TUC heads to Poland to help Poles with work advice

The TUC is today heading for Poland to encourage thousands of Polish workers attending a jobs fair in the capital to find out about UK employment law and union membership before they set off for our shores in search of work.

The TUC delegation is to attend the British Days Jobfair in Warsaw which is being run by Jobcentre Plus as part of the European Year of Workers’ Mobility. Thirty major UK employers including Tesco, First Group, and the Jurys Doyle and Macdonald hotel groups are set to be there to encourage Polish nationals to apply for vacancies that the firms currently have in the UK.

TUC Regional Secretary Nigel Costley and unionlearn press officer Wanda Wyporska plan to use the two-day jobs fair to advise Polish job seekers on how to survive working in the UK, and speak to the employers in attendance as to how they can get the best from their prospective Polish employees. The TUC will also be handing out leaflets in Polish about rights in the workplace including information on the minimum wage, working time and joining a union.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "It’s vital that Poles and other migrant workers know their rights before they come to work in the UK. Otherwise they risk becoming sitting ducks for employers who delight in making money out of exploiting vulnerable workers.

"Hopefully the trip to Poland will help prevent more of the horror stories we sadly hear so much about, of workers being mistreated, paid illegal wages, made to work excessive hours, and having extortionate deductions made from their wages for the privilege of living in squalid accommodation.

"The TUC wants Polish workers to know how they can seek work confidently, safe in the knowledge that they are aware of their rights and know where to turn if things go wrong. We also want them to know that the best protection they can have against unscrupulous bosses is to join a trade union the moment they get here."

The Jobscentre Plus event is expecting over 10,000 visitors to the Jobsfair over the two-day event.

The TUC is also working with the Polish trade union Solidarnosc to develop online employment rights information aimed at those who are contemplating a job-related move to the UK or who are already employed here. Last year, Tomasz Laskowski, a young trade union organiser from Solidarnosc came to the UK for three months to help UK unions recruit Polish migrant workers.

Source:onrec.com