Join for free
Page 2 of 7 < 1 2 3 4 > Last »
swimfeeders
Chatterbox
swimfeeders is offline
Shropshire
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 24,056
swimfeeders is male  swimfeeders has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
22-06-2017, 09:12 PM
11

Re: Why can't we pick our own veggies ?

Hi

We have had seasonal workers for years.

An extract from a Govt Report.

A Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) has
been in place for over sixty years. Since 2008 the SAWS
has only been open to workers from Bulgaria and Romania (A2 countries). The
present quota is 21,250 who mostly work in horticulture. The Department for
Environment, Food & Rural Affairs states that the total number of seasonal and
casual workers in agriculture is some 67,000.
The SAWS is extremely well managed by the UK Border Agency. There are nine
operators. Five are sole operators who supply labour only to their own farms. The
remaining four are multiple operators supplying labour to many different growers.
Over 500 growers use the SAWS, with a concentration in Herefordshire, East
Anglia, Kent and the east coast of Scotland. The operators monitor the growers
and the UK Border Agency monitors both the operators and growers. Thus, the
SAWS workforce is properly regulated which may not always be the case with
labour supplied by gangmasters from A8 countries (Poland, Lithuania, etc).
Most parties gain from the SAWS. Growers get a supply of efficient labour tied to
(living on) the farm and who cannot work in other sectors. Supermarkets receive
a reliable supply of British produce – one major supermarket described the
SAWS as “incredibly important”. Consumers gain via prices for British goods
which are lower than they otherwise would be. Migrants realize a good wage –
normally over £300 per week and have low living costs. British workers are not
displaced by SAWS workers (see below) and there are no real integration issues

So we have had seasonal workers long before we went into the EU.

We also have other seasonal agricultural workers, such as Sheep Shearers.

Even with Unemployment in the UK we simply cannot get enough people to work in agriculture or food processing factories.

Many want 9 to 5 jobs, weekends off and prefer to live in towns with all the facilities.
AnnieS's Avatar
AnnieS
Chatterbox
AnnieS is offline
United Kingdom
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 18,420
AnnieS is female  AnnieS has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
22-06-2017, 09:24 PM
12

Re: Why can't we pick our own veggies ?

Is this based on the article about the prices of strawberries going up if we don't have EU labour?

You're not going to get the unemployed to go to strawberry fields on the other side of the country to work from dawn until dusk for the minimum wage to pick strawberries the way foreign workers are motivated to. They will want more money for the hours and the inconvenience. It will just mean more expensive strawberries and less choice in our shops. The sort of people who can do it here just aren't dedicated enough to do it day in day out for the entire season. You need such workers on an industrial scale because we have a large number of strawberry farms. Taking away benefits doesn't mean these people will do a good job. They might just mess around.
AnnieS's Avatar
AnnieS
Chatterbox
AnnieS is offline
United Kingdom
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 18,420
AnnieS is female  AnnieS has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
22-06-2017, 09:31 PM
13

Re: Why can't we pick our own veggies ?

Originally Posted by Muddy ->
Traveling Australians looking for casual work would do this .

There aren't so many travelling Antipodeans in the UK these days. Their mass influx tailed off way before the brexit vote. They weren't too interested in fruit picking. They came here to earn tax-free wages from professional contracts so they could take advantage of the great exchange rates to build a house and save a nice nest egg for their future back home. There was a massive tax scam for a couple of decades when they were setting up ltd companies paying next to nothing in tax, even though they were working on long term contracts and earning a packet. You don't read about that in the papers. Now there's new tax rules and sterling is weak I can't see the appeal for them.
Twink55's Avatar
Twink55
Chatterbox
Twink55 is offline
Cheshire, England
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 16,510
Twink55 is female  Twink55 has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
22-06-2017, 09:36 PM
14

Re: Why can't we pick our own veggies ?

Originally Posted by swimfeeders ->
Hi

Minimum wage is minimum wage.

If the British will not do it unless we pay more, up goes the price of food.

How are we going to force people to move to agricultural areas?

How are we going to force the unemployed to work?
We could try stopping their benefits if they don't!
realspeed
Chatterbox
realspeed is offline
South coast
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 12,931
realspeed is male  realspeed has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
22-06-2017, 09:46 PM
15

Re: Why can't we pick our own veggies ?

Put the unemployed to work on the farms for their dole money
AnnieS's Avatar
AnnieS
Chatterbox
AnnieS is offline
United Kingdom
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 18,420
AnnieS is female  AnnieS has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
22-06-2017, 10:07 PM
16

Re: Why can't we pick our own veggies ?

pfft they'd rather go homeless...
spitfire
Chatterbox
spitfire is offline
Warwickshire
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 29,878
spitfire is male  spitfire has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
22-06-2017, 10:18 PM
17

Re: Why can't we pick our own veggies ?

Some fruit pickers are selective, everyone wants to pick the Strawberries, and Blow the Raspberries.
AnnieS's Avatar
AnnieS
Chatterbox
AnnieS is offline
United Kingdom
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 18,420
AnnieS is female  AnnieS has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
22-06-2017, 10:26 PM
18

Re: Why can't we pick our own veggies ?

I'm sure if we farmed cannabis there would be a waiting list for pickers....
TessA
Official Poinker
TessA is offline
UK
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21,857
TessA is female  TessA has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
22-06-2017, 11:13 PM
19

Re: Why can't we pick our own veggies ?

Originally Posted by spitfire ->
Some fruit pickers are selective, everyone wants to pick the Strawberries, and Blow the Raspberries.
You are a treasure!
TessA
Official Poinker
TessA is offline
UK
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 21,857
TessA is female  TessA has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
22-06-2017, 11:18 PM
20

Re: Why can't we pick our own veggies ?

Guess what!

I blame Brexit!
 
Page 2 of 7 < 1 2 3 4 > Last »

Thread Tools


© Copyright 2009, Over50sForum   Contact Us | Over 50s Forum! | Archive | Privacy Statement | Terms of Use | Top

Powered by vBulletin Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.