22-07-2016, 09:22 PM
22
Re: 7,400 staff who don't speak English !!
Originally Posted by Pumicestone
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If it's any consolation to my friends in the UK, believe me, we have the same problem in Australia.
Until recently, my 96yo mother was in a fairly large aged-care home with plenty of good Australian staff and some equally good Asians..
But as her condition worsened there were frequent phone calls to my home to keep me informed of developments.
Unfortunately, the caller was always Asian and I could rarely understand a word.
I have no problems at all with such folk holding down good well-paid jobs for which they are qualified.
But they should not be required to communicate, especially by phone, when they are patently unable to do so effectively.
Also, vote into power, a party who will de-regulate the particular industry so as to allow these abuses to go un-checked. That, IMHO, is where the blame should placed.
22-07-2016, 09:54 PM
23
Re: 7,400 staff who don't speak English !!
Originally Posted by DaveA
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It would strike me that the blame should be placed at the door of the private company owning or running the nursing home. If it's anything like here in the US, they are able to get the foreign folks to work for less pay, poorer working conditions, etc. that regular citizens would complain about. This is how rampant capitalism works. Pay the help as little as the government allows, then charge the highest rates that are also allowed, and you have maximized your profit.
(I just made that phrase up. Good, eh?)
22-07-2016, 11:08 PM
25
Re: 7,400 staff who don't speak English !!
Originally Posted by Pumicestone
->
If it's any consolation to my friends in the UK, believe me, we have the same problem in Australia.
Until recently, my 96yo mother was in a fairly large aged-care home with plenty of good Australian staff and some equally good Asians..
But as her condition worsened there were frequent phone calls to my home to keep me informed of developments.
Unfortunately, the caller was always Asian and I could rarely understand a word.
I have no problems at all with such folk holding down good well-paid jobs for which they are qualified.
But they should not be required to communicate, especially by phone, when they are patently unable to do so effectively.
I just fainted, but I'm alright again now. It was because I agree with you for once Pummy.
23-07-2016, 12:23 AM
26
Re: 7,400 staff who don't speak English !!
Originally Posted by DaveA
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Spot on, JBR - - - spot on!!!
I suppose they're all asleep, though, and I should get to bed too.
23-07-2016, 08:41 AM
28
Re: 7,400 staff who don't speak English !!
There is no legal requirement for anyone in the UK to speak English is there? It is not the "official" language of the country is it? It just happens to be the language most people speak.It's the same in Australia; though migrants used to have to pass the "language test" and they get more migration points if they speak English once in the country there is no official language (unlike, say, Malaysia where the official language is Bahasa even though over a third of the population speak Chinese).
23-07-2016, 09:12 AM
29
Re: 7,400 staff who don't speak English !!
Originally Posted by JBR
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Of course I didn't make up that phrase; it's from Shakespeare, of course. I'm surprised no-one criticised me! I suppose they're all asleep, though, and I should get to bed too.
23-07-2016, 04:54 PM
30
Re: 7,400 staff who don't speak English !!
Originally Posted by DaveA
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..... the blame should be placed at the door of the private company owning or running the nursing home. If it's anything like here in the US, they are able to get the foreign folks to work for less pay, poorer working conditions, etc. .....
Yes, the company running the place should ensure that tasks are allocated to staff who are able to perform those tasks - particularly communicating effectively with the person paying the bills.
However, here, an Australian nurse or carer (or cook or cleaner) working in that place would be paid exactly the same amount as a similarly qualified person who arrived from Asia last week.
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