Migrants who work 'are welcome here'

A total of 2,650 Poles registered for a National Insurance number in
Cambridge, East and South Cambridgeshire, Fenland and Huntingdonshire
in 2005/06.

Lithuanian nationals added another 1,010 to that figure with
immigrants from the Republic of Latvia applying for 310 NI numbers.

A survey by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found the number of
Eastern European immigrants who decide to stay increases four fold
after they arrive.

But the region's MPs said immigration which filled skill gaps in the
UK economy was a benefit.

The National Farmers' Union wants more immigrants to arrive and fears
produce will rot in the fields unless more labour comes from the new
members of the EU during the picking season.

One Polish couple making a positive impact are Monika Kolmasiak and
her husband Michael, both aged 26.

They have opened Polish Taste in St Ives, which sells a range of
Polish products including sausages, dumplings, bread and sweets Poles
would not be able to find in British supermarkets.

Monika said she could understand why British people would not want to
see large groups of migrants who did not want to work.

"We want to work, so it should not be a problem," she said. "You can
see people from all over Poland, but it is not just England, they are
going to places like Norway and Sweden as well."

Monika and Michael, who live in Bedford, have noticed the increase in
the number of Poles there and attendance has grown at the Polish
church.

"We have English friends as well, and we have very nice neighbours,"
Monika said.

She would like to return home at some stage because her family is
there, but she does not know if it will be financially viable to do
so.

"Many people who come here want to stay, and others want to get a job
and earn some money before they go back," she said.

She trained as a tourist guide but came to England before she could
start her profession and had been working in a St Ives factory.

Michael, from Lodz, who already had family in England, was a
self-employed painter and decorator.

"In Poland it is hard to find a job even for little money, and if you
have a job you do not know how long that job is going to last," Monika
said.

She said jobs were more stable in England, and it meant they could
afford to buy the things they wanted.

David Howarth, Cambridge City MP, said: "If people are finding jobs
and contributing to society here in the way that this report
describes, then of course the Government should be taking this into
account when considering what help they need to integrate into the
community."

Cambridgeshire South East MP and Tory Farming spokesman Jim Paice
said: "If there are jobs for them and they plug a skills gap then they
are very welcome. The ones we don't want are those who come to sponge
off the state or those involved in criminality.

"I am very worried that we do not have enough migrant workers to pick
intensive crops like soft fruit and salads."

In Huntingdonshire the number of migrant workers applying for NI
registrations between 2002 and 2006 was 2,770.

A spokesman for Huntingdonshire District Council said there had been a
"significant increase" in the number of registrations since the 10
additional countries joined the European Union in May 2004, most of
which came from these extra countries, including Poland and Lithuania.

People from these countries accounted for more than half the
registrations in 2005/6 which totalled 1,040.

Coun Ron Bradney, mayor of Ely, said Polish and Portuguese immigrants
who have settled in the region bring diversity to East Cambridgeshire.

He said: "Numbers have increased, but they are welcomed by people in
Ely.

"I don't think they are taking jobs away from local people, but rather
perhaps doing the jobs that our people do not want to do.

"They should, however, take English lessons."

date: Fri, 01 Jun 2007 02:39:05 +0100 author: Steve Greene lid