Scottish Christian.com

Home > News > Scottish Christian News Monitor

Church joins union fight to help migrants

The Catholic Church, whose ranks are being swollen by a flood of Polish immigrants, is working with trade unionists to stem the abuse of migrant workers by rogue employers. The initiative with the Transport and General Workers Union has been launched in Scotland, a popular destination for Polish workers, accounting for for almost two-thirds of all migrant workers from eastern and central Europe.

The T&G has about 10,000 Polish members. A recent report by the Von Hugel Institute at Cambridge University suggested the Catholics could soon overtake Anglicans as the country's most active churchgoers because of the rise in eastern European immigrants since their countries joined the European Union in 2004.

Edinburgh has been a favoured destination for Polish immigrants in the past few years and the Church said 3,000 Poles were attending weekend masses at St Mary's Cathedral in the Scottish capital. Cardinal Keith O'Brien said: "The contribution, economically, culturally and spiritually, of migrant workers to Scotland will be greatly enriching, and we are keen to work with the union to ensure that they are not ill-treated or exploited."
Full story at Financial Times.