Unions protest because contractors are using foreign workers at power station.

harrup

leveller2911 wrote: »

Spot on , thats what I've been saying all along.we will soon be a nation all on the minimum wage.Thats NOT progress .:rolleyes:

If we are all earning £5-75 per hour how do we fund the health service,schools etc????.
Earnings in this country are probably higher than some of Europe but look at the cost of living and we are taxed up to the eyeballs.:rolleyes:

It's the mother of all conundrums.

Because the cost of living is so darn high, we literally can't afford to work for a modest wage. And we all expect the same standard of living once enjoyed only by the wealthy. A house/flat, cars, holidays & consumer goods aplenty.

But unless we can produce goods at a competitive price - which equals low production costs - we don't have enough jobs to go round. We can't all be chiefs and we can't all work in admin/skilled jobs. We have to produce something that people need and want to buy from us...or we are royally screwed. Unfortunately, UK manufacuring is virtually moribund. Yet, if we had said "NO" to the pretty tat from the Far East and the 2 quid T-shirt from Tesco's...we wouldn't be debating this. If we had yelled " protect British jobs - we insist on homemade merchandise!" as loudly as we are screaming now, this wouldn't be happening. And we KNEW it was happening, as all this didn't occur behind closed doors. The news were full of reports of companies closing down - or relocating to the Far East - and we did...nothing. Actually, that's not true. We bought the cheap sofa made in India, and the cheap clothes from China and thought " Wow, that's cheap - excellent!".

But, how curious, now we threaten to riot unless it's ..."made in Britain"???? ( i.e. the workers wanting the job given to the Italians). Interesting how little we care about nationality as long as it benefits us and saves us a few pounds, regardless of how fleeting this apparent saving this may be. We just wanted to buy it and as cheaply as possible

Anyway, the solution is seemingly obvious: significantly lower the cost of living. Only problem: HOW??? Or.... halve the population. Look back through history. Until only 50 years ago there used to be major wars and assorted plagues which kept the population in check. Now there is neither and people live longer then ever before. Small wonder there aren't enough slices in the pie. Anyone game for World War 3 and a good dose of the plague?

dosh

Frank Field predicted these problems years ago:

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2007/10/open-door-labour-immigration

Wookster

hethmar wrote: »

How can you say its bull !!!! - may be you have lived a privileged life and dont realise there are poor but decent people in this country - your own people who you dont seem to care about. All the bleeding heart liberals rush to defend foreigners, what about the poor already here and struggling to live? Not quite as fashionable cause is it?

Actually I'm an immigrant myself, from an African state. I am an accountant and have worked my way up in the time that I've been here and I can tell you everything that I've said has some basis in fact (i.e. my own experience).

What you don't seem to appreciate is that the UK has had it fairly good for many years (30) where as Eastern Europe is just opening up - people have opportunities they could only dream about 10 years ago.

Wookster

harrup wrote: »

What you are effectively saying is that British folks where no longer interested in doing the picking because they either a) got a better offer elsewhere or b) didn't think it was worth their while for that kind of money ( i.e the reduced pay), or c) didn't need that job that badly because they knew they wouldn't starve or go without medical care or schooling even if they didn't work there.

I think there is a great deal of truth in that.

Wookster

dinoyoung wrote: »

Your solution to the current crises appears to be to make Brits poor?

Well that depends on what your definition of wealth is. If its prohibitively high house prices that make the UK uncompetitive on an international scale then dam right I think that needs to change. In countries like Germany, Holland, Belgium pay is significantly less, though oddly enough they have a much higher standard of living. Why do you think that is?

dinoyoung wrote: »

The British work the longest hours in Europe, fact!

You keep sprouting like its some elixir however hours work does not necessarily mean being productive and in fact I would say that if one is obliged to work long hours to get the job done then they are likely quite unproductive and probably need to work smarter.

dosh

Frank's not letting Brown off the hook:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1133122/FRANK-FIELD-You-promised-British-jobs-British-workers-Gordon--make-happen.html

hethmar

Well to be honest, I didnt realise how many immigrants are on this thread.

Of course I realise the Eastern Europeans see the opportunities further afield, I have stated above that I would also seek out such a better life if I were in the same situation. But that is no longer the case, we are no longer the country of milk and honey where everyone can be fed and housed.

What I am saying is that it is a ridiculous situation where our own people are struggling to survive and we are allowing more people into the country. As Ive also said above, those who come to this country for a free ride should be sent packing immediately. Those who work hard and make a contribution to the community - fine, I have no problem with that.

Whatever your bias, (which I see now), if you spent your life working hard, had a house with your wife and 2 children and someone knocked at the door and said, "Ive come from a small flat, your house is bigger - my wife and 4 children want to live in it with you as we will be more comfortable". What would you say "Of course, come in, share what little we have - we are pleased to let you take whatever you want and of course, you can have my job aswell?" No, you would slam the door and tell them to clear off!

That is how many British feel now. We dont blame those who saw an opportunity for an easier/ better life, we blame our government for not having the foresight to see what would happen (when the rest of us could) and for then not having the guts to sort it out.

dosh

Comment from BBC News:

Added: Friday, 30 January, 2009, 11:21 GMT 11:21 UK
Fifty years of dumbing down our skills and Education system.Fifty years of systematic destruction of our Manufacturing base. Fifty years of neglecting our own people and culture and indentity.Where has this got us? We need the French to build our nuclear power stations, the Germans to design our cars and both to design our aircraft.We need the Japanese to make our T.V.'s We once led the world in all these industries and more.
It's time to rebuild our Industrial base and put our country first.
[VAINGLORIOUSMINK], WESTON-SUPER-MARE, United Kingdom
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'MS sans serif']Recommended by 510 people[/font]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'MS sans serif'][/font]

hethmar

dosh, we could ALL see this - why oh why couldnt the powers that be see it?

The_White_Horse

wasn't there a programme in the 80's called "Auf Wiedersen Pet" where a load of English workers went abroad to work as builders?

Its alright for us to go there, but not for them to come here.

This is the wor of the greedy unions. always wanting more. more and more year after year, more. they never give anything back.
well hello my little myopic pals, you've priced yourself out of the market now.

you all get what you deserve in the end.

the only union that won't be held to market conditions is the tube, because there is no competition. If only another company could build another tube network. The joy.