Forsiden NyhederThe crippled Polish worker Polish workers come to Denmark and work for Danish firms as independent subcontractors. This structure means that the labour market rules do not apply to them. Fagbladet 3F was the only media to visit 45-year-old Adam Szaj, who after two and a half months in a Danish hospital with a broken spine finally came home to a hospital in Poland. A seven-metre fall while working illegally on a roof in Hedensted as an independent contractor has disabled him for life. For DKK 20 per hour - with no compensation. Adam from Poland working in Denmark: Working in Denmark had tragic consequences for 45-year-old Adam Szaj, who was hired as an independent contractor when he fell from a roof and broke his spine. No compensation and an hourly wage of DKK 20.DKK 20 PER HOUR AND SENT HOME CRIPPLED FOR LIFE Adam Szaj worked in Denmark for one and a half months before he fell from a roof while working illegally and became disabled for life. Hear and see him tell his story from his sickbed in intensive care in the hospital in Poznan. www.fagbladet.dk/polakinvalid Adam Szaj, 45-year-old family man, is paralysed from the neck down. His work in Denmark for DKK 20 an hour came to an abrupt end when he plunged seven metres from the roof of a warehouse hall and crashed onto the concrete floor. Nobody will take responsibility for the accident that has disabled the Polish worker for life. Adam Szaj finds it exhausting to tell his story to Fagbladet 3F. A plastic tube bored through his neck provides him with extra oxygen, to boost his lungs that were also damaged by the fall. Electrodes on his chest monitor his heartbeat and pulse. Much of his body is paralysed after he fell seven metres onto a concrete floor in a warehouse building at the company GM Plast A/S in Hedensted five months ago. This was where Adam Szaj was working on the warehouse roof late one afternoon when he plunged through a skylight panel to the deck seven metres below. The Polish worker's 100-kilo, untrained body crashed heavily onto the concrete floor. He lay helpless among the shelves with two broken thighbones, a broken arm, and fractures to his spine and neck. An ambulance rushed him to Århus University Hospital, as his condition was highly critical. A fellow Pole from the four-man gang working on the project called the emergency services, while the two other Poles carried on working, according to the report of the Danish Working Environment Authority, to which Fagbladet 3F has had access. The report also states that the work on the roof was illegal, and that no measures had been taken to prevent the risk of falls. Now Adam Szaj is in intensive care in the 150-year-old Strusia hospital in the centre of Poznan in western Poland. A fracture in the top part of the spine means that Adam Szaj will never return to his old life as breadwinner for his family. Good money was a tempting offer Like so many other Poles, Adam Szaj was tempted by the opportunity to earn good money in Denmark. As an unemployed skilled mason he got the chance to join a gang of four men. For six months he resisted, because a previous job in Belgium had made him a bit scared of having to work illegally. He went home after a week, as he found it too nerve-wracking. Now, however, he was guaranteed that the job in Denmark was completely legal and above board. Adam Szaj was told by a former colleague in Poznan, who had contact with a Polish contractor working in Denmark, that for piecework he could earn between 2,000 and 8,000 Polish zlotys a month. This corresponds to between DKK 4,000 and 16,000. - This was a lot of money, as total household income of DKK 8,000 is okay in Poland, says Adam Szaj. The only requirement made by the Polish contractor, Jan Marek Karlinski, who undertakes projects in Denmark, was that Adam Szaj should set up his own firm as a sole contractor and take out private accident insurance for his work abroad. - No, I have never had my own firm before. I have always been an ordinary wage-earner, and never dreamt of having my own business, but that was the condition, to get the work, says Adam Szaj. DKK 5,000 per month Adam Szaj travelled to Denmark in summer 2010 in order to start work. Without knowing what the work entailed, and without a contract, or a wage agreement, and without even knowing what he could earn. For the first month - August 2010 – the contractor, Jan Marek Karlinski, told him to write an invoice for 3,401 zlotys – just over DKK 6,000 - for his work in August on different building sites in Denmark. The costs of petrol for shared transport between the workplaces had to be deducted, however. So Adam Szaj was left with around 2,500 zlotys, or DKK 5,000, for a month's work. As he worked 10-12 hours per day, and often also at weekends, his hourly wage was around DKK 20. The tragic accident occurred on 16 September – after one and half month's work in Denmark. Adam Szaj fell through the roof while working on the warehouse building in Hedensted. The contractor therefore only paid him for half a month: 1,500 zlotys, or DKK 3,000. Adam Szaj was in hospital, so it had been impossible for him to work. - I feel like a whore. Exploited and abused, and and discarded like a heap of rubbish, says Adam Szaj bitterly from his sickbed. Everyone passes the buck Adam Szaj is angry that no-one will take responsibility for the accident. - The contractor, Jan Marek Karlinski, managed the work. He fixed everything, together with the Danish-Polish contractor Waldemar Robert Wolniewicz, who hired Kalinski as a subcontractor to renovate the roof of the warehouse building in Hedensted. Everyone just passes the buck, says Adam Szaj. The insurance company Generali, with which Adam Szaj took out private insurance as an independent contractor, has refused to pay compensation. Adam Szaj filled out the insurance papers incorrectly, so there is no cover for the accident. The Polish authorities have also been slow to take action. The accident took place abroad, not on Polish soil, and therefore the hospital service in Poland would not admit their citizen after he had been treated for the acute, life-threatening consequences of falling from a height of seven metres. After his treatment, Adam Szaj thus spent two and a half months on a respirator at Århus University Hospital before a consultant managed to get him transferred to Poland. The costs of his stay at Århus University Hospital total two and a half million kroner. So far, it is up to the Danish taxpayer to foot the bill. EVERY TENTH ACCIDENT INVOLVES A FOREIGN WORKER Every tenth serious occupational injury in the building and construction sector involves a foreign worker. This is shown by an analysis from the BAT cartel. The analysis is based on data from the Danish Working Environment Authority in the period 2004-2009. This means that, every year, almost 100 foreign workers are seriously injured while working in Denmark, while every fifth fatal accident in the industry involves a foreign worker. Adam Szaj can look forward to around DKK 1,000 per month in Polish disablement benefit after the occupational accident in Denmark. TOUGH TIMES FOR THE FAMILYAdam Szaj's wife Agnieszka Szaj tries to stay calm in the chaotic situation after her husband's serious accident. He is paralysed from the neck down and disabled for the rest of his life after falling seven metres from a roof he was working on in Denmark. - I have decided to stay positive and tackle the problems as they arise - for Adam's sake, and for the family's sake, says Agnieszka, who has to navigate the complex Polish rules and bureaucracy alone. - Adam will never walk again, and I don't know when he will get out of hospital. He will need a wheelchair, and everything at home will have to be adapted for him. The degree of disablement has to be assessed, and his pension has to be calculated, explains Agnieszka, who is convinced that he will not get much more than the minimum pension of 480 zlotys – around DKK 1,000 – per month. The children Katarzyna, 22, Piotr, 21, and Jacek, 8, are still very shocked by their father's accident. - When Katarzyna saw her father in hospital in Poznan, she wept and could not say a single word to him. Little Jacek has disappeared into his own world and you can't even get a smile out of him, says Agnieszka Szaj. The family live with Adam's mother, who owns a first floor flat in a small house in Poznan. The family shares 60 square metres of space, with three rooms, a kitchen and bathroom. Adam's brother and his family live on the ground floor. DKK 40,000 FINEThe contractor that hired Adam Szaj to renovate the roof of GM Plast's warehouse in Hedensted can expect to pay a fine of DKK 40,000. The Polish worker fell seven metres from the roof he was working on. The Working Environment Authority believes that there are aggravating circumstances in the case of the accident that cost the 45-year-old Polish worker his mobility. The normal fine in serious cases is DKK 25,000 The south-eastern Jutland Police Prosecutor is currently assessing the case against the Polish firm Jan Marek Karlinski. - The case is pending, and I expect that the next steps to be taken will be decided within 3-4 weeks, says police attorney Rune T. Jensen. MINISTER: NO TO ID CARDS TO PREVENT ACCIDENTSFor several years, the trade unions and employers have worked for the introduction of an ID card to document that everyone at a construction site has knowledge of and insight on the working environment and safety at the workplace.Employment minister Inger Støjberg (Liberal) does not believe that there are strong grounds to introduce the card. The minister also believes that the card is probably in conflict with EU regulations. Ireland, Sweden and the UK are among the countries that have already introduced the ID card in order to improve the working environment. The European Commission is currently investigating opportunities to introduce an ID card for all workers in the EU. WRONG CROSS ON THE POLICY AN EXPENSIVE MISTAKEBefore Adam Szaj left Poland for Denmark as the owner of a brand-new firm he took out private accident insurance with the Generali insurance company for his work abroad. He also registered as an employer, with contributions to the Polish pension system ZUS. His wife Agnieszka Szaj has tried to sort out the matter with Generali. The insurance company will not pay compensation for the accident in Hedensted that cost Adam Szaj his mobility. - As Adam did not know exactly what he would be doing in Denmark, he assumed that he would be undertaking bricklaying and plastering at a low height. So he did not cross the box in the policy for ”work at a height of over five metres,” explains Agnieszka Szaj. This fatal mistake meant that the insurance company rejected the claim when the company read the report from the Danish Working Environment Authority, which states that the accident involved a fall from a height of seven metres. UNION: TIGHTER RULES Peter Hougård Nielsen, Chairman of 3F construction group, would like legislation to be tightened to make it harder to exploit foreign workers in Denmark. One proposal is tighter control of the Register for Foreign Service Providers (RUT). - The politicians need to change the law on RUT so that the register actually has an effect, says Peter Hougård Nielsen. Danish firms have work done by subcontractors to subcontractors for an hourly wage of DKK 20, or even less. FIRMS LIKE BABUSHKA DOLLS Danish firms contract work out to structures that resemble Russian babushka dolls.It is as if inside every doll there is a new doll, and it is hard to see where the buck stops.In the Hedensted case the Employer is GM A/S, where Ejnar Gram Mogensen is joint owner and Employer representative.To replace the roof on the company's warehouse in Hedensted he hired the Vejle firm MTM Entreprise, headed by Danish-Polish Waldemar Robert Wolniewicz.MTM Entreprise contacted the Polish firm Jan Marek Karlinski, who were subcontracted to do the workIn its turn, the Polish firm hired a number of Polish workers, who as independent contractors, and the last link in the chain, would do the actual work. - As they are independent contractors there is no collective agreement, and they have to accept the wage they are paid for the work. In some cases this can work out as an hourly wage of as little as DKK 20, or even less. POLISH BOSS: NOT MY RESPONSIBIITY None of the firms that undertook the renovation of GM Plast's warehouse roof in Hedensted will take responsibility for Adam Szaj 's fall through the roof that crippled him for life. The Polish contractor Jan Marek Karlinski, who hired 45-year-old Adam Szaj for the work, says to Fagbladet 3F: - I have spoken to the Working Environment Authority in Kolding, and they have absolved me from any responsibility. The main contractor MTM Entreprise do not feel they have any responsibility either. - No, not at all, says Director Waldemar Robert Wolniewics. GM Plast, which hired MTM Entreprise for the work, do not take any responsibility either. - No, we are not responsible at all, says the firm's joint owner, Ejnar Gramm Mogensen. Karlinski's home is also his firm's office.NO CHECKS ON THE FIRMSA number of EU directives ensure the free movement of labour and companies within the EU. The host country's rules on working hours, safety, health and hygiene must be respected, however. The only Danish restriction in relation to the EU directive on posting of workers is that companies and sole proprietorships must be registered in RUT (the Register for Foreign Service Providers). According to negotiation secretary Palle Bisgaard from the construction group in 3F there is limited control of RUT, and nobody checks that the companies really are companies, and that they provide social security for their employees. POLISH WORKER: IT WAS A WORK CAMPYoung Mateusz Raczyriski, aged 21, was always called ”the kid” by the other Poles in the gang. He has no construction training or experience.Nonetheless, the only requirement made by the Polish contractor Jan Marek Karlinski before Raczyriski could work in Denmark was that he set up his own firm and take out insurance.Mateusz Raczyriski describes how they had to work on a piecework basis, but they were never told what the piecework terms were, or how much they could earn from the job. - We were told that it would take maximum one week to renovate the roof (of the warehouse hall in Hedensted, ed.). But it took longer than estimated, because it was more complicated than first assumed. It was not a good job, since we did not get paid extra for dealing with all the problems, says Mateusz Raczyriski. - It was a work camp, where we worked 12 hours a day, and 10 hours on Saturday and some hours on Sunday. Four of us stayed in a little trailer intended for two people.A week after Adam Szaj fell from the roof Mateusz Raczyriski went home to Poland. Other work gangs he has spoken to have expressed their dissatisfaction with the pay and conditions in Denmark. - I got around 1,900 zlotys – about DKK 4,000 – for the work in September, after the cost of petrol had been paid to the contractor, Jan Marek Karlinski. I won't be going back to Denmark, says Mateusz Raczyriski.