New wave of Polish workers on the way to Britain as 250,000 think of quitting homeland
FEARS of a fresh wave of Polish migrants heading to the UK were raised by government research showing 250,000 were thinking of quitting their homeland for a better life over here.
About 1.2million Poles want to leave the country and move abroad in the next 12 months and almost one in four hope to land in Britain, a study by the Polish employment service found.
The staggering figures prompted concern in the UK - which is already home to nearly 800,000 of the eastern Europeans.
Those with low wages see more opportunities abroad
Steven Woolfe of Ukip said: “The most worrying thing about this survey is that low income migrants are the most likely to want to come to the UK with their families seeking ‘a better life.' Whilst this might be understandable, this will continue to put pressure on the wages of unskilled UK workers.”
The head of Poland’s employment service Tomasz Hanczarek said: “This is a disturbing increase in the numbers of people looking to work abroad.
“Last year it was five percent, this year it is 6.4 percent, which means that 1.2 million have decided to leave the country in the next 12 months.”
“A large number of those we spoke to said that family and friends were a strong reason to stay in Poland. And those on good incomes are less interested in leaving.
“But those with low wages see more opportunities abroad.”
