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

tesuhoha

The foreign workers have undercut the building industry and they have also taken all the non-skilled low pay jobs with the result that the majority of the working class youth in this country cannot find work. You may think that this is a good thing and good for the economy etc but foreign builders do not always do a good job. They are often unqualified and will disappear into the sunset at the first sign of any trouble without any hope of them being traced. It is a tragedy for the working class of this country and will lead to long term unemployment and to civil unrest and higher levels of crime.

The middle classes in this country think that bringing in migrant workers is a good thing because their jobs are not yet affected but they will be eventually (its already starting to happen) and when you have to compete with Polish people etc who will do your job for less money and longer hours then maybe some of you will change your tune. The next generation economic migrants will most certainly be moving into the professions.

My son is completely unemployable. He is not academic although we tried very hard to push him into study because we knew the way things were going, but twenty or so years ago he could have got a job sweeping up in a factory or packing in a warehouse. (The other factor is the loss of our manufacturing industry) He is not a troublemaker. He is 19 and never had a job. Every night I come home to find him searching the internet for jobs. He applies for everything and sends his CV off to companies but no one is interested in him. It is heartbreaking to watch. I will get all the standard replies to this about how they will do the job better for less money etc and is he willing to wash bums and clean toilets because they are but my son and countless others are an enormous social problem for this country. They should be at work. I dont blame the foreign workers but the government for letting this happen.

overlander

Don't worry by the time Gordon is finished working his magic they will all be heading back home.

treliac

tesuhoha wrote: »

and is he willing to wash bums

There are plenty of vacancies in social care.

dervish

Any wrote: »

The point is, that there is work for everyone around the world and it's only up to us what we do with the opportunity.

Just because a british Johny doesn't have the courage to go and see the world, doesn't mean that he cannot.

NO the point is that we must NEVER let any foreigners into this country to take jobs when there are British people who are unemplyed.

Similarly there should be absoilutey NO money going to charities abroad when there are so many problems in this country to fix.

dervish

leveller2911 wrote: »

Its illegal under EU law to give priority to "English workers".

[\quote]

another good reason to get out of the EU for good and let Britain make decisions for the benefit of the indigineous British peoples.

harrup

leveller2911 wrote: »

Sadly this is where the !!!!!! really hits the fan.When people are losing jobs left,right and centre companies are taking on cheap foreign labour, British workers can't compete with the imigrant workforce.

I've said it before and will say it again:

5 imigrant workers all working and living in the same house, all paying 20% towards the bills....Flip side of the coin is 1 British worker earning 1 wage,paying 100% of the bills ...he cannot compete, as the unemployed ranks rise there will be unrest and violence will follow.

I have NO problem with imigrant workers as long as its a level playing field and It is NOT ...

"

May I be so impertinent to chime in and add another thought from an employer's ( my husband, not myself) point of view?

Emotionally, I second your sentiment. I feel that a country should employ it's own people prior to offering these much needed jobs to any outsiders. This is hardly a racist nor a zenophopic viewpoint - since I'm a foreigner here myself.;)

However.....aside from the previous replies which already delineated reasons such as globalisation, EU, yada, yada.......there is ONE characteristic which makes foreign workers VERY desirable. And it ain't lower wages.

It's work ethic.

Plain and simple.

They show up every single day, and they are focused and dedicated. They don't develop a myriad of problems like depression, stress induced exhaustion, back ache, migraines, etc, etc....each of the aforementioned necessitating long absences and disruption. They don't persistently moan about their wages being too low....but then refuse pointblank to do a few hours of ( double paid) over time when such is needed in order to fulfil a customer's order. They don't merely work for a few month after which they get pregnant and are then on continuous sick leave from the 3rd month of pregnancy until a year after the child is born. They don't treat their employers with disrespect and with the air of someone doing them a HUGE favour that they showed up in the first place. They don't see the workplace as primarily a place to engage for a chin wag with their chums and to generally do as little actual work as humanly possible.

Instead - foreign workers work. Reliably.

If someone would have told me 10 years ago that I would ever utter the following sentence I would have declared them barmy, would have indignantly turned on my heel and left in utter fury. Still here it is: I would never, ever run a business here in the UK. Unless I didn't have to employ anyone!

I KNOW there are many exceptions to those UK employees I described. I KNOW some of these exceptions. But the problem is that thanks to overzealous employment protection laws it is virtually impossible to get rid of someone not pulling their weight. Their nonchalant, laissez-faire work attitude is demoralizing to others and it spreads. Unless an employee steals from you or threatens you - you can't get rid of the loafers either. Plus, the current system actively encourages people to dodge work as much as they can. They know you can't fire them as long as they have a doctors note. I have yet to meet a GP who doesn't swiftly write a lengthy sick note when presented with "back ache", pregnancy or "stress". Not surprising, really it's not their staff plus they get plenty of moolah themselves from doing not very much work, either.

If I had the choice of employing a Polish bloke/gal or a British lad/woman - as an employer I'd choose the Poles/Hungarians/Bulgarians/Whatever every time of the week and twice on a Sunday. Without an ounce of hesitation or guilt.

And the sole determinant would be different work ethic. We have never, ever paid a non UK employee a single penny less for their work than a British worker. Indeed, many were paid more. They deserved more.

You are right, however - many British workers can't compete. But that hasn't necessarily got much to do with the wages paid. And its largely due to their own choosing.

I know I'll have some people jump down my throat for this post ...but if YOU had to employ people, if it was your money and time you invested in a business, your financial risk.....who would you employ? Someone who is reliable and dedicated...or someone who shares your nationality? I don't care whether the person comes from Timbaktu or Torquay - I just want them to appear on Monday though to Friday, focus and....do what they were employed to do. Odds of achieving that are higher with a guest/foreign worker. Its true.

MrFonzerelli

The British work longer hours than anyone else in Europe.
So hours worked/ work ethic clearly isn't the issue. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/britons-work-longer-hours-than-anyone-else-in-europe-467467.html

Meanwhile the Germans and Dutch work shorter hours, enjoy more holiday, more worker rights and are more productive. Perhaps we should learn from their socioeconomic models.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

paulmx3 wrote: »

this country is in tough times,it is going to get worse,there comes a time when we really do have to think about ourselves first,many factory workers who lose a job now will not find another,many agencies now only take on migrant workers,indeed the temp agency my firm uses has no british temps.

wether it sounds harsh or not the influx must be stopped at least until there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm in agreement wih this.
I wonder what's going to happen when pay freezes/cuts and job losses get to a point (as they will eventually) that your foreign cousin is more than happy to do the job for much,much less than you can afford to do it for.
Will everyone still stand back and say good for him.
In the 70s recession,which will seem like a hiccup compared to this one,employers soon realised that they could exploit workers and the ball was definatley in their court.And they knew it.
Why should British nationals lose out in their own country.
Would the French stand for it,I don't think so.
Time to look out for ourselves I think.

SingleSue

When I was at work I had a similar work ethic to that being attributed to those not from this country.

I would arrive at 7 in the morning (start time was 9), work through my lunch and not leave the office until my work was completed (if it was possible to complete it). My normal leaving time was around the 7 to 8pm area although there was a few occasions when I would stay until near midnight, usually when I was going away on paid holiday and I wanted the desk left clear.

I wouldn't usually partake in the usual office discussions on what had happened in Eastenders or Coronation street, the latest boyfriend or how an evening out at the pub went although I did sometimes join in to give some impression of being friendly/normal!

I was always flexible, came in at weekends at the drop of a hat, although I was usually there anyway and if by chance I had completed all my work, I would then ask around to see if anyone else needed help....this extended the tasks I could do in the office and meant that there was always extra hours to be worked anytime I wanted.

I carried the same sort of work ethic through to when I went part time and boy did it pee some of my colleagues off, most only wanted to do the work set for them and would space it out over the night whereas I still worked at the same speed as I had in my full time job (I can't work slowly, even if I try!) meaning I finished my set work early...I would then go on the hunt for more work or help another colleague out. I would also stay that little extra time at the end to complete a task, I just couldn't see the point of leaving something which could have been completed just by staying another 10 or 15 minutes - unfortunately, I couldn't always stay until the job was finished as the company insisted we had to leave the building by 10.45pm due to security issues (lone females, late at night in a remote area of town) collecting our cars from the car park.

I found by having the above work ethic promoted my career, gave me larger pay rises than my peers and gave me respect amongst my employers...in short I made myself indespensible, something extremely rare amongst shipping office workers whilst giving me a sense of satisfaction of a job well done.

wisbech_lad

Heh - am I the only one that sees the irony?

From the original article. Alstom is the contractor. They are of course French. The power plant owner is RWE, who are German.

And the latest refinery protests? Oh yes, Total. Which is a French company.

So it goes.