From the Telegraph:

First there were Polish plumbers and nannies, now Britain should
prepare for an influx of Polish painters and decorators.

B&Q, the largest do-it-yourself chain, said yesterday that it was
considering recruiting "thousands and thousands" of painters and
decorators from Poland.

The move is part of its push into offering services, rather than simply
selling tools and materials, as it battles to stem falling profits at
its retail business.

The company already offers to install kitchens and bathrooms. However,
in the past few weeks it has started testing a decorating and painting
service.

Ian Cheshire, the chief executive of B&Q, said he would eventually like
to offer the service across all its 322 stores. One of the biggest
stumbling blocks to rolling out the service nationally is a lack of
available workers.

MBQ

wrote:
From the Telegraph:

First there were Polish plumbers and nannies, now Britain should
prepare for an influx of Polish painters and decorators.

B&Q, the largest do-it-yourself chain, said yesterday that it was
considering recruiting "thousands and thousands" of painters and
decorators from Poland.

The move is part of its push into offering services, rather than
simply selling tools and materials, as it battles to stem falling
profits at its retail business.

The company already offers to install kitchens and bathrooms. However,
in the past few weeks it has started testing a decorating and painting
service.

Ian Cheshire, the chief executive of B&Q, said he would eventually
like to offer the service across all its 322 stores. One of the
biggest stumbling blocks to rolling out the service nationally is a
lack of available workers.

MBQ

They still have to pay them the going rate.
Why all Polish though?

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:


They still have to pay them the going rate.
Why all Polish though?

From my experience of Poles, possibly because they are quite "compatible"
with the English in temperament. The ones I've come across are quiet, civil,
intelligent and get on with the job. Excellent attributes if you want a
workforce to send round to Granny Smith's to do a paint job.

And I dare say you could offer less than the going rate in the UK in
exchange for a long term guaranteed contract - a little of our money goes a
long way in Poland and some of the Eastern European folks come here with
specific objectives, eg: earn enough money to buy a new house/flat back
home, or put son/daughter through University.

These people aren't daft and doubtless they are worried about being fleeced
by gangmasters, so it would be attractive to work directly for a big
established company.

Just my opinion.

Tim

Weatherlawyer wrote:
So people will vote to stop them unless the governmevt steps in. The
term Polish refers to the less savoury eastern European citizenry. It's
a clearing station.

They can't stop them as Poland is within the EU, thus Polish citizens
can enter and work in the UK as they like.

Alex.

Weatherlawyer wrote:
The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:
They still have to pay them the going rate.
Why all Polish though?

So people will vote to stop them unless the governmevt steps in. The
term Polish refers to the less savoury eastern European citizenry. It's
a clearing station.

Who wants Russians or Serbians or for that matter any of them?

I do.

Make a change from irritable grumps like you.

It's a
silly idea and I wouldn't pay too much attention to that sort of thing.

Everyone knows that once they get in they are free to work for
whomsover they wish to under the same rules. And there is no way you
can check a qualification like kitchen fitting.

If a team of foreigners could be assembled how many of them would be
fluent enough Englsh speakers to be team leaders and fitter
supervisors?

Judging by the ones I have seen, about 95%.


It's one thing to offer semi skilled as and when to foreigners to fill
ranks in sevices such as bus driving. It's quite another to send a team
out to something that could be a potentially difficult job such as the
above.

Oh you little englander!

Alex wrote:
Weatherlawyer wrote:
So people will vote to stop them unless the governmevt steps in. The
term Polish refers to the less savoury eastern European citizenry. It's
a clearing station.

They can't stop them as Poland is within the EU, thus Polish citizens
can enter and work in the UK as they like.

Alex.
And weatherlawyer can **** off to poland and sit on the dole there if he
likes too.

On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 12:30:29 +0000, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

Alex wrote:
Weatherlawyer wrote:
So people will vote to stop them unless the governmevt steps in. The
term Polish refers to the less savoury eastern European citizenry. It's
a clearing station.

They can't stop them as Poland is within the EU, thus Polish citizens
can enter and work in the UK as they like.

Alex.
And weatherlawyer can **** off to poland and sit on the dole there if he
likes too.


There's some nice EU handouts for projects in Warsaw at the moment, so
that shouldn't be an issue. Jobs for anybody from road diggers to
management consulting firm parasites.

Still.... as long as it's not to build another Palace of Culture &
Science, people should be reasonably happy - they can go to Tesco, M&S
and even Carrefour for their sustenance.


--

..andy

The message .com
from "Weatherlawyer" contains these words:

So people will vote to stop them unless the governmevt steps in. The
term Polish refers to the less savoury eastern European citizenry. It's
a clearing station.

All the Poles I've met (and when I lived in West London it was hard not
to) have been hard working pleasant stable people. On the whole a good
influence on British culture.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 13:39:35 +0000, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

Andy Hall wrote:
On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 12:30:29 +0000, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

Alex wrote:
Weatherlawyer wrote:
So people will vote to stop them unless the governmevt steps in. The
term Polish refers to the less savoury eastern European citizenry. It's
a clearing station.
They can't stop them as Poland is within the EU, thus Polish citizens
can enter and work in the UK as they like.

Alex.
And weatherlawyer can **** off to poland and sit on the dole there if he
likes too.


There's some nice EU handouts for projects in Warsaw at the moment, so
that shouldn't be an issue. Jobs for anybody from road diggers to
management consulting firm parasites.

Is he that qualified?


To work for McKinsey? Oh, I would think so....


--

..andy

Owain wrote:

And where's Stefek these days?

Yup, was just thinking that! One of the most literate and entertaining
writers on the group, sadly missed!

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:11:34 +0000, John Rumm
wrote:

Owain wrote:

And where's Stefek these days?

Yup, was just thinking that! One of the most literate and entertaining
writers on the group, sadly missed!


I'll drop him an email sometime....


--

..andy


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
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The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Is he that qualified?

I'm qualified enough to tell you that the wall to which you wanted to
fix a baton but had no idea how to, would more than likely be uneven.
But that would not have been discovered till I got on site to do the
job and found out you were an idiot.

I'd love to overhear a discussion on the subject with you and a Serbian
gangster masquerading as a Polish joiner sorting that one out you
unedifying specimen of useless accoustic resilience.

Alex wrote:
Weatherlawyer wrote:
So people will vote to stop them unless the governmevt steps in. The
term Polish refers to the less savoury eastern European citizenry. It's
a clearing station.

They can't stop them as Poland is within the EU, thus Polish citizens
can enter and work in the UK as they like.

But that is because our govt. lets them, not because the "EU" lets
them; most european countries do not allow general labour access.

The Natural Philosopher wrote in message
...
Alex wrote:
Weatherlawyer wrote:
So people will vote to stop them unless the governmevt steps in. The
term Polish refers to the less savoury eastern European citizenry. It's
a clearing station.

They can't stop them as Poland is within the EU, thus Polish citizens
can enter and work in the UK as they like.

Alex.
And weatherlawyer can **** off to poland and sit on the dole there if he
likes too.

My brother employs a Polish carpenter and a plasterer both are excellent
craftsmen and if I had to have a neighbour, I would much prefer either of
them to a whinging **** like Y.K.Who.

-- -
/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQEAYABgAAD/2wBDAAUDBAQEAwUEBAQFBQUGBwwIBwcHBw8LCwkMEQ8SEhEP
ERETFhwXExQaFRERGCEYGh0dHx8fExciJCIeJBweHx7/

On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 11:20:33 +0000, Tim S wrote:

The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:


They still have to pay them the going rate.
Why all Polish though?

From my experience of Poles, possibly because they are quite "compatible"
with the English in temperament. The ones I've come across are quiet, civil,
intelligent and get on with the job. Excellent attributes if you want a
workforce to send round to Granny Smith's to do a paint job.

And I dare say you could offer less than the going rate in the UK in
exchange for a long term guaranteed contract - a little of our money goes a
long way in Poland and some of the Eastern European folks come here with
specific objectives, eg: earn enough money to buy a new house/flat back
home, or put son/daughter through University.

These people aren't daft and doubtless they are worried about being fleeced
by gangmasters, so it would be attractive to work directly for a big
established company.


A business contact in Sweden just had his house internally
redecorated by a Polish gang.

They sent 2 decorators who worked 12 hour days, that's like having a
single decorator working 24 hrs/day. So the job was over and done with
3x faster than with a local Swedish decorator, and the bill was 60%
less. The quality was equal and the minor snags were fixed immediately
they were pointed out.

DG

On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 18:05:19 +0000, Derek ^
wrote:

On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 11:20:33 +0000, Tim S wrote:

The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:


They still have to pay them the going rate.
Why all Polish though?

From my experience of Poles, possibly because they are quite "compatible"
with the English in temperament. The ones I've come across are quiet, civil,
intelligent and get on with the job. Excellent attributes if you want a
workforce to send round to Granny Smith's to do a paint job.

And I dare say you could offer less than the going rate in the UK in
exchange for a long term guaranteed contract - a little of our money goes a
long way in Poland and some of the Eastern European folks come here with
specific objectives, eg: earn enough money to buy a new house/flat back
home, or put son/daughter through University.

These people aren't daft and doubtless they are worried about being fleeced
by gangmasters, so it would be attractive to work directly for a big
established company.


A business contact in Sweden just had his house internally
redecorated by a Polish gang.

They sent 2 decorators who worked 12 hour days, that's like having a
single decorator working 24 hrs/day. So the job was over and done with
3x faster than with a local Swedish decorator, and the bill was 60%
less. The quality was equal and the minor snags were fixed immediately
they were pointed out.


But think of the economy...



--
Get money off vouchers for everything
http://www.moneyoffvouchers.co.uk

Tim S wrote:
The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:


They still have to pay them the going rate.
Why all Polish though?

From my experience of Poles, possibly because they are quite "compatible"
with the English in temperament. The ones I've come across are quiet, civil,
intelligent and get on with the job. Excellent attributes if you want a
workforce to send round to Granny Smith's to do a paint job.


And presumably workers from other countries come round and p*ss in your
sink?

Hmm..not a real fan of generalisations but if you told our European
neighbours the English were quiet and civil, they'd laugh their heads
off.
As for getting on with the job, I see little evidence of that as well.

I'd say it's more about the mentality of an 'immigrant' worker, rather
than where they are from. I'm sure the English who worked in Germany
were far more conscientious than the guys back home.

wrote:


Tim S wrote:
The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:


They still have to pay them the going rate.
Why all Polish though?

From my experience of Poles, possibly because they are quite "compatible"
with the English in temperament. The ones I've come across are quiet,
civil, intelligent and get on with the job. Excellent attributes if you
want a workforce to send round to Granny Smith's to do a paint job.


And presumably workers from other countries come round and p*ss in your
sink?

Amazing deductive leap there.


Hmm..not a real fan of generalisations but if you told our European
neighbours the English were quiet and civil, they'd laugh their heads
off.
As for getting on with the job, I see little evidence of that as well.

I will admit that was badly worded - what I should have said is something
more like: their temperament is compatible with local expectations of a
"good tradesman".

I'd say it's more about the mentality of an 'immigrant' worker, rather
than where they are from. I'm sure the English who worked in Germany
were far more conscientious than the guys back home.

That's quite possibly a contributing factor. But I think generalisations are
quite valid based on averages. When I travelled across the Baltics nearly
10 years ago, the difference in the typical temperament of Estonians,
Latvians and Lithuanians was marked. All perfectly friendly - but the
Estonians were definately a quieter bunch and the Lithuanians reminded me
of Italians in many ways.

And of course it is an avergage view - plenty of variance.

Tim

I have worked alot in Germany recently, it is normal there to hold a
"reverse" auction on ebay when you want decorating etc. done on your
house. The lowest i.e. winning bidders who do the work are invariably
Eastern Europeans who do an excelent job.

On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 19:32:38 +0000, mogga
wrote:


They sent 2 decorators who worked 12 hour days, that's like having a
single decorator working 24 hrs/day. So the job was over and done with
3x faster than with a local Swedish decorator, and the bill was 60%
less. The quality was equal and the minor snags were fixed immediately
they were pointed out.


But think of the economy...


It's *Hard* to think of the economy when a native (UK) tradesman
wants £200/ day for *cash* (Leeds, not Hampstead Heath or Notting
hill) )to remove frosted glass panels from your Loo/Bedroom doors and
replace with plywood, as happened to us 4 weeks ago.

If I'd known I'd have gone to Poland and broight a joiner back with
me, it would still have been cheaper.

DG

Weatherlawyer wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Is he that qualified?

I'm qualified enough to tell you that the wall to which you wanted to
fix a baton

Batten. Unless you are a policeman.

but had no idea how to, would more than likely be uneven.

Why would it be uneven?

But that would not have been discovered till I got on site to do the
job and found out you were an idiot.

Whereas its easy enough to tell that you are one without even moving
from my desk..


I'd love to overhear a discussion on the subject with you and a Serbian
gangster masquerading as a Polish joiner sorting that one out you
unedifying specimen of useless accoustic resilience.


I think you missed a comma out.
You probably voted Nu Laber as well.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:

You probably voted Nu Laber as well.

Someone must have done, although no-one seems to want to
admit it!

Tim

The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Why would it be uneven?

I'd tell you but you would probably think I was insulting your
intelligence. (Had you any, you'd realise the difficulty of that
enormity.)

*******

Someone give him a swipe around the lughole with a wet sock will you?