Poles in search of a new life (From York Press)

Poles in search of a new life

9:04am Wednesday 1st November 2006 in

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BOGDAN Bednarczyk makes no secret about why he came to the UK from his native Poland. He wanted a better life.

"Poland is not the best place where I want to be living," says Bogdan, 25, who runs a Polish food shop in Selby. "I want to have a good life. In Poland, it is quite difficult to get a proper job and keep it.

"The UK Government gave us the opportunity to better our lives. That's why we came here."

Since Poland became a member of the EU, tens of thousands of Poles have made the journey to the UK. Many of them live in London, but York and North Yorkshire are now developing their own sizeable Polish communities.

"I welcome anybody who comes to work in York. I think we now have a much more cosmopolitan mix."

Dave Merrett

It is hard to pin down just how many Polish people live here. Many arrived after the latest census, points out a City of York Council spokesman. But Bogdan estimates there could be as many as 1,500 Poles in the Selby area, double that in York and the surrounding area, and as many as 6,000 in North Yorkshire as a whole.

At a time when York is facing a jobs crisis as a result of redundancies at Nestl and Norwich Union and the scheduled closure of the British Sugar factory, some may be concerned that the influx of so many foreign workers increases competition for scarce jobs.

But that is not so, says Bogdan, who will be opening a second Polish shop, this time in Walmgate, York, on November 11. Yes, in the four years he has been in the UK he has encountered some resentment and hostility from people who accuse him and other Poles of taking local jobs.

"But it is starting to be better now," he says. "Most Polish people work in sectors where local people don't want to work." They work in factories, on building sites, waiting in restaurants, and doing a range of low-paid manual jobs that hold little appeal to local people. "But Polish people will say it is still better for them than at home," says Bogdan.

Polish workers don't come here to live off benefits, Bogdan stresses. "We come here to work. We cannot claim benefits if we have not lived here for at least 12 months. I would say we are good for the economy of the area. We are earning wages, but also renting houses, buying food, having fun, going to the pub."

Far from taking local people's jobs, Polish and other European workers are doing jobs that local people don't want to do, says Andrew Waller, York council's Liberal Democrat deputy leader.

Labour group leader Dave Merrett believes believes we should welcome Polish and other European workers, who have provided a "significant boost" to the local and national economies.

Yes, he says, some might worry about the additional pressures on housing and about competition for unskilled jobs. "But these are often jobs that many English workers don't necessarily want to do themselves," he says. "I welcome anybody who comes to work in York. I think we now have a much more cosmopolitan mix."

Polish people who have made York and North Yorkshire their home:

Klaudia, cleaner

KLAUDIA'S dream is to buy a house in her native Poland.

For now at least, that dream is a long way from coming true.

The 22-year-old lives in Selby with her mum, dad and younger sister, holds down four cleaning jobs, works seven-days-a-week and has done so for almost two years.

Her English wages would go far in Poland, but not here.

"I get the national minimum wage so after taxes and rent it's so hard to save. But if you take that money to our country, that's when you notice the difference."

To save, Klaudia (not her real name) deprives herself of all luxuries.

"Even if I see something nice in a shop, I can't buy it, and that is hard," she admits.

Polish food has recently arrived in local supermarkets. "But it is too expensive for us to buy," she says.

Klaudia couldn't afford to study in Poland. Instead, she tried to get casual jobs as a waitress.

When she was 19 she spent two weeks working in London as an au-pair. That was horrible, she says, the worst job of her life. She left and returned to Poland before trying her luck in Germany.

When her mum secured employment in England, the whole family moved to Yorkshire.

Her mum now works as a cleaner, her dad in a factory. Her four-year-old sister finds their new life incredibly hard because she cannot speak English.

Klaudia struggles as well. She can't afford a social life and hasn't always been welcomed by the English.

"The people at work are very nice to me but others are not very tolerant because I'm foreign, especially in shops.

"Sometimes English people think we come here to steal their jobs but that's not true. Most Polish people are doing jobs English people don't really want to do.

"If I could, I would go back tomorrow."

Katarzyna Socha, waitress from Wroctaw

KATARZYNA, or Kasia as she is known to friends, moved to York in May 2005 to work as an au pair.

In her time off, she also did a number of other jobs part-time. At one point she was doing six different jobs at the same time.

"It wasn't because I wanted loads of hours," she says. "I just wanted to try them all out before I settled on one."

After six months, she quit as an au pair and got a job as a waitress at Oscar's, in York.

She began to meet new people. "The first thing I noticed about working in York is how relaxed and informal everyone is with each other," she says. "In Poland, things are stricter; you don't go around slapping your manager on the back."

As well as finding plenty of jobs available, Kasia found there was more opportunity for promotion.

"It's really difficult to move up professionally in Poland, you need endless certificates, references letters, a record of perfect conduct - in England, you do a good job and you get promoted."

Kasia takes advantage of York's vibrant nightlife and spends lots of time socialising with friends and workmates at hotspots such as Nexus and The Gallery.

English people go out a lot, she says - and sometimes it's just with a view to getting drunk.

"The routine is work, go out, work, go out, it can be a bit relentless. But we have a really good time and it's good to go out with your friends after a day of hard work and dance the night away."

The reason why so many Poles are coming to the UK is simple.

"I love my country, but the economy is slow," she says. "You can make £200 a week here and it will take a month to do the same in Poland."

Michal Abramowicz, kitchen assistant, from Pionki

MICHAL moved to York in May to live with his brother, who came over 18 months earlier to work on a farm.

"I came because I have better prospects here," he says. "In Poland, if you don't have a good job or a good education, you won't get far. You need to be at the top of the pile or you get nothing."

He thought it would be easier to find a job. "The job search lasted two months and half before I finally got one. I had to apply to the same place four times before getting hired."

It is, however, much easier to make a living here, he says. "I earn good money; things cost more, but at least I can afford them. Here, I earn four times as much as I would in Poland."

Life here is easier than in Poland, he says. "People work hard, but it isn't a constant struggle where you're thinking Will I have money next week or next month?' Even if you don't have any money, you just go to the bank and ask for an extension on your overdraft."

In Poland, Michal says, the government doesn't do anything for its citizens. "They take for themselves and that's it. If I go back to Poland and the authorities find out, I'll be forced to do two years in the army, like National Service. My mother receives letters all the time from the government telling me to show up for registration. It's not an inviting prospect."

Life here isn't perfect, however.

"I would extend the drinking hours - I wish it was the same as in Warsaw, where we would go to bars until three, clubbing until six and then find an nice little 24-hour caf for breakfast. York could do with something like that."

Weronica Wrobel, manager at sandwich chain

LIKE Kasia, Weronica is from Wroctaw. She came to England with Kasia in May 2005 and found work as an au pair in Beaconsfield. When Kasia asked if she wanted to come to York instead, she agreed.

It took a month to find a job - and at first she worried she had made a mistake. Then she found work at an upmarket sandwich chain.

"Everything worked itself out. I was making money and meeting so many people, it was great."

Now she shares a house with Kasia, and admits she loves living in York.

"The cultural mix is amazing, there are so many young people of different nationalities and everyone is so friendly and open. The city is old-fashioned and beautiful and people are respectful of each other."

A piece of her remains at home in Wroctaw, however.

"I miss my dog so much I can't even tell you. It was so difficult leaving him. Of course I miss my family and friends, but I can speak to them on the phone or on the internet. It breaks my heart just to think of him."