A BLACKBURN employment agency boss has defended Eastern European workers against allegations they take jobs from home-grown people.

Zdziswav Sudnik, who’s known as Roy, has run The Sudnik Employment Agency in Wellington Street St John’s for 13 years and places staff across the county.

The 65-year-old said he had 250 Eastern European clients, mainly Poles and Latvian, working for a range of firms from engineering to packaging.

Mr Sudnik, born in the UK to Polish parents, said: “They don’t take jobs from local people.

“They play an important role in the local economy and do jobs many English workers do not want to do.

“Many of my clients really welcome Eastern European staff who are happy to work hard for the minimum wage of close to it.

“Indeed I have had to stop some from doing too many hours.

“I’ve placed some English workers successfully but a lot of them do not last.

“They either don’t like the work or the wages and won’t accept the jobs on offer or leave after a few days.

“It ‘s just not true that Eastern Europeans come to this country and take jobs from local people.”

Mr Sudnik said he didn’t accept the flow of workers from Eastern Europe would end with ‘Brexit’ from the European Union.

Former Blackburn MP Jack Straw said: “Most Eastern Europeans I know in East Lancashire are hard working and play an important role in the local economy.

“We know from this fist hand experience that there are some indigenous Brits who do not want to take jobs that are available and we need to investigate why this we still have unemployment amongst them when jobs are available.”

Mike Damms, chief executive of the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said: “For many employers Eastern European workers have and important role to play when they have appropriate skills or meet with a particular labour shortage.”

A Department for Work and Pension spokesman said: “UK nationals make up nearly 90 per cent of all people in work.

“In the last six years the number of British people in work rose by more than 1.5million”.