"No Irish Need Apply" this time in Poland

[small white mayoman]

Friday January 02 2009

'NO Irish need apply' - the signs are already going up on building sites abroad in a throwback to the grim days of the the last century.

But this time they are starting to appear in Poland as that country takes its revenge for the way in which some unscrupulous Irish contractors treated their countrymen during the years of the Celtic Tiger.

Trade union official Michael Kilcoyne - also president of the Consumers Association of Ireland - said it had recently been brought to his attention that the 'No Irish' signs had appeared on a couple of Polish building sites where workers were being sought.

Mr Kilcoyne said: "The reality is that our international reputation as employers has been sullied. Many foreign people who have worked here, especially during our boom years, have had bad experiences.

"The evidence of this is in the number of cases taken before the Labour Relations Commission over the last year or two in respect of unpaid wages or holiday money that was not paid.

"Ireland's name as a good place to work has been badly damaged by such contractors who held onto the money of their workers."

Mr Kilcoyne, who is a SIPTU trade union official in the west, revealed that he had personally won 14 such cases in Galway, while he believed there were hundreds, if not thousands, of similar awards made countrywide against employers and in favour of non-national workers who had been short-changed.

- Brian McDonald

[pintsofguinness]

No point getting up on our high horses because we'll be knocked down fairly quickly. 

There's some dickheads in this country.

[winsamsoon]

Another example of a whole society being judged on the actions of a small minority. It is rich for Irish employers to be participating in such deeds. Taking on board the masses that left Ireland to work in foreign countries. It is equally ich for the Polish to be at it as they are probably the contemporary version of the Irish Immigration. But then again it is fighting fire with fire.

[lynchbhoy]

a lot of foreign nationals were treated badly but so were local Irish (and still are)  - many who were given the chop to enable the foreign nationals stay working (for less, bit a lot of the time for decent money the same rate as the Irish would have earned - reason still unknown to me and the people it affected).

Also these same foreign nationals chanced their arm (as well as some of our locals) into skilled construction jobs when they did not have any prev experience in this
eg - polish janitors/traffic wardens came over here and claimed they were brick/blocklayers and they were given jobs. Those that were useless got the chop pretty quickly, others managed to survive - given the lack of construction workers and once they soon learned how to build well enough for the wall to stay standing, they were kept and guess what - paddy got laid off.

So I presume some of these anti Irish stories come about not just because of unscrupulous employers, but because bad tales of being let go filter back to these foreign countries, but the storytellers most likely neglect to say they were not good enough for the job in the first place - a fact they dont seem to be able to reconcile to themselves either.

something has to be done about unqualified workers and more importantly these cowboy employers.

as its required legislation and therefore more work for the gov/bureaucrats, its unlikely that this will happen.

[thebandit]

I came across a good few Polish workers in my time, each and every one of them lied significantly about their previous experience. They are also notorius for claiming extra that is not due to them (embellishing job sheets etc)

[winsamsoon]

Your very name highlights that youwould do the same bandit I know what you are saing but there are Irish lads who bend the rules aswell so it is the same thing in my book. We all love to get one over on the tax man, get a cheap deal, get a wee home job with csh in hand so as the tax man can't touch us. It happens with everyone is society so wh should polish workers be any different. If the country is willng to accept them then they should be able to ail the same rights as everyone else.

[lynchbhoy]

Your very name highlights that youwould do the same bandit I know what you are saing but there are Irish lads who bend the rules aswell so it is the same thing in my book. We all love to get one over on the tax man, get a cheap deal, get a wee home job with csh in hand so as the tax man can't touch us. It happens with everyone is society so wh should polish workers be any different. If the country is willng to accept them then they should be able to ail the same rights as everyone else.

though I dont particularly like it, if the loophole is there, its up to the gov to close it and cant really blame the people for abusing it - the current trick is that a hell of a lot of foreign workers who have left to go home or elsewhere to work away from Ireland, are coming back once a week to collect their dole - rem that the 200 odd quid is equiv to a months wages at home for some !

I know of polish and czechs that are doing this.
But our own and the travellers have been doing it for years.
the non workers (africans that are not allowed to work) are doing the same but collecting benefits in UK and here quite successfully.

Apparantly people are entitled to 6-12 months benefit after leaving Ireland too - so I hear, not sure if this is true, but imo a crime against the taxpayer!

[thebandit]

Your very name highlights that youwould do the same bandit I know what you are saing but there are Irish lads who bend the rules aswell so it is the same thing in my book. We all love to get one over on the tax man, get a cheap deal, get a wee home job with csh in hand so as the tax man can't touch us. It happens with everyone is society so wh should polish workers be any different. If the country is willng to accept them then they should be able to ail the same rights as everyone else.

I was referring more to them ripping off their employers.

[Bogball XV]

Trade union official Michael Kilcoyne - also president of the Consumers Association of Ireland - said it had recently been brought to his attention that the 'No Irish' signs had appeared on a couple of Polish building sites where workers were being sought.

Well, that's that then, proven beyond a shadow of a doubt - I wonder are the signs in polish, english or irish?