Powitanie - Support for Polish Workers
The TUC has launched a new Polish language website to support the increasing number of Polish workers in the UK. Gina Dowding said ” With some 20,000 Poles living and working in the North West we need to no make sure that they are not being exploited or their lives put at risk. This new advice site is most welcome.”
The website http://www.pracawbrytanii.org - run by the TUC in partnership with Citizens Advice and Solidarnosc - explains the rights workers can expect at work, from the minimum wage and working time to holiday entitlement and sick pay; information about social issues such as housing and health; and guidance about what living and working in the UK is really like.
Gina Dowding, prospective parlimentary candidate for Lancaster & Fleetwood,went on to say “Polish workers are making a substantial contribution to our economy here in the North West, and without their valuable contribution sectors like agriculture and construction would start to struggle.”
Since Poland joined the EU in 2004, thousands of Polish workers have come to the UK to make their living. Sadly many of these workers have fallen prey to unscrupulous employers and have been forced to work long hours for little pay, in unsafe workplaces with very few employment rights.