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Migrant builders threat to Olympic 'skills legacy'
Matthew Beard, Sports News Correspondent13.11.08
PROMISES of a "skills legacy" from the London Olympics were in doubt today as it emerged that 20,000 migrant workers had registered for jobs in the main 2012 borough in the past year.
The surge in new National Insurance numbers in Newham has prompted concerns over pledges to provide thousands of skilled construction jobs to the local community.
About 2,700 workers are on the Olympics site, rising to 9,000 by 2010.
Estimates of the number of migrant workers on the site - mostly from Poland and Baltic states within the European Union - range from 10 to 70 per cent. According to the Olympic Delivery Authority's last month employment figures for the Olympic Park, 58 per cent of the 2,700 workforce were resident in London and 24 per cent from the East End. However, the figures do not indicate the worker's nationality - or how long they have lived in Britain.
Labour MP Frank Field, who published the National Insurance figures, said: "If I was the Olympics minister I would be getting concerned. It is totally lawful but British taxpayers and lottery players are paying for jobs for foreign workers and it is not what we signed up for." The ODA has promised a skills legacy for east London and is in the forefront of the Government's agenda under which Gordon Brown promised "British jobs for British workers".
The ODA has a plant training school at the Olympic Park and stresses that one in 10 of its workforce was previously unemployed. But the ODA is also under pressure to balance its books after losing £500 million in private sector investment in the past year with the credit crunch and, according to unions, has targeted savings on labour costs.
Construction workers' union Ucatt is increasing the pressure on the ODA to continue to honour agreed minimum site rates. It is thought that migrant workers hired through agencies are typically paid up to £2 less per hour than their British counterparts.
A spokesman said: "We are disappointed that more local people are not trained on the site in traditional construction apprenticeships to create a real skills legacy."
Hackney MP Diane Abbott told a Commons debate on the Olympic legacy: "One way in which the big contractors are getting round and massaging the figures for local labour is by bringing labourers from all over Europe into the Olympic boroughs and putting them in hostels.
"Those labourers are then counted as local people but in fact they have been shipped in from all parts of Europe." However the ODA said its site enrolment form distinguishes between permanent addresses and temporary ones. A spokesman said: "We are trying to ensure that where possible the Olympic Park workforce reflects the diversity of the local area and offers opportunities to help unemployed people back into work. We take care with the figures that we publish and ask every worker on the site for both their current address and their permanent UK address and we only report our figures based on the permanent address."
The big rise in NI numbers issued in Newham has also been driven by the East London line project and the Stratford City retail complex, bringing the total number of construction workers in Stratford to more than 5,000.
Reader views (28)
So Janie kidson thinks british workers are lazy eh? Tell us Janie, do you have any kind of vested interest in saying this? or was it just your personal opinion? Could it have something to do with the fact that you are connected with a Polish employment agency? eh Janie?
- pat flynn, solihull, west midlands
i'm speechless! what kind of hypocracy goes on here?
we the british; win the tender to host the olympics, we tax payers finance the construction program run by foreign contractors, and then we watch from the job centre as foreign labourers get the work!!!! are we only good enough to die fighting wars in other countries?
- Phil, romford, essex
i worked on the site in stratford for 2 months,and got let go 2 weeks before xmas, the lituanians are getting paid the same as the british, and some of the romanians,are getting better paid,even without a blue card.
- Paul, cork ireland
I live near by the site and thought that it would be a fantastic opportunity and bring much needed work and wealth to the people around the area, how wrong I was. What with people telling me I'm lazy sick note slacker who would rather sit on the dole than work and others telling me what I can live on I see an Olympic dream in tatters.
- Damon, Hornchurch, Essex
I read in the magazine of one of the 'olympic boroughs' the proud announcement that 200 local people had secured construction jobs.
- Helen, norwich
Havin lived and worked in london for over 5y i have become
sadned by the times. i have worked with some great english-british lads all hard garfters.i cant beleave that they are being over looked in their own country its a disgarce.
the goverment have now taken the great out of what was great britain
- James D N.Ireland, FERMANAGH
I too wanted to get trained and work on this site but absolutely NO CHANCE IN HELL! As i dont live in the areas, I was told through 2012 advice line to go to job center plus (what a joke!) and they would put me through for training on the site etc! I was told there are NO VACANCIES and find training and fund my training myself! I as a result cannot find funding for training anywhere! So maybe I should go to the site and pretend I am POLISH or something and get my free training and work!! this country is the biggest joke ever!(Jobs for British?) Gordon Brown...your a fraud!
- Eugene West, Chichester, West Sussex.
I didn't got to university, I don't have a degree in economics but it makes sense to me that if you have a large amount of Eastern European workers (in the construction industry and also in other areas) then they are going to be sending a large part of their wages home to their families thus money that should be injected back into the local and national economy isn't. It's a bit like having your front door open when it's freezing outside and wondering why your heating bill has gone through the roof. Simple answer shut the door (send the immigrants home, or at least stop anymore coming in) My question is why hasn't the government done this?
- Julia Osborne, Filey North Yorkshire
This is typical of construction inustry at the moment. I work in and around London and a lot of sites it is like working in a foreign country. I would have nothing against this but when British construction workers are struggling to find work, let alone well paid work it is a disgrace. These imigrant workers will work for less because they will share properties between several of them and can afford the rent, costs etc unlike the typrical family man. It is time the goverment got their priorities right and looked after home grown skills and a fair wage for them.
- P, chalfont, bucks
The Building Industry is grinding to a halt around the UK due to the economic crisis, I myself a qualified NVQ level 3 bricklayer am out of work, having been made redundant and am struggling to find anywork anywhere! this is the case for all the construction trades all over the UK.
The Olympics was guarenteed to create thousands of construction jobs for Londoners and the rest of the UK, with the Cross river partnership and the Building London building futures scheme being set up provide opportunities for local people to work on the sites and develop skills, this is a great concept.
But alas I am coming to find this giving precedence to locals is a poorly implemented ideal and that the majority of workers on these sites are EU migrants,this system is being ABUSED and i am sickened that I and thousands of other 'Skilled' tradesmen aren't eligible to gain employment for the Olympics because, what? we are English just not living in Hackney?
The jobs created by the Olympics are exactly what the Construction Trade workers of this Country needs right now, but due to beurocracy we're left dead in the water,
The BLBF and Cross River Partnership need to address this problem, open up channels where British Tradesmen are able to gain employment on these sites, thus buffering the rest of the country from this economic downturn, I for one would jump at the chance to work on the games, but alas, i've got to go sign on....
- Adam, Leeds, Leeds
I am sorry but if this government gives these jobs away to immigrant workers over our own workers here in the UK then they are a disgrace, immigrant workers must join the Que and be working in the UK at least 2 years before being allowed any kind of benefit, if we moved overseas we would not get any kind of benefit
- Michael Wilkins, United Kingdom
We cannot afford to provide employment for the rest of the world whilst we are struggling with the current financial crisis. We may have been able to had the impact of this upon Britain not been made worse by Gormless Clown's fiscal incompetence and mismanagement.
I'm afraid that the PC brigade must be told "where to go" and these migrants advised to return home and seek employment there.
"British jobs for British" people must be transformed from empty NuLiebour rhetoric and into reality.
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster
Well, considering Newham's demographics, I suppose Labour could spin it like this: "Pawel and Marijus: here to do the work that Ola and Fawaz won't."
- Dave, West London
I don't have a problem with competition for jobs the problem is competing and living next to millions subsidised by government hand-outs. Why should anyone be allowed here and demand a home and benefits. OK, OK Eastern Europeans are allowed here but not if they make themselves intentionally homeless nor to obtain a second home "holiday home" and not just for benefits. It's obscene to the indigenous population who are to all intent and purpose second class citizen because we will not vote Nu-Lying-Labour. So the Loonies are importing others on benefits to do so. There must be 5 million Eastern Europeans here most on one or other type of benefit. it's scandalous and crippling the U.K .
- Mike, London
a relative in the south of ireland has told me that for the last few years his village has been inundated with east european workers, they work on building sites for less their wives even nicked the paper rounds of the local kids all the cafe jobs are gone as well as bar jobs etc now there economy is sinking he reckons the easteuropeans have left like rats from a sinking ship they will no doubt move to richer pickings and leave the carcus for us to pick over
- Paul, milton keynes
All this money goes into the empty Stretford pit and London will not see any benefit whatsoever...
- Georgie, Islington, London
as an out of work excavtor driver i have travelled from mk to london to try and find work on the olympic site and have been met with brick walls when trying to gain employment on the olympic site, and iu have tried me hardest, problem is so many lazy people in this country are ruining iot for the solid grafters like myself, iv had enough
- Paul, milton keynes
Get out of EU, then british jobs could go to british workers, so many british builders have lost their jobs to foreign workers who work for less money. The foreigners have put british workers out of jobs. Taxpayers are not happy.
- Maggie, London
Dear me why are we employing migrants when the unemployment in this country is nearly 2 million. We need to employ local people and help reduce the impact of the recession on local labour supply. The government should step in and force the OC to use local staff.
Let’s look after our won people first, before we try to employ the world. There is a big opportunity to help our own let’s not lose it.
- Andre Rose, London UK
David H,London
True,but this still doesn't excuse the lack of work from the so called 'British' workers in the area.This is not a snipe from Steve at the migrant workers.God knows we need them.
- Eddie, London
The difference is that at least Migrant Workers will get the job done! They will also get the job done on budget, won't take days off sick, will get to work on time, be flexible with their skills, be creative and intelligent with problem solving, will be happy to work extra hours for not a huge amount of money and will be grateful for the opportunity to work. Low skilled British workers are lazy and have the luxury of a very accomodating benefits and welfare system to fall back on. A welfare system that is in fact so attractive that it makes work seem like a poor option.
- Janie Kidston, London
Jobs only for British passport holders I say! Steve, are you saying we get no work out of you, or are you special, or not British?
- Ken Joralemon, london, UK
Surely it is time to force people to work , if someone signs on for more than 2 months they should be allocated a job , and if skills are needed train them.
It shuould be british nationals first and foreigners second. Dole should be food vouchers and rent/mortgage paid direct to landlord/bank then a little bit of money.
We are a nany state for benefit claimants make them work I say !
- Sally Smith, london,united kingdom
Steve, London
Difference is at least you get some work out of the latter
Steve, sweeping statements like the one above are just plain wrong. Poles work harder when here because in effect hey are on holiday/on an adventure; after a couple of years the novelty will wear off. You ask ANY businessman in Warsaw about the polish workers and the response will be the same as you make about british workers. Again, the labour party spun this lie to appease us but it's a load of bunkum. All workers are the same worldwide; when they are in a foreign country they tend to work harder for the 1st few years.
- David H, London
This it typical of Labour: all lies. Their sound-bite should be "BRITISH JOBS FOR FOREIGN WORKERS". They will never change.
- Anthony, London
Diversity is right.Even the 'local' residents masquerading as 'British' are as foreign as the migrant workers.Difference is at least you get some work out of the latter.
- Steve, London
If Frank Field wants Tesco, BP and other British businesses to operate without custom fees and any hindrance in Eastern Europe, he has to accept Polish workers on construction sites in London, particularly as on top of their income tax, council tax and NI contributions those who are employees rather than self-employed, pay also for the Home Office Workers Registration Scheme. Now, being Labour he may not care that much for Tesco, BP and other British companies but that's another matter.
- Mark, London
What an utter and total chaotic mess this loony government have created in all walks of our lives. They have lied and conned us and continue to get away with it. British jobs for british workers.....yeh, sure Gordon, pull the other one you low life crook.
- Tom W, London
