The Reality of Working for a Supermarket in 2009/Return to Victorian Britain

Shakethedisease

My secretary is from Lithuania. She is currently on a package of £35000 a year, plus bonus, plus all the usual perks (health insurance, life insurance, free gym etc etc).

She told me before that her last job in Vilnius paid her £300 a month.

Unlike the OP's friend, she arrived, worked hard, improved her marketability and is now an excellent contributor to British society.

Tell me, how does one improve one's 'marketability' nowadays ? More education ? More experience ? A 'wow' personality ? .. when one is a warehouse picker (with a degree ).. I'm interested to know ?

yorkshirekev

The reason we cannot see the problem is because it isn't us that is doing the dirty work. No human being regardless of their nationality should work in such working conditions. It is easy to speak from the comfort of a warm office and a permanent full time job (I do). There comes a time where we have to remember the difference between right and wrong.

Instead of seeing Slovakians, Poles and Lithuanians, see instead your friends and your loved ones in that situation. The mark of what sort of society we are is not how high we raise the bar, it is instead how low we sink.

The market is not our God. It is a pretty crude tool that is uneven in its application. Regulation, solidarity and humanity need to play an increasing role in today's business. We are doing ourselves a great diservice by stooping to these levels. By thinking of our recent migrants as people instead of some gastalt mass would be a welcome change to this debate.

ninky_2

lostinrates wrote: »

Yes, I sort of agree. although food we charge for has cost us to provide. But, yes, though its possible to eat alot by forgaing it get harder. Of course, it gets harder till the more heavy the population fighting for the smae resorces.

by far the majority could not survive by legal foraging. not just through lack of skills but because there isn't enough to legally forage. look at that guy on 'lost in the wild'....he could have managed for longer if he could kill the moose but it was illegal. likewise here most game is out of bounds unless you've paid a land owner (possibly rabbits?). and even with rabbits that's assuming you live near fields where there is a right to roam to access the stuff.

ninky_2

carolt wrote: »

The reason we no longer have the idealised work situation you naively seem to imagine still exists where people have jobs for life, with good pensions and benefits, is precisely because the movement of people around the globe, like your friend, have ensured that employers can undercut existing workers and obtain a workforce without the need for any of that.

Your friend is part of the problem.

Oh, the irony.

absolute tosh and complete leftwing immigrant bashing. the reason we don't have jobs with decent pensions etc is because successive governments have seen fit to undermine any legistlation that had been put in place to protect workers. as others have pointed out, tesco are doing nothing illegal (as if only illegal things are morally wrong). this is the problem. the laws of the land allow employers to behave in this way. i think we'd do well to take the fact this person is an immigrant out of the equation and assess whether we think this is a way people should be allowed to employ people or not.

Lotus-eater

ninky wrote: »

by far the majority could not survive by legal foraging. not just through lack of skills but because there isn't enough to legally forage. look at that guy on 'lost in the wild'....he could have managed for longer if he could kill the moose but it was illegal. likewise here most game is out of bounds unless you've paid a land owner (possibly rabbits?). and even with rabbits that's assuming you live near fields where there is a right to roam to access the stuff.

I would go as far as saying that there are only a handful of people in the UK that could survive by legal foraging. It's nigh on impossible.
Illegal foraging, alot more would survive, at least for a year or so and the main things they were eating ran out.
You can die just eating rabbits btw. ..........Interesting fact

ninky_2

dalkey1 wrote: »

If MSE allowed photos as part of our profile, you would instantaneously know I am not what you accuse me of ie a racist.

i don't quite get this....if you are suggesting that your photo would reveal you to be 'non white' then i don't see how this is a guarantee of not being racist. not saying that you are, but some of the worst racists i know are non white.

lostinrates

ninky wrote: »

by far the majority could not survive by legal foraging. not just through lack of skills but because there isn't enough to legally forage. look at that guy on 'lost in the wild'....he could have managed for longer if he could kill the moose but it was illegal. likewise here most game is out of bounds unless you've paid a land owner (possibly rabbits?). and even with rabbits that's assuming you live near fields where there is a right to roam to access the stuff.

My point was that the more people there ar to forage the harder it becomes.

FWiw, rabbits are considered pest control often, you'd lmost certainly find a farmer to let you shoot them. They also, of course, are not native.

abaxas

lostinrates wrote: »

My point was that the more people there ar to forage the harder it becomes.

FWiw, rabbits are considered pest control often, you'd lmost certainly find a farmer to let you shoot them. They also, of course, are not native.

What about the skyrat? Mr pigeon?

lostinrates

abaxas wrote: »

What about the skyrat? Mr pigeon?

Yum. You've just reminded me I have some in the freeer I'd forgotten about. well, thats tomorrow night sorted then, thanks.

abaxas

lostinrates wrote: »

Yum. You've just reminded me I have some in the freeer I'd forgotten about. well, thats tomorrow night sorted then, thanks.

How about squirrel? I dont mind a bit of hoy sin squirrel on the BBQ!