, Streatham Common.
Volunteer social worker.
'I wouldn't live anywhere outside of London now. I would miss the opportunitiesand facilities. I will not leave.
'The discussion about quotas is really more about access to the benefits system thanallowing people to work in Britain.
'As long as the people who come here come to work and can do the jobs as well asEnglish people then they should be allowed to be here.
'In principle we should all have access to the UK but the country must protectitself.' Jaroslaw Stose, 26, Canada Water.
Credit card payment-processing executive.
'I love the culture in London but what I find difficult to get over is that whenpeople find out I am Polish, they treat me as a foreigner. I've watched Little Britain too, you know. People assume that I came here to earn great money. Ofcourse I have ambition, but it is all about the challenge, not the money forme.
'From what I know the unemployment rate in Romania and Bulgaria is much lower than inPoland, so I don't think that as many Bulgarians and Romanians will come asPoles. I think that we should not place restrictions on entrance as the marketwill regulate itself. People who do not have the skills to survive here willend up returning, which acts as a form of self-regulation.'
Darusz Szorc, 32, Highbury.
Wedding videographer and editor.
'People here are less complicated and more friendly. I love the culture. Once you havevisited London once it is very hard to go back home.
'Lots of Polish people do exciting creative things - we don't all just work onbuilding sites. You can do these things in the UK without jealousy being an issue, as it is in Poland. Everyone should have the same freedom to work here.Because Poland had problems we needed to come here and it is only fair thatRomanians and Bulgarians can come in the same way.'
Joanna Figlak, 25, Ealing.
Studio manager and DJ at Radio Orla, the London radio station for Poles.
'I had to leave my job, studies, family and friends behind to come here but I amglad I did.
'In my life before I met lots of people but not such a wide range of cultures. London has been like a school of life for me. I don't really see it as a problem for people from the EU being allowed into the UK but I understand thatsome people, Polish people even, might feel very unhappy that there is competition for jobs.'
