The Poles are no longer afraid that foreigners will take away their jobs: almost two-thirds of Polish society want the job market in Poland to be opened for foreign workers, including citizens of Asian countries, a poll by SMG/KRC shows.
Only 34 percent of Poles are against employing foreigners, while as many as some 66 percent have nothing against it. Twenty seven percent of respondents said that they are in favour employing migrants, irrespective of their nationality.
Currently there are only 12,000 foreigners legally employed in Poland. And even though there are many more of them working without permits, it is still a mere drop in the ocean in relation to the demands of a fast growing economy. Experts say that Poland desperately needs manpower, especially builders and other manual workers.
The Polish government has recently tried to lure workers from eastern Europe by reducing the amount of the red tape involved in hiring seasonal workers. But employers complain that if Poland is to its maintain fast pace of economic growth then opening up the job market to workers from China, India and elsewhere in Asia is essential. Chinese firms have shown interest, for instance, in gaining contracts to build the infrastructure needed for staging the Euro 2012 football championships in Poland and Ukraine.
