Is it safe to work with East Europeans???

[TDRConstruction1]

We had a simple job last week of lifting in a meaty RSJ, four men at each end, English speakers one end Polish at the other. (not by choice but they dont like to be parted...). When the forman asked us to lift a bit they all ran to the LEFT! Not so clever with 700kg of steel above your heads. (no crane, genie or anything else could be used!).

The safety signs are in English, we call out in English if there is a problem, all useless to our East European workforce.

Just wondering if anyone has had any close calls with non-english speaking tradesmen?

 

[breezer]

not close call but i have seen sum dodgy stuff. they have no idea of our electric regs and wire it "so it works"

they should all be sent back unless they can and will speak fluent english

 

[Paul Barker]

I have same communication problems with many foreign workers.

But worse than that i do landlords safety inspections in a part of London where 98% of council tenants are imigrants who don't or refuse to speak English. I can't explain my way past the door to do essential safety checks.

It is clear to me the need for English language fluency should a person fleeing persecution not have it they should be detained in a place where they can be safely supervised until they are capable of living safely in the uk by nature of clear understanding of the common language.

Anybody not fleeing persecution unable to demonstrate sufficient linguistic skills should be turned away.

 

[satansbrother]

.

Anybody not fleeing persecution unable to demonstrate sufficient linguistic skills should be turned away.

[/quote]

Even if they ARE (a big if!!), they should still be turned away. Why is it up to the British tax payer to fund new lives for millions of people, if they have problems in their own country.

From what I can see of it, a lot of these people are persecuted because they have brought it on themselves (eg Roma gypsies).

It seems that this country, and the tax payer, are carrying far more of this burden than other countries.

Also, why IF someone is persecuted in their own country, do they cross the whole of Europe, sneak across the Channel and claim asylum in The UK. Would they not be safe in Spain, Italy, France etc. Strange that!

If half of China decided to persecute the other half of China, does that mean half a billion Chinese are entitled to turn up at Dover claiming free housing, food, schools, medicine etc, etc?

Lunacy!!!

(Glad I got that off my chest - Sunday afternoon rant over )

 

[noseall]

my wife has trouble with the polish.

she never uses any.

my monitor screen is filthy.

 

[daytona]

OP

i hear what your saying mate.it has to be said ,it was pretty irresponsible of the foreman asking them for help when they couldnt understand english.

what was he thinking of?
profits before safety?

he had no business employing them in the first place if he wanted blokes for that type of work and would only have himself to blame in the event of an accident.

 

[^woody^]

Just remember, that without all these Poles, we would have no scaffolding. They are essential to the building industry.

 

[dilly]

remeber us brits in germany when work was low here,i bet we never spoke any german,so really all it is is a big merry go round now work picking up there i wonder how many will rush over there remember we all got to make a living and i am sure you to would do the same to improve your familys futures,but i do agree its the fault of tight fisted bosses trying to cut corners,

 

[mikric]

remeber us brits in germany when work was low here.

Yes I was one of them feckin dutch agencies [/quote]

 

[sterod1971]

Well Ive had the "pleasure" of working with polish plumbers and solar installers and have found them to be dismissive of our safety regulations in the least. Not to mention the frustration of trying to communicate with a non english speaker! That being said their work ethic is good, ive never met lads who love to work as much. And as they also work Cheap, progect managers and site foremen love em.

 

[andrewpartridge]

I have been building a large stone farmhouse for nearly 4 years and 11 months ago i was informed that 2 polish workers would be coming to give me a hand with the stone work, The owner keeps going on about how hard they work but they are the same as us, i was working while he was around the corner on his phone so i thought for a laugh i would say hello edward (the owner) , the Polish lad shot out the door to my amusement.
, the polish lad taught me a few words in polish(rude words) so Edward had to go to the dentist who just happened to be Polish, i taught Edward my new phrase in Polish and pointed out it meant good morning madam, he came back from the dentist in a fair bit of pain, his wife said she couldnt understand what had happened ( neither could i ,he he he), you have to know him to really appreciate what happened.

 

[Softus]

When the forman asked us to lift a bit they all ran to the LEFT!

That's just a lesson in risk reduction and learning to speak unambiguously.

If the foreman was intelligent he'd have said "raise", or "up", not "left".

 

[Zampa]

Perhaps the foreman was a Scot...

 

[kitessurfer]

..sounds like no risk assessment carried out.. need to review manual handling..

There's plenty of H&S Polish literature on the uk market for a while now, but hey they should know the lingo, you're right!

Regarding as to why they cross the whole of EU to get here is because only UK, Ireland (and one other country I can;t recall now) have let the newer EU country population work in their countries. Poles can't work freely in Germany say.

In such other countried they're working on the black market..

KS

 

[andrewpartridge]

worked with a couple of polish lads that the farmer brought in because they were cheap to help finnish building his farmhouse, they ended up with £4 an hour, now they get £4-50 after tax and shared caravan expenses are taken out, the gangmaster gets the rest.
i felt sorry for them and have lent them money in the past. one has left and gone home ,yes with my £30 to keep him company, oh well , there is one born every day, mug , yes i know