Word: irelanders
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Indeed, if there is one characteristic that distinguishes Poles, whether they are wielding a wrench or a stethoscope, it's a capacity for work--at least, that's what many employers say. Jarek Czernek, the general manager of Aluglass Ireland, a business that installs glass siding, says the 100 fellow countrymen he employs "are work oriented. They want to work a lot. They will work whenever you ask them...
...left Poland before. A trained electrician, he now makes twice as much sweeping up as he did at home plying his trade. It isn't just the guys who put in the hours. Bozena Ukalska, 47, a shop assistant, is one of those who did not choose Britain or Ireland. She settled outside Madrid and works weekends and holidays. But she knows what is required: "You come here to work," Ukalska says...
Surprisingly, the new migrants have stabilized local labor markets. Not long ago, Irish builders were constricted by a lack of workers. Wages were spiraling to "ridiculous" levels, says John Dunne, the chief executive of Chambers Ireland, a business lobby group. A wage squeeze is one of the things unions feared most about the influx. Yet they too are benefitting from economic growth. Many of the migrants are signing up for unions because Poland has a long tradition of unionism. A British union, GMB, recently opened a branch in Southampton exclusively for migrant workers...
...brightest and best to the jobs that are available. Experts such as Ryszard Petru, chief economist at Bank BPH, and Witold Orlowski, ex--economic adviser to former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, say the government should cut hiring costs, taxes and social spending. "Whether we will be the second Ireland or the Third World depends very much on the government's policy," Petru says...
That message might resonate most with the Irish themselves. For generations, Ireland had to export its underemployed to foreign shores, particularly the U.S. They were not always welcome for the very same reasons that the Poles were feared. Now the Celtic Tiger has reversed history: Ireland's modern diaspora has been returning home to a robust economy infused by immigrant Poles. It's a welcome, and welcoming, place for both...