Jeremy Hunt in plea to early retirees: ‘Britain needs you’

Grumpy_chap

MACKEM99 said:

Has no one thought about the huge number who are still in education at 18 and in some cases after Uni do not go into the workforce till they are 25, 

That was a drive through the 1980's and 1990's as there was high unemployment and being at University was not being unemployed.  At the same time, there was encouragement for over-55's to take early retirement as they were hogging a job that could be filled by a younger person in more need of employment.  Again, moving workforce to retired got the unemployment figures down.

The problem of not enough workforce would have been a dream for the politicians of the 1980's...

Linton

I dont really understand why our workforce is insufficient...

100 years ago the best part of a million people worked in the mines.  Hundreds of thousands worked on the railways, buses, post office etc. Millions worked on the production lines or in the mills  Millions still worked in agriculture. The largest male job classification was "unskilled labourer".  Millions of women were either employed as domestic servants or were fully occupied with running their home and caring for their children when washing day really meant a full day for washing the clothes.

With all these jobs now occupying a small fraction of the numbers they used to and automation greatly reducing other roles, what is everyone doing?  Would anyone care if they stopped doing it - how many jobs are truly productive?

zagfles

mumf said:

Andy_L said:

mumf said:

unfortunately,the majority of government, MPs and the like are ex Public School, ( Hunt is) ,so therefore are from wealthy families. They are born,reared and educated in a world that is miles apart  from people who do proper work. And that basic ‘proper ‘ work was clapped for and congratulated during COVID 19. In fact ,it was rather interesting to see who wasn’t actually missed at that time -  those were the ones who earn (ed) a shed load of money ,unlike the ‘basic’ workers who were praised. How soon society and parliament have forgotten. 

From 2019, 

"Overall 29% of current Members of Parliament come from a private school background,"

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/elitism-in-britain-2019

Fair figure from four years ago. Almost a third of them then? That’s still a substantial number. 

Yeah, those born with a silver spoon in their mouth may actually believe propaganda that people on £30k+ need to use foodbanks to survive. Luckily we have MPs like Lee Anderson who used to be a miner and has worked for the CAB who understands the real world https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/01/22/tory-mp-lee-anderson-food-banks-have-become-industry-now-scandal/

mumf

Linton said:

I dont really understand why our workforce is insufficient...

100 years ago the best part of a million people worked in the mines.  Hundreds of thousands worked on the railways, buses, post office etc. Millions worked on the production lines or in the mills  Millions still worked in agriculture. The largest male job classification was "unskilled labourer".  Millions of women were either employed as domestic servants or were fully occupied with running their home and caring for their children when washing day really meant a full day for washing the clothes.

With all these jobs now occupying a small fraction of the numbers they used to and automation greatly reducing other roles, what is everyone doing?  Would anyone care if they stopped doing it - how many jobs are truly productive?

We had Brexit and the workers went to their original countries. 🤣 

zagfles

Linton said:

I dont really understand why our workforce is insufficient...

100 years ago the best part of a million people worked in the mines.  Hundreds of thousands worked on the railways, buses, post office etc. Millions worked on the production lines or in the mills  Millions still worked in agriculture. The largest male job classification was "unskilled labourer".  Millions of women were either employed as domestic servants or were fully occupied with running their home and caring for their children when washing day really meant a full day for washing the clothes.

With all these jobs now occupying a small fraction of the numbers they used to and automation greatly reducing other roles, what is everyone doing?  Would anyone care if they stopped doing it - how many jobs are truly productive?

Well, crops are rotting in the fields because there's no-one to harvest them. So we rely on imports, and then wonder why the price skyrockets when the "breadbasket of Europe" gets plundered.

Anyone fancy a job working in the fields? Nah, thought not.

MikeJXE

Now here's the thing 

I'm not rich and not poor, I don't need extra money to live as I want. 

I retired early at 63 only because I needed to look after my wife for the next 10 years

I truly loved every minute of my job from age 15 to 63

Now I'm 82 and guess what 

I a job interview Monday

enthusiasticsaver

No neither my husband nor myself would return to work.  We retired about 5 years ago when both of us were around 58 so we are 63 and 64 now.  We retired because both of our  employers  were quite frankly making daft decisions (one large multi national electronic engineering conglomerate for my husband) and local government in HE for me. From the sounds of it from people who still work nothing has changed so no carrot would entice us back. 

 We could afford to retire so we went but if we enjoyed our jobs still we would have stayed.  My husband actually offered to work part time as he was a highly trained engineer and there was a severe shortage then (even more now) but the answer was no so he left on a very good pension as we had been over paying for over 30 years. We saved simply because we wanted to be in control of when we left and enjoy a good standard of living with ironically better inflation linked increases than if we were working. 

Britain needs skilled employees but as in everything this government and previous ones are short sighted and I daresay Brexit hasn't helped. We did not vote for that so as far as we are concerned if there is a shortage of workers the government needs to focus on making the current cohort of working age people (our children included) feel valued and invest in training.  Otherwise many of them will be walking overseas no doubt and taking their skills with them. 

enthusiasticsaver

Audaxer said:

Expotter said:

Today Jeremy Hunt said : “So, to those who retired early after the pandemic, or haven’t found the right role after furlough, I say: Britain needs you. And we will look at the conditions necessary to make work worth your while.”

Would anyone here consider unretiring and returning to work, what would it really take to make it worthwhile?  

Oh well, it doesn't seem to include me as I retired early, but a few years before the pandemic! 

I don't think any incentive would tempt me to return to work. 

It doesn't include us either as we retired age 58 in 2016 and 2018. No incentive would persuade us either. We do not need more money as we saved for retirement  and to be honest that is the only thing they can possibly offer and that would create division within the employment market. 

Would it not be better to make working conditions better for those still working to encourage them to stay? 

SouthCoastBoy

I think the crux of the issue is working conditions, which I imagine most mps don't grasp. People are fed up with performance reviews, and being told you have to work harder but are offered very little extra in return. I know I am.

Spinybif

Time to phase out all unearned benefits.  Hard workers are fed up paying taxes to see the lazy & stupid  claim benefits without giving anything back.  Simple solution, you have to work for the community on the National Minimum Wage to earn your benefits. Even the disabled could read to children who are behind at school, fully able  could litter pick or  remove graphiti.  I'll bet 90%of those "unable" to get work would suddenly do so. If you have made sacrifices to earn your early retirement and don't need to rely on the state good luck to you. Why breach the LTA only to be penalised by 55% tax whilst working for the privilege