Polish workers humiliated at the Laurens Patisseries

POLAND . The Unofficial Guide

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Edited by: enkidu Apr 13, 10, 14:19 #1

If you wish to support this action - feel free to drop them a letter:

Protest

I hereby protest against the decision made by the production management on the 11th of April 2010.

Forbidding polish personnel from honouring the tragically deceased in the plane crash near the city of Smolensk with a two-minute tribute may be considered as lack of compassion and an act of humiliation.

Therefore, in the act of solidarity with the employees I request the following:

1. a reasonable explanation to be given to the personnel
2. written apologies to be issued to all employees
3. a manager who caused such outcry to be held responsible for their decision

Yours Sincerely,

Name Surname
Town
Country

The factory contact data:

Laurens Patisseries,
Jessop Way,
Newark,
Nottinghamshire
NG24 2ER
---
tel: (+44) 01636 613 171
fax: (+44) 01636 613 176
---
e-mail: cakes@laurens.co.uk
-----------------

Also - a formal complaint was filed:

Complaint

We, Polish employees of Laurens Patisseries, hereby lodge a formal complaint about the attitude that was displayed by the company’s management on 11th April 2010 in High Risk bays.

We are absolutely shocked and extremely insulted by the lack of compassion for Polish personnel with regards to the latest tragedy that has struck our country.

As you may have known the above tragedy occurred on the last Saturday - an aircraft carrying almost a hundred of polish citizens crashed in Russia leaving no survivors.

Our President and the First Lady, the Chairman of the National Bank of Poland, the Speaker of Polish Parliament, the chief of the National Security Office, the Chief of the President's Chancellery and 90 more passengers including military Chiefs of Staff, Church Officials, Members of Parliament, leading historians, politicians, trade union representatives, civilians and the crew tragically died when the aeroplane fell to the ground.

This particular location, in which the above unimaginably tragic accident occurred, is dramatically connected to the history of Poland. During World War II, in April 1940, over 20.000 polish prisoners-of-war, drawn mainly from the political, military and cultural elite of Poland's society at the time was massacred by evil soviet regime.

70 years later, on their way to a special mass to commemorate those murdered in the very same forest by shots fired in the back of their heads, our notables die in a plane crash.

This is the most tragic event of our country's
post-World War II history.

On the last Sunday the body of our President had been repatriated from the city of Smolensk in Russia to the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland and driven through crowd-lined streets to the presidential palace. Tens of thousands of our countrymen gathered on the streets and in front of the building to pay their respects. Earlier that day, at high noon local time (11am GMT), a two-minute tribute to honour the memory of the tragically deceased was held across Poland.

Unfortunately, in Laurens Patisseries, even though the factory's management had been advised as to the gravity of the situation, we were forbidden to switch off the production lines for two minutes and pay our respects to all of those who died in the crash. Furthermore, we heard unnecessary comments and remarks which we find exceptionally offensive to both, us as a nation and those who we wanted to honour.

We perceive such attitude as an act of hate crime and are considering taking serious legal actions including reporting the case to the Police and also advising the owners of the Bakkavör Group in Iceland as well as the mass media about the above.

We, hereby, demand as follows:
1. a reasonable explanation
2. written apologies to all polish employees
3. appropriate measures to be taken against those accountable for the entire situation.

The above clauses are non-negotiable and every action taken against the signatories and/or an employee/s that stopped a line in order to commemorate the deceased will be considered an attempt at unfair dismissal.

We expect to be treated fairly and with respect
and our demands consider adequate and justified.

Looking forward to your respond,

Yours Sincerely,

Polish Personnel Representatives

---

Protest

I hereby protest against the decision made by the production management on the 11th of April 2010.

Forbidding polish personnel from honouring the tragically deceased in the plane crash near the city of Smolensk with a two-minute tribute may be considered as lack of compassion and an act of humiliation.

Therefore, in the act of solidarity with the employees I request the following:

1. a reasonable explanation to be given to the personnel
2. written apologies to be issued to all employees
3. a manager who caused such outcry to be held responsible for their decision

Yours Sincerely,

Name Surname
Town
Country

The factory contact data:

Laurens Patisseries,
Jessop Way,
Newark,
Nottinghamshire
NG24 2ER
---
tel: (+44) 01636 613 171
fax: (+44) 01636 613 176
---
e-mail: cakes@laurens.co.uk

VarsovianThreads: 85 Posts: 531 Joined: Nov 23, 06 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 16:22 #2
Human relations are just that. No-one is stopping people from commemorating. No need to seek confrontation.

Bratwurst BoyThreads: 11 Posts: 14,563 Joined: Apr 2, 07 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 16:24 #3
Germans are behind it, surely....:(

Mr GrunwaldThreads: 34 Posts: 2,354 Joined: Dec 16, 08 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 16:27 #4
Bratwurst Boy: Germans are behind it, surely....:( Yes they are! The 9/11 and all $h!t it wasn't the Jews/west/Muslims/commies/etc it was zhe Gerrys :p

TorqThreads: 65 Posts: 4,023 Joined: Apr 10, 09 MEMBER ♂	Edited by: Torq Apr 13, 10, 16:28 #5
enkidu: Forbidding polish personnel from honouring the tragically deceased in the plane crash near the city of Smolensk with a two-minute tribute may be considered as lack of compassion and an act of humiliation. Bratwurst Boy: Germans are behind it, surely....:( Is the company manager's name Meier? ;)

time meansThreads: 9 Posts: 2,309 Joined: Apr 21, 08 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 16:30 #6
enkidu: we were forbidden to switch off the production lines for two minutes That might sound easier than it is to actually do (continuous process)

aphrodisiacThreads: 19 Posts: 3,907 Joined: Apr 15, 09 ♀	Edited by: aphrodisiac Apr 13, 10, 16:31 #7
when my mother passed away from cancer in Poland I did not get a day off at work. Was I angry?, no. I was still in shock to even think about it. What is the purpose of the protest anyways. Did they break the law. Sure it is a case of human compassion gone wrong. Nothing less, nothing more.

HarryThreads: 59 Posts: 7,996 Joined: May 2, 07 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 16:36 #8
Thanks for that address, I've just sent the company an email of support.

jonniThreads: 26 Posts: 4,189 Joined: Nov 27, 07 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 16:39 #9
Here in Poland shops like Biedronka, Żabka and Tesco closed on Sunday. Ostensibly in mourning, but in fact it is the quietest day of the week and one in which the shopfloor staff, among the lowest paid people in the country, receive overtime on which they depend.

Bratwurst BoyThreads: 11 Posts: 14,563 Joined: Apr 2, 07 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 16:39 #10
Mr Grunwald: Yes they are! The 9/11 and all $h!t it wasn't the Jews/west/Muslims/commies/etc it was zhe Gerrys :p Torq: Is the company manager's name Meier? ;)

convexThreads: 47 Posts: 7,189 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 16:56 #11
Here's a suggestion, come to work a little early, observe 2 minutes outside with whoever wants to join. Then go to work. What's the problem?

cmsThreads: 6 Posts: 155 Joined: Sep 4, 09 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 18:10 #12
Jonni, all of those retailiers are paying their staff for the lost hours. And Sunday is actually the 3rd biggest day for most retailers, especially those in shopping centers or hypers.

jonniThreads: 26 Posts: 4,189 Joined: Nov 27, 07 ♂	Edited by: jonni Apr 13, 10, 18:13 #13
cms: all of those retailiers are paying their staff for the lost hours Even nadgodzine overtime shifts at places like Zabka? Those extra few zlotych are quite important to the people who do them. The need for food shops to be open that day was proved by the queues at minimarkets and off-licences that didn't close.

doctorgrenadesThreads: - Posts: 27 Joined: Apr 13, 10 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 22:11 #14
talk about overreaction, i think they need to grow up and stop acting like spoilt little children. dont forget laurens employ you, they dont owe you a thing

f stopThreads: 28 Posts: 2,682 Joined: Dec 9, 09 ♀	Apr 13, 10, 22:15 #15
WTF people? You really want to do this at work? You can have your 2 min, hell, you can have 2 fvcking hours, just don't make a spectacle at work. Grieving, my a$$. Attention seeking fools.

doctorgrenadesThreads: - Posts: 27 Joined: Apr 13, 10 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 22:21 #16
god damn right!!!can we get a 1000 nappies sent to laurens please, and bono to write a charity song for them

RevokeNiceThreads: 21 Posts: 2,459 Joined: Jun 20, 09 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 23:20 #17
Why didnt they offer to cut their lunch hour short by a couple of minutes in exchange for a brief two minute tribute on the shop floor?

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Apr 13, 10, 23:26 #18
That's hardly humiliated but it is a bit off. I would have allowed them that silence but production can be a precision art. The Poles needed to raise this in advance as advance planning is key in industry.

f stopThreads: 28 Posts: 2,682 Joined: Dec 9, 09 ♀	Apr 14, 10, 02:17 #19
Did you see that video?? During two minutes of SILENCE all the alarms and horns were turned on, cacophony of grating noise. Unbelievable.

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Apr 14, 10, 02:37 #20

Enkidu you won't get anywhere with this protest. It's not against the law. I'm sure if the workers had said to the manager that they wanted to take 2 minutes to observe the deaths in Saturdays tragedy the manager would have obliged but to ask an entire company to halt production is crazy. To stop machines, delay drivers and sellers. Too much.

Kaczynski's death is sad as is that of his wife and the many others but for many life must go on. There is no other way.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07 ♂	Apr 14, 10, 05:40 #21
aphrodisiac: when my mother passed away from cancer in Poland I did not get a day off at work. Was I angry?, no. I was still in shock to even think about it. I'm in shock that you didn't take 2 days off that you were entitled to by law.

aphrodisiacThreads: 19 Posts: 3,907 Joined: Apr 15, 09 ♀	Apr 14, 10, 06:06 #22
z_darius: I'm in shock that you didn't take 2 days off that you were entitled to by law. So am I, but I worked for a really strange people. I could not believe it either, I quit after 3 months anyways.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07 ♂	Apr 14, 10, 06:16 #23
aphrodisiac: So am I, but I worked for a really strange people. I could not believe it either, I quit after 3 months anyways. They must have been very strange indeed, as Poles are hardly any different from others in understanding the grief people go through after a death of a loved one.

aphrodisiacThreads: 19 Posts: 3,907 Joined: Apr 15, 09 ♀	Apr 14, 10, 06:53 #24
z_darius: They must have been very strange indeed, as Poles are hardly any different from others in understanding the grief people go through after a death of a loved one. I was working for Canadians.

richasisThreads: 5 Posts: 833 Joined: Jul 25, 09 ♂	Edited by: richasis Apr 14, 10, 08:16 #25
Seanus: That's hardly humiliated but it is a bit off. I would have allowed them that silence but production can be a precision art. The Poles needed to raise this in advance as advance planning is key in industry. Unbridled Capitalism sometimes proves itself 'an impersonal thing' to, and for, its Means of Production.

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Apr 14, 10, 14:18 #26

Bratwurst Boy:

Germans are behind it, surely....:(

Nah for sure the Jews!

I wonder if Enkidu will be writing to all those protesting about the president being laid to rest at the castle in Krakow, aparently quite a few dont want him, they're Polish too!

As for this thread...FFS..this is England, go home to grieve if you feel that bad..Its got nothing to do with us.

f stop:

WTF people? You really want to do this at work?
You can have your 2 min, hell, you can have 2 fvcking hours, just don't make a spectacle at work.
Grieving, my a$$. Attention seeking fools.

Yep! I even saw some grafity today on a building in Manchester saying RIP and then some Polish names! fekin idiots!

convexThreads: 47 Posts: 7,189 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Apr 14, 10, 14:29 #27
f stop: Did you see that video?? During two minutes of SILENCE all the alarms and horns were turned on, cacophony of grating noise. Unbelievable. I made that comment too as I was watching it.

♀

Edited by: Amathyst Apr 14, 10, 14:34 #28

enkidu:

We perceive such attitude as an act of hate crime and are considering taking serious legal actions including reporting the case to the Police and also advising the owners of the Bakkavör Group in Iceland as well as the mass media about the above.

PMSL..Sorry this bit did make me laugh...the mass media in the UK would tell you to go fcuk yourself if you sent this letter in to them, or they might publish it for a laugh!

♂

Apr 14, 10, 15:59 #29

Laurens Patisseries Latest NEWS:

Very tough negotiations were held last night at the factory. The atmosphere was heated up and many words were said. The point of view of polish contingent was presented and certain issues raised. Discussion explained the reason behind the action and presented an action that the factory plans on taking. Therefore we were asked to bring to a halt all actions already taken till the company has issued the official statement.

Here is an appeal to all the participants in the PROTEST action:

- Do please put on hold any actions currently taken and wait till 17:00 GMT when the statement will be issued and till 00:00 when the organisers comments will be published.

This is an unprecedented event, very difficult to deal with for both sides. Each of us has to observe the law and follow the rules therefore the outcome we await should be within reason and the law.

aphrodisiacThreads: 19 Posts: 3,907 Joined: Apr 15, 09 ♀	Apr 14, 10, 16:12 #30
Marcinb: - Do please put on hold any actions currently taken and wait till 17:00 GMT when the statement will be issued and till 00:00 when the organisers comments will be published. and you just posted it on the public forum.

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Polish workers humiliated at the Laurens Patisseries - protest