Plumbing Gaps But Not Taps
Nearly three million migrants from central Europe have applied for work in the UK since EU enlargement last year – and not all of them are working as plumbers.
More than 290,000 central Europeans have applied to work in Britain since their countries joined the European Union in May 2004, show the latest figures released by the British government . Most applicants were from Poland, accounting for 58.0 percent of the total, while Lithuania contributed 14.0 percent and Slovakia 11.0 percent. The number far outstrips the estimates of 5,000 to 13,000 annual applications predicted by the British Home Office two years ago.
The report covers the first 17 months since accession, i.e. from April 2004 to December 2005. During that time 168 thousand Polish nationals have gone to the UK and registered to work there. According to the British Government there are no surprises here since Poland was the biggest newcomer to the bloc and thus made a valuable contribution to the British economy filling key labour shortages.
The applications do not represent net migration from new members of the 25-country EU bloc, mainly eastern and central European states, as some applicants may have left Britain since applying to work. The data also showed that the number of work permit applications had accelerated in the third quarter of 2005: about 59,000 accession nationals applied between July and September, more than any other quarter since the accession.
Residents of countries admitted to the EU last year (except Malta and Cyprus) are generally required to apply for a work permit through the Worker Registration Scheme in order to work in Britain.
According to Home Office officials, data shows that the accession workers were bolstering public services and the economy while making few demands on the welfare system. Christopher Thomson, secretary of the UK embassy in Warsaw says that there are two main challanges connected with the findings of the report.
Christopher Thomson also shared the details of the latest initiatives of the British government and police -a special Polish helpline set up in the UK.
Another finding of the report is that right now Poles are also trying to find their luck outside the British capital where living costs are lower. And that there are only 110 Poles who registered for work in the UK as .... plumbers.