The Polish plumber and the Polish builder are stereotypes of cheap labour coming from Central and Eastern Europe to work in Western Europe.[1][2] They are both a symbol of the fear that cheap Eastern European labour is threatening the jobs of Western Europeans and a symbol of foreign labour being more affordable and reliable.[1]
Polish tourism poster featuring a Polish plumber. Caption: "I remain in Poland, do come over en masse."
Originedit
In 2004, a European Union law known as the Bolkestein Directive was drafted, which aimed at establishing a single market for services in the EU which would allow workers to move freely between countries of the European Union. The term "Polish plumber" was used in an article in Charlie Hebdo in 2004, but became popular after French politician Philippe de Villiers used it while campaigning against the EU law:[3][4]
Cette affaire est très grave, car la directive Bolkestein permet à un plombier polonais ou à un architecte estonien de proposer ses services en France, au salaire et avec les règles de protection sociale de leur pays d'origine. Sur les 11 millions de personnes actives dans les services, un million d'emplois sont menacés par cette directive. Il s'agit d'un démantèlement de notre modèle économique et social
"This matter is very serious as the Bolkenstein directive permits a Polish plumber or an Estonianarchitect to offer their services in France at the salary level and with the labor laws of their respective countries of origin. Of the 11 million people engaged in the service industry (in France), one million are threatened by this directive, which seeks to dismantle our economic and social model".
The Swiss Socialist Party campaigned in favour of the free circulation of people (in the context of European bilateral deals) and also featured a character, with the slogan "Plumbers of all countries, unite!", a reference to the famous slogan from the Communist Manifesto.[6]
A Polish tourism board used the stereotype in a humorous poster in 2005 inviting the French to come visit Poland.[12][13] The designer of the poster was nominated in 2005 for the title "European of the Year" in category "Campaigner of the Year" [14] and the model, Piotr Adamski [pl] got his "15 minutes of fame" and a brief career boost. [15]
Further readingedit
Kończal, Kornelia (2008), Vom Schreckgespenst zum Dressman. Le plombier polonais und die Macht der Imagination, in: Kiran Klaus Patel, Veronika Lipphardt und Lorraine Bluche (ed.): Der Europäer – ein Konstrukt. Wissensbestände und Diskurse, Göttingen: Wallstein, p. 299–325.
polish, plumber, polish, builder, stereotypes, cheap, labour, coming, from, central, eastern, europe, work, western, europe, they, both, symbol, fear, that, cheap, eastern, european, labour, threatening, jobs, western, europeans, symbol, foreign, labour, being. The Polish plumber and the Polish builder are stereotypes of cheap labour coming from Central and Eastern Europe to work in Western Europe 1 2 They are both a symbol of the fear that cheap Eastern European labour is threatening the jobs of Western Europeans and a symbol of foreign labour being more affordable and reliable 1 Polish tourism poster featuring a Polish plumber Caption I remain in Poland do come over en masse Origin editIn 2004 a European Union law known as the Bolkestein Directive was drafted which aimed at establishing a single market for services in the EU which would allow workers to move freely between countries of the European Union The term Polish plumber was used in an article in Charlie Hebdo in 2004 but became popular after French politician Philippe de Villiers used it while campaigning against the EU law 3 4 Cette affaire est tres grave car la directive Bolkestein permet a un plombier polonais ou a un architecte estonien de proposer ses services en France au salaire et avec les regles de protection sociale de leur pays d origine Sur les 11 millions de personnes actives dans les services un million d emplois sont menaces par cette directive Il s agit d un demantelement de notre modele economique et social This matter is very serious as the Bolkenstein directive permits a Polish plumber or an Estonian architect to offer their services in France at the salary level and with the labor laws of their respective countries of origin Of the 11 million people engaged in the service industry in France one million are threatened by this directive which seeks to dismantle our economic and social model Philippe de Villiers 5 In politics editThe Swiss Socialist Party campaigned in favour of the free circulation of people in the context of European bilateral deals and also featured a character with the slogan Plumbers of all countries unite a reference to the famous slogan from the Communist Manifesto 6 An estimated two million workers from Eastern and Central Europe arrived in the United Kingdom between 2003 and 2007 half of them were Polish 1 The stereotype of the Polish plumber was cited as a factor in the referendum that led to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union 7 8 9 10 11 Poster editA Polish tourism board used the stereotype in a humorous poster in 2005 inviting the French to come visit Poland 12 13 The designer of the poster was nominated in 2005 for the title European of the Year in category Campaigner of the Year 14 and the model Piotr Adamski pl got his 15 minutes of fame and a brief career boost 15 Further reading editKonczal Kornelia 2008 Vom Schreckgespenst zum Dressman Le plombier polonais und die Macht der Imagination in Kiran Klaus Patel Veronika Lipphardt und Lorraine Bluche ed Der Europaer ein Konstrukt Wissensbestande und Diskurse Gottingen Wallstein p 299 325 See also editAnti Polish sentiment Poles in the United Kingdom Poles in FranceReferences edit a b c Quick Vanessa September 2007 Beneficial immigration The German Times Archived from the original on 3 December 2013 Polish plumber beckons French BBC 21 June 2005 Comment le plombier polonais a fait voter non au referendum de 2005 L Opinion in French 28 October 2013 Retrieved 1 November 2019 Decosse Frederic Desalvo Augustina 2017 Les detaches de l agriculture intensive Plein Droit in French 113 2 7 doi 10 3917 pld 113 0007 Villiers La grande triche du oui Interview de Philippe de Villiers Le Figaro 15 mars 2005 Libre circulation Plombiers de tous les pays unissez vous Young Socialists Switzerland 22 August 2005 Archived from the original on 16 May 2006 Adam Taylor 28 June 2016 Britain s 850 000 Polish citizens face backlash after Brexit vote Washington Post Ted Jeory 24 June 2016 Brexit Polish builders defiant but admit future is uncertain after EU referendum vote Independent Paola Buonadonna 3 June 2016 First they came for the Polish plumbers a dystopian view of life post Brexit The Daily Telegraph Lauren Frayer 14 May 2016 If Britain Leaves The EU What Happens To The Polish Plumber NPR Elisabeth Braw 25 February 2016 Brexit debate Could Britain get by without the Polish Plumber Christian Science Monitor Polish plumber beckons French BBC 21 June 2005 France s new media star The Polish plumber NBC News 29 June 2005 Archived from the original on 6 March 2016 Andrzej Kozlowski nominowany na Europejczyka Roku Polski hydraulik w Paryzu reklamuje uroki swego kraju Portals nbsp Poland nbsp European Union nbsp United Kingdom nbsp France nbsp Politics nbsp Society Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Polish plumber amp oldid 1192814346, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
