Quizzes & Puzzles0 min ago
Unemployed Brits Too Lazy To Work On The Land Apparently
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Seems like a very simple solution to this problem Pick vegetables or lose your benefits.
Seems like a very simple solution to this problem Pick vegetables or lose your benefits.
Answers
It amazes me that almost all of the problems mentioned here which prevent British people taking jobs do not seem to prevent immigrants from doing so. With the possible exception of age (no, I would not expect most 65 year olds to spend their days picking vegetables) most of the other problems mentioned are surmountable
15:53 Thu 18th Sep 2014
Before I retired the company employed a new labourer. When he was given a broom and told to sweep the floor he put his coat on and went home. The next employee was foreign, he went out of his way to impress and he was soon on the promotion ladder. From labourer to trainee CNC setter in less than two years.
It amazes me that almost all of the problems mentioned here which prevent British people taking jobs do not seem to prevent immigrants from doing so. With the possible exception of age (no, I would not expect most 65 year olds to spend their days picking vegetables) most of the other problems mentioned are surmountable.
However, this problem is not one exclusive to farm work. Many of the "menial" jobs in the hospitality trade are now done by immigrants, mainly (though not exclusively) from Eastern Europe. I spent last weekend in a very pleasant village pub in Sussex. Three of the four bar staff were eastern Europeans, most of the waiting staff were too and the chambermaid (there were only eight rooms and she did them all) was from Poland. Speaking to the governor over a nightcap he was at pains to explain that his jobs were well paid (he paid more than the minimum wage, his staff shared all the tips which were not inconsiderable, and a few positions were “live in”). But he simply could not get young Brits to do the work. Most of them simply will not work in his trade as it means them working when their mates are out getting bladdered or, with their degree in Media Studies, they considered the work beneath them.
Agreed, some older people do face some difficulties getting work, but there are huge numbers of young unemployed people in the UK. Excluding those in full-time education, there were 489,000 unemployed 16-24 year olds in May to July 2014 and 200,000 of them had been unemployed for more than twelve months. Young people can travel from the far end of the continent (and beyond) and soon find themselves a job and somewhere to live. The reason many young British people don’t take these jobs is because it suits them not to.
However, this problem is not one exclusive to farm work. Many of the "menial" jobs in the hospitality trade are now done by immigrants, mainly (though not exclusively) from Eastern Europe. I spent last weekend in a very pleasant village pub in Sussex. Three of the four bar staff were eastern Europeans, most of the waiting staff were too and the chambermaid (there were only eight rooms and she did them all) was from Poland. Speaking to the governor over a nightcap he was at pains to explain that his jobs were well paid (he paid more than the minimum wage, his staff shared all the tips which were not inconsiderable, and a few positions were “live in”). But he simply could not get young Brits to do the work. Most of them simply will not work in his trade as it means them working when their mates are out getting bladdered or, with their degree in Media Studies, they considered the work beneath them.
Agreed, some older people do face some difficulties getting work, but there are huge numbers of young unemployed people in the UK. Excluding those in full-time education, there were 489,000 unemployed 16-24 year olds in May to July 2014 and 200,000 of them had been unemployed for more than twelve months. Young people can travel from the far end of the continent (and beyond) and soon find themselves a job and somewhere to live. The reason many young British people don’t take these jobs is because it suits them not to.
They probably think the pay/conditions are such that they are being taken advantage of, and that if forced due to removal of benefits that, that would be tacit approval of taking advantage of those desperate. What is needed is an objective measurement linking pay & conditions rather than rely on a minimum and the goodwill of those offering employment. Once agreed nationally then there could be no excuse for not mucking in when the opportunity arose.
Many immigrants will have come from less well off places (otherwise why would they come) so they consider the job package a good one. Whereas a local may see that as driving down the workers' wages by employing cheap labour desperate to endure lower standard working conditions, from elsewhere in the world.
I will agree that if people are turning down decently paid work in their locale (or accessible by public transport) then that is wrong - but going back to fruit/veg picking, it must be seventy or more miles from me that such a farm exists.
My son in law failed despite his best efforts to get a job in his area of expertise,he now commutes to Prague and Basel mainly (is of course handsomely paid too) and gets to see the children most weekends - some do get off their behinds and do it.
My son in law failed despite his best efforts to get a job in his area of expertise,he now commutes to Prague and Basel mainly (is of course handsomely paid too) and gets to see the children most weekends - some do get off their behinds and do it.
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