Case study: Polish Migrants Lesson Aims: To know why so many Polish people choose to Migrate to the UK. To understand the impact of this migration on both the UK and Poland. Page 106

What do you need to know? What are the push factors of Poland? What are the Pull factors of the UK? What sort of intervening obstacles might be encountered by Poles trying to reach the UK? What are the impacts of this migration on the UK? (You need to look at both positive and negative) What are the impacts of this migration on Poland? (Again, you need to look at both positive and negative) Has anything been done to: (a) encourage this trend? (b) discourage this trend? You must include facts (e.g. Dates, figures etc)

Summary (1) – migrants around 30 years old with vocational training or secondary education and some work experience – young migrants, just finished vocational training or secondary education: 80% of all A8 migrants to the UK are 18–34 years old; 18–24- year-olds form the largest age group (43% of total migrants) – young and unmarried migrants with a tertiary education keen to brush up their language skills and attain some working experience abroad – highly-educated specialists with work experience Eastern European migrants who have moved to the UK have done so mainly for work. They include:

Summary (2) – The vast majority of the 800,000 to 1 million migrants who have come to the UK since 2004 are from Poland. – There are also significant numbers from Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia. – These migrants represent 4–5% of the labour force of their source countries (2007).

Summary (3) In the past, immigration has tended to concentrate in urban areas. The distribution of A8 migrants is highly unusual. Many have settled in rural areas and work on farms and in food processing. The UK’s A8 rural hotspots are: Boston, Peterborough, Fenland, Herefordshire and Dungannon. In % of the people living in some rural areas were immigrants. Many of these areas had previously experienced emigration.

Summary (4) UK distribution of eastern European migrants, 2006

Summary (5) Temporary immigrants send about 25% of their earnings home as remittances. Immigrants who plan to settle in the UK send only about 8% home. For Poland, this income amounted to around €6.4 billion in 2006, or 2.5% of Polish gross national income (GNI). Average earnings in the UK for the Poles are only about £6 per hour. There is also a growing problem with worker exploitation as unscrupulous gangs prey on A8 workers. A significant brain drain is also occurring. For some A8 countries, the loss of its more able workforce is significant.