Friday, May 27, 2005

Unions block Polish workers

Workers from the Confederation of Danish Trade Unions initiated a blockade of Norwegian shipping magnate Tom Bringsværd’s building project on the island of Falster. The blockade came in response to reports that approximately 10 craftsmen from the Polish construction company Novo-Bau were working for DKK 45 an hour. The union workers sought a collective bargaining agreement with the Polish craftsmen. ‘At this stage, we are not talking about a physical blockade, but all of our members have been pulled out of the project, so electrical and plumbing work cannot be completed. That requires Danish authorisation and cannot be completed by Polish craftsmen. We will stay until we get an agreement in place,’ said Peter Hougaard Nielsen, the chairman of TIB, a union for construction workers. The minister of employment expressed his support of the Danish trade unions. While he acknowledged the Polish craftsmen were legally allowed to work in Denmark, the trade unions also had the right to force the Polish workers to sign a collective bargaining agreement.Trade unions initiated a campaign last year to restrict the flow of cheap labour from eastern Europe. Until now 177 cases of cheap labour from eastern Europe have been reported.

2 Comments:

At May 27, 2005 11:45 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fjordman,

this is off-topic but thought I'd make you aware of the following story that appeared yesterday in the Rogaland Avis (http://www.rogalandsavis.no/nyheter/article1601443.ece)

My Norwegian isn't good enough for an accurate word by word translation but it's fairly clear. Muslim minority want halal meat and seperate prayer rooms in Stavanger's hospital.

The people at Jihad Watch may be interested in this story.

 
At May 27, 2005 1:34 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Even more interesting than Polish workers are Polish spouses -- I heard since joining the EU, some Poles have taken to selling themselves as marriage partners to the highest bidder, since marriage to a Pole now gives access to the EU. You can find such newspaper adverts in the larger Polish cities. Those enterprising Poles, making the most of their opportunities.

To Danes one can only say...

Welcome to the expanded EU, where some nations are more equal than others.

 

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