(i know i probably am) To be disapointed that whilst at my local shopping parade all around me were foreign.

[MAMAZON]

I don't want to start a UCM type thread but it just struck me how prety much everyone i saw at the shops earlier was foreign.

no one seemed to be speaking English at all.

yes that was part of what i was thinking MD.

you hear the daily mailers ranting about immigration and how its the immigrants fault that xyz has gone to the dogs, i never really bought into it. i thought that if a job needed doing then i couldn't care less if a pole, russion or martian did it.

i really did believe that the immigration figures were being exagerated.

but it hit home that yes there are many many economic migrants coming to Britain every day to do the jobs the people who have decided that benefits are far less hassle than a decent days wage, can be bothered to do.

(oh and i am in reciept of benefits at the mo myself before anyone jumps on me for that)

The british society has become either so lazy or worse vain, that it feels there are jobs not worth doing.

so maybe disapointed was the right word...just not in the context people were assuming

Yes but I also know that many people come here to take advantage of the benefit system which has a reputation of being easy to cheat.

Very true Hercules

I once saw an advert on a wesite aimed at Eastern Europeans, which advertised Britain as the 'welfare state- where you can get free housing, benefits' etc.

I was horrified when I saw it. What an impression this country must be making

Hedghog1978 - yes i do

mamazon... i stopped reading after a couple of pages..i cannot get to grips with this new fangled format (thats not new anymore)so havent read you more recent posts..

but you know what...i think i prob agree with you..soemtimes i want to hear english spoken on teh bus,at my sons nusery etc...im nosey!

i just do!...and i dont think it necessarily makes you hateful that you were disappointed...and not unresonable either

my bil and sil both work at Ocado and they say there are lots of Polish people working there. I noticed the other day, while having a nose at the cards in the window of a newsagents, that all the 'room to let' cards also were translated into polish.

Please can someone explain the benefit thing to me? This is a genuine question.

Before I set foot in this country, I had to have a job. My employer had to obtain a visa for me by showing that, not only were there no British workers who would do my job, there were no EU workers available either.

The conditions of my visa were that I was t have no access to any public funds/benefit/housing whatever.

I met and married a British man. Three years later, I applied for and recieved indefinite leave to remain in the country. I was still barred from recieving any benefits. I have now, nearly 8 years after arriving here, begun the process of being naturalised. Presumably as a citizen I will be able to claim benefit.

What I want to know is, who are the people who are supposedly waltzing in and recieving a Mercedes, free money and a palace from the government? I am being a bit facetious here, but seriously - out of all immigrants (not including those who have applied for asylum) who is automatically entitled to benefit?

Havent they had to put laws into place in Poland to try to safeguard housing there due to the large number of foreigners going there to buy up property as it's cheap.

chibi.

Were/are you from a non EU country? That would explain why you needed work permits etc.

The reason Polish (and other immigrant workers) are being employed rather than British ones is that many of them are only here for a few years, living very cheaply in shared rooms and so are asking for much lower wages. If you're a skilled workman, just over minimum wage isn't going to go very far if you're trying to support a family in the UK. Compared to Polish wages though, it's a fortune.

I think a migrant EU worker needs to be employed and paying tax/NI for a year before they qualify for benefits.

i didn't think EU workers were eligable for benefits either. im fairly sure they have to pay for any medical treatment as well.

Yes Bubble, that's my understanding too (or at least those from the 'new' EU countries, not sure about the old ones).

This is nothing like UCM's threads. I liked UCM, just not her particular viewpoint on immigration and foreign politics. It was the regular expression of those views that got her banned.

Mamazon, I can see where you are coming from. I think some people are being particularly obtuse about your phrasing in order to demonstrate exceptional political correctness.

I'll be the first to admit that I do feel intimidated by being somewhere where everyone is talking a language that I dont understand. It's complete paranoia on my part, I know, but all the same, it does make me feel 'excluded', which is not a nice feeling.

I would imagine that if this were the case somewhere you frequented regularly, or was familiar to you, it could make you feel some negative feelings. Disappointment could be one of those feelings I suppose.

spicemonster. The 'lower wages' thing might apply to cash in hand work, but EU workers are also applying for jobs with advertised wages (ie, the ad doesn't say '£X if you're a UK national - £X if you're an EU worker.)

Right. So, non-EU nationals like myself are not entitled to claim benefit. EU nationals can claim, but only after having worked for a year.
Does it seem to anyone else that people are going to uproot themselves, and then work for a year just so they can collect benefit?

The ones I know who see it as a benefit thing are the assylum seekers. Not all of them I hasten to add by any means.

SOrry mispelt asylum - is that right?

EU workers qualify for everything after a certain amount of time. Maternity, housing etc.

Yes I know that bubble. But it is a problem in manual working for some British workers that they can't compete if they're self-employed or doing casual labour. I can completely sympathise with the Polish workers though - I'd do the same if I were them.

Is it not all to do with EU membership, ie free movement of goods and workers etc? if you are an EU citizen then cant you move to any other EU state and work,live etc?

chibi. I employ three staff who are currently on maternity leave in Poland with no intention of returning to the UK to work.

Maternity benefit of £112 a week for 9 months goes a long way in Poland.

Sorry. That should read SMP, not maternity benefit.

Now if you'd heard me and one of my mates out shopping we wouldn't have disappointed because we look British and speak English.

'Fraid it would have been false un-disappointedness though because neither of us actually are.

Still, as long as no one saw our passports we'd have been good, eh?