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He lives in a B&B and is classified as local by 2012 chiefs: Meet Arturas the 'British' builder from Lithuania
Matthew Beard and Shekhar Bhatia16.02.09
A Lithuanian labourer told today how he is considered a "local" by bosses of the 2012 Olympic site as pressure mounted over jobs for London workers
Arturas Normanths, 22, earns £50 a day as a concrete sprayer building the Stratford stadium after applying for a job online and travelling from Lithuania to work.
But he qualifies as a "local worker" because his home address is a bed and breakfast in Leytonstone.
The disclosure comes amid growing concern that too few local people are being employed on the project.
The Olympic Delivery Authority defines local workers as those who have their main address in one of the five Olympic boroughs - Newham, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest.
Newham council is set for a showdown with Olympics chiefs, questioning the official figures published by the Olympic Delivery Authority which state that 23 per cent of the 3,000 site workers are "local".
But there is no measure for how long local workers have lived in the area and Newham is concerned that the 2012 project is making minimal improvements to its long-term unemployed despite promises during the bid.
Concerns that the Olympic infrastructure would be built by a migrant labour force were heightened last year when it emerged that Newham had had 20,000 applications for new national insurance numbers in the previous 12 months.
Newham mayor Sir Robin Wales has raised concerns that migrant workers could outnumber local people and has campaigned for skills training.
The council's leaders meet the ODA this month to push for further clarification. Sources say the true picture could emerge if names of site employees were given to the council for a check against the electoral roll but Olympics chiefs say data protection laws mean that is not possible. Unions also oppose such a move.
Mr Normanths is typical of the influx of migrant workers to the London Olympics site.
The Evening Standard found people from various eastern European backgrounds employed at the Stratford site, as well as workers of Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese origin.
About a third of those there are said to have travelled from overseas with about 50 ex-Gurkhas employed by Group 4 Securicor to guard entry points.
But the argument that too few local people have jobs is rejected by Mr Normanths.
He said: "There are many local people working here. There are many more than people from outside. It is a job that I need. I found out about it on the computer [internet] and was very happy to come.
"I live in a bed and breakfast. I miss my family and the money I earn is not very much. At home in Lithuania, there is no work. I am pleased to be given this job, but it is hard."
Polish labourer Michael Rzawociz, 23, said: "It is good that many people come from foreign places. These are the Olympics from the start as it represents the whole world. There is a lot of work to be done and our skills are needed."
A Plaistow driver, who asked not to be named, said: "With the economy in such trouble, there are a lot of people in this area who could do with the work.
"There is no dispute with the foreign workers, who are hard workers, but if there is going to be more work dished out, it needs to be directed to the job centres in Newham and not on the internet."
Latest site employment figures, published in December, show that of 3,046 workers, about a third were officially from overseas.
ODA figures showed 23 per cent, or 688, were local and 56 per cent were from London. The workforce is expected to reach 10,000 next year.
Reader views (22)
I am an apprenticeship(4 years) trained carpenter with over 22 years experience who can't get a job on the site because of the foreign workers who work for less money and do a poorer standard job,anyone who is involved in the industry will confirm this,I couldn't survive on the rates that are being paid!
- Simon, london england
It's not about who to give the jobs to but its about who really can do it. There is no point on begging English workers to work if they are not willing to!! Let not waste time with these nonsense and get real. If a project has to succeed the it's got to have qualified workers no matter where they do come from.
I got a British passport but I never felt welcomed here and i still get asked where are you from and all that nonsense. Let the jobs go to the best qualified people no matter nationality, race, culture etc. If we keep pressing on these fragile issues it will not only damage the Great Britain's image to the outside world but it will have a damming negative impact for the generations to come...
- P B, LONDON
Tom M. I totally agree with you--it's about workers who will work cheaper, not more efficiently. The rules have indeed been made for employers, not employees, and those of us here in the US are experiencing the same situation as you are in the UK--lost jobs, outsourcing--thanks to NAFTA
- Pam, Michigan, USA
Well well, like all these unemployed from Newham, knowing who lives there, will do the job for £50 a day and work 10-12 hours in any weather conditions. I can bet quite a few of those unemployed would rather sit on benefits. So if you do want to have 2012 Olympics on time, not in 2020 better do employ the ones who want to work, doesn't matter where they are from.
- Gabby, London
If ever there was a time to exit the EU it is now. Blair and Jacqui Smith have succeeded in creating an "open house" welcome to all Europe's unemployed. Whilst we have 2 million British workers without jobs it is inexcusable to employ foreign labour. Hopefully, when labour lose the next election, common sense will be restored, the olympics scaled down (hopefully cancelled) and any remaining vacancies offered to the unemployed in this country.
- R.F., Yorks, UK
I am a London council taxpayer, I am having to pay towards the Olympics which I object to. This government has imported foreigners to do this work and make British people unemployed. I will never vote for labour again. British jobs for British people paid for by the British taxpayer we need to get out of Europe urgently.
- Maggie, London
I believe you Daniel, lets say.
P.S you dont happen to be a civil servant working for the nu-lab govt. by any chance?
- Russell, London
Russell london, not sure why you assume my office job is cushy but let's ignore this. And yes you are right, nobody is guaranteed a job here or anywhere else in the world, now or later. So if my job gets outsourced to "better educated & harder-working" Indian or Chinese worker" then so be it. I will have no alternative but to accept it and it will be down to me to find a way out and nobody else.
Dave London: I did not produce a detailed analysis as you claim, nor was I spending my day preoccupied by what was happening outside my window. My comment was a mere statement of fact on what colleagues of mine and I witnessed day in day out over a long period of several months when entering or exiting our building. Finally, rest assured that my productivity or that of my colleagues' were not affected in any way, otherwise we would no longer be in employment today. That's how it works in my industry, and I suspect in most others too.
- Daniel, London
Foreign workers are preferred by employers because they are CHEAPER, not because they are better or work harder. The EU rule is that skilled workers must be paid the going rate of their country of origin or the minimum wage of the country of employment, whichever is higher. £50 a day is £12,000 a year, what skilled or semi-skilled British workers could live on this in London? An Eastern European can buy a house in their home country on this sort of pay which is why they rough it here for a while. But it is iniquitous. The rules have been made for employers, not for our society. Those who say the British do not work hard are ignorant as well as racist, this is one of the most productive countries in the world in the skilled industries and services managed and worked in by British people.
- Tom Moncrieff, london W6
Daniel from London. I think it;s a bit ironic that someone who spends his day preoccupied by what's happening outside his window should lecture anyone on production. What hard graft was going on whilst you were observing these different workforces? Maybe a cheaper and harder working immigrant should do the work you were supposed to be doing instead of your detailed statistical analysis. I wouldn't be surprised if your comment was posted here during your work hours with more productivity lost.
- Dave, London
Why the surprise?
Were we not told weeks ago of the rise in NI numbers in just these East London boroughs?
blame this rotten government with its open doors and free benefits culture for immigrants - and naff all consideration for the British.
- Tom, London
So Daniel when your cushy office job gets outsourced to some "better educated & harder-working" Indian or Chinese worker you wont complain I would be correct to assume?
- Russell, London
Olympic chiefs and other construction employers such as TfL on CrossRail need to act to support the UK construction employment environment by employing UK firms and individuals who as residents and tax payers should be afforded appropriate opportunities. The construction jobs crisis for both professionals and workforce is far too serious for any game playing on who qualifies as "local" or not.
Non UK nationals should be given the respect and jobs available in accordance with EU legislation, however, it cannot be right that UK nationals are not employed in favour of other EU nationals for reasons of cost efficiencies when it is the UK taxpayer footing the bill.
- Mike, london
Kev, lovely little lecture, thanks. Unfortunately, most people have to deal with the real world. Ask employers why so many foreign workers are preferred to their British counterparts? Simple, they work harder and better. Witness my own experience: roadwork outside my office for several months. Same team working there day-in day -out. Polish workers always on the go, working hard and efficiently. British workers, smoking, standing around, moving one little tool from A to B, taking a break... need I go on? It was embarrassing, and to be honest, became something of a joke amongst all our office workers. Sad but true. There you have it.
- Daniel, London
What a turn around. If employers in the past had advertised for local or British only, they would have been pulled up by the PC brigade and be done for discrimination. Now we are being told to employ British workers. Can Nu-labour have one set of rules and stick to it please. At the same time can they do away with those forms where you need to state if you are black, white or pink with blue spots!
- Triffidqueen, Desk in London
Is this part of Ken's legacy - a totally mis-managed Olympics that the council tax payer fill fund for many many years to come.
- Jonathan D'Souza, London, UK
This is disgusting. For British people here on this site to be defending the situation is sad. Construction companies are deliberabetly handing ridiculously low salaries for what used to be well paid jobs in the full knowledge that only immigrants with no families or responsibilities, living in overcrowded rented rooms or cheap hostels will be able to afford to take the work? £50 a day for spraying concrete? What quality of job is being done? When I worked on construction sites 10 years ago the lowest salary for any skilled labour was around £200 a day as it is considered skilled, requires training, and staff were expected to be fully knowledgable in site safety standards. This is not only destroying our economy, it is dangerous from a health and safety aspect. Also, this is a known about case - what about all the others we don't know about? As reported in the papers working for £2 an hr? Not to mention we have no idea who is who and who is claiming benefits in what name as many immigrant workers have returned home but leave other people their name and National Insurance number so they can both claim and work. Any person where I live in N London will also tell you all about the botch work being done and nearly everyone I know has lost their work in the last few months, so we are getting poor workmanship by people who can't be held responsible, flee the country when there's a problem, a lot are claiming benefits, and we have no way of knowing.
- Real, London
Why do people in this country run down the British worker? are we so down as a nation?is it self loathing?This nation was made great by the British working classes,the miners that kept the fires burning in ww2 the fishermen who feed this nation,the British troops that stood alone against hitler etc etc.the achievements past and present.Of course there is plenty of local British labour that can will and do work as hard as any eastern European,if you listen to those who constantly run down there own fellow country man and spew out the same old fifth columnist propaganda as if there were any truth in it, we as a nation are I'm afraid doomed.I'm sick to the back teeth of those that keep on stabbing this country's workers in the back as if we as a nation achieved nothing before the influx of foreign workers.We have a great history but we wont have a future if we don't start to get are pride back and respect and support are own,and turn are backs on the fifth columnists that are eating away at this country from the inside.We are obsessed with are own PERCEIVED inabilities and its a perception that has no truth in it as are history will testify.
- Kev, London-UK
We knew this would happen.
- Ca Metcalfe, East London/Essex
Don't understand the fuss about it. They only advertised the job on the net because they could not find any locals to fill the vacancies? Or?
- Kai, London
Work is not 'Dished out' as the Plaistow driver suggests. It is not something that is handed over to someone on the whole. Work is 'sought'. That involves using any gumption you have at your disposal to look for it, be it the internet, job centre, knocking on doors, advertising yourself, newspapers or whatever. This man managed to find it. Any 'local' person can do the same if they are willing to do what is very hard/heavy work.
- B Williams, Friern Barnet, UK
The driver from Plaistow said 'there is no dispute with the foreign workers they are hard workers' enough said. The site has to be complete by early 2012 not 2016 !!
- Nick Holland, glasgow
