[arista]

Already Next and Tesco has said his amounts are wrong.
And the irony is,
it was New Labour that brought in "over
the amount" of migrant workers in their 13 years.



[Labour has become embroiled in a row
with the supermarket chain Tesco and
clothing retailer Next over the recruitment
of cheap eastern European workers
at the expense of British staff.
Chris Bryant, the shadow
immigration minister, said the party had received
claims from employees that both firms
were "unscrupulous employers" which
had recently favoured foreign workers
over Britons. But his words prompted both
companies to accuse Labour of getting
basic facts wrong. ]


http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...oreign-workers





Tony Blair chose not to restrict immigration from Eastern Europe,
saying the availability of cheap labour would boost British businesses

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz2bjv5yOmq

[Z]

There's a really nasty attitude towards immigrants in this country; possibly because we're an island nation and are predisposed to be suspicious of people "entering our territory"...

[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by Zee

There's a really nasty attitude towards immigrants in this country; possibly because we're an island nation and are predisposed to be suspicious of people "entering our territory"...

I wouldnt think the constant bleating on about how indigenous brits dont want to work while foreigners do helps matters. When its a load of bollocks.

Or constant (bull****) stories in the press about how much help immigrants get compared to the british born.

[Z]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

I wouldnt think the constant bleating on about how indigenous brits dont want to work while foreigners do helps matters. When its a load of bollocks.

Or constant (bull****) stories in the press about how much help immigrants get compared to the british born.

Probably not, but that's the huge problem with what the welfare state has become - plenty of people have taken advantage of the system and now there is a part of the population that will happily take benefits instead of working, which then paints everyone who is dependent on the welfare system in a bad light. Then, naturally, people come to this country for a better quality of life and they discover they can live on benefits instead of working! Marvellous. So then all immigrants get painted in a bad light. Essentially I think the welfare system needs a major reboot to weed out people who take advantage of the system; which is where the problematic attitudes towards immigrants stems from I think. It's fine to get annoyed if you're coming into contact with an immigrant worker who's struggling at their job. You'd be just as frustrated if it was an indigenous person who was struggling at it too. It's the more targeted attitudes that need changing in my opinion. It's nasty to hold negative attitudes towards foreign workers because they're "taking jobs".

[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by Zee

Probably not, but that's the huge problem with what the welfare state has become - plenty of people have taken advantage of the system and now there is a part of the population that will happily take benefits instead of working, which then paints everyone who is dependent on the welfare system in a bad light. Then, naturally, people come to this country for a better quality of life and they discover they can live on benefits instead of working! Marvellous. So then all immigrants get painted in a bad light. Essentially I think the welfare system needs a major reboot to weed out people who take advantage of the system; which is where the problematic attitudes towards immigrants stems from I think. It's fine to get annoyed if you're coming into contact with an immigrant worker who's struggling at their job. You'd be just as frustrated if it was an indigenous person who was struggling at it too. It's the more targeted attitudes that need changing in my opinion. It's nasty to hold negative attitudes towards foreign workers because they're "taking jobs".

Indeed.

And I honestly dont think the welfare state needs to be changed much..as the only way to change it(to this government anyway) is to give people less..and what you get on JSA is already a pittance in reality, despite the daily star making out its enough for you to be down the pub all day everyday and such

If wages will not go up(which is the obvious answer...), then we need to give people more help when working low paid jobs. At the moment I understand you can earn Ł20 before they take it away from your benefits, pound by pound. That Ł20 would probably be eaten up in travel costs, plus more. Universal credit sees this to be changed to Ł70 you can earn before it affects anything, which is a lot more realistic.

Most people out of work are only out of work for short periods..obviously at the moment people are out of work for longer than they would have been years ago as there are not many jobs around.

Some rules need to be changed around JSA too. At the moment you cant really study or anything or you lose all entitlements. The massive majority on long term unemployment benefits, are on them because they have no qualifications to actually get a job (hell even waiting jobs and stuff need GCSES/experience these days) yet they cant do a college course as they would have nothing to live on while doing the course. Thats ridiculous to me. Absolutely ridiculous. If they have next to no chance of getting a job, then surely its better for them to better their chances..than spend day in day out applying for stuff they will surely be rejected for, just to meet their JSA conditions?!

[Z]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

Indeed.

And I honestly dont think the welfare state needs to be changed much..as the only way to change it(to this government anyway) is to give people less..and what you get on JSA is already a pittance in reality, despite the daily star making out its enough for you to be down the pub all day everyday and such

If wages will not go up(which is the obvious answer...), then we need to give people more help when working low paid jobs. At the moment I understand you can earn Ł20 before they take it away from your benefits, pound by pound. That Ł20 would probably be eaten up in travel costs, plus more. Universal credit sees this to be changed to Ł70 you can earn before it affects anything, which is a lot more realistic.

Most people out of work are only out of work for short periods..obviously at the moment people are out of work for longer than they would have been years ago as there are not many jobs around.

Some rules need to be changed around JSA too. At the moment you cant really study or anything or you lose all entitlements. The massive majority on long term unemployment benefits, are on them because they have no qualifications to actually get a job (hell even waiting jobs and stuff need GCSES/experience these days) yet they cant do a college course as they would have nothing to live on while doing the course. Thats ridiculous to me. Absolutely ridiculous. If they have next to no chance of getting a job, then surely its better for them to better their chances..than spend day in day out applying for stuff they will surely be rejected for, just to meet their JSA conditions?!

Yeah there's a poverty trap in the UK and it needs an institutional change to break it. There's a certain point where you can be working an insane number of hours, not be entitled to any supporting benefits and still be earning less than people on maximum benefits which is shocking. Taking money away from people who need it is not the answer. It makes me really angry.

[chuff me dizzy]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

I wouldnt think the constant bleating on about how indigenous brits dont want to work while foreigners do helps matters. When its a load of bollocks.

Or constant (bull****) stories in the press about how much help immigrants get compared to the british born.

Me too ,if you took any notice of the press you could believe that we NEED immigrant workers ,and they would have you believe they all come here to work ,when this is utter rot, who picked fruit,worked in fields, cleaned office blocks etc before they all arrived en mass ? The British did .... my husband works at Tesco warehouse, 99% of ALL agency workers are immigrants ,with the Slavakians not even paying Uk tax rates ,they pay the tax of their country of origin ,its disgusting, how it will be when our Grandchildren need jobs is a scary thought

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by chuff me dizzy

Me too ,if you took any notice of the press you could believe that we NEED immigrant workers ,and they would have you believe they all come here to work ,when this is utter rot, who picked fruit,worked in fields, cleaned office blocks etc before they all arrived en mass ? The British did .... my husband works at Tesco warehouse, 99% of ALL agency workers are immigrants ,with the Slavakians not even paying Uk tax rates ,they pay the tax of their country of origin ,its disgusting, how it will be when our Grandchildren need jobs is a scary thought

Exactly my point chuff, how is this legal in the UK?

Originally Posted by chuff me dizzy

Me too ,if you took any notice of the press you could believe that we NEED immigrant workers ,and they would have you believe they all come here to work ,when this is utter rot, who picked fruit,worked in fields, cleaned office blocks etc before they all arrived en mass ? The British did .... my husband works at Tesco warehouse, 99% of ALL agency workers are immigrants ,with the Slavakians not even paying Uk tax rates ,they pay the tax of their country of origin ,its disgusting, how it will be when our Grandchildren need jobs is a scary thought

Lots of countries have UK tax agreements with the UK. I don't see anyone moaning about America having the same agreement in place. How many Madonna's need to live in the uk and not pay our tax, to cover every Slovakian in the country?

The people who picked our fruit before, are former immigrants that have now turned into British citizens in line with the new wave of xenophobic ramblings, about Europeans coming over her to take our jobs.

You want to know the truth? I don't think the government is investing enough in infrastructure to create jobs for all workers on this island, but immigrants don't bitch about it on a forum, they get their arses round all the local farms and factories, and the money they get, they earn.

Way too many "British" people are happy to wait until very specific criteria are met, before they get themselves in the workplace. Not enough money, weird hours, childcare, get my nails done on Thursdays.

Want to know why 99% of industrial agency workers are immigrants? Because they're the people that go in to register, that get their paperwork sorted, that phone up on a daily/weekly basis to see whether there is any work in, that pop in to the offices to chat with a consultant for updates.

If only we could be foreigners, we'd get all the perks that Slovakians get. Bollocks. They get off their arses and put the hours in.

[chuff me dizzy]

Originally Posted by Jesus.

Lots of countries have UK tax agreements with the UK. I don't see anyone moaning about America having the same agreement in place. How many Madonna's need to live in the uk and not pay our tax, to cover every Slovakian in the country?

The people who picked our fruit before, are former immigrants that have now turned into British citizens in line with the new wave of xenophobic ramblings, about Europeans coming over her to take our jobs.

You want to know the truth? I don't think the government is investing enough in infrastructure to create jobs for all workers on this island, but immigrants don't bitch about it on a forum, they get their arses round all the local farms and factories, and the money they get, they earn.

Way too many "British" people are happy to wait until very specific criteria are met, before they get themselves in the workplace. Not enough money, weird hours, childcare, get my nails done on Thursdays.

Want to know why 99% of industrial agency workers are immigrants? Because they're the people that go in to register, that get their paperwork sorted, that phone up on a daily/weekly basis to see whether there is any work in, that pop in to the offices to chat with a consultant for updates.

If only we could be foreigners, we'd get all the perks that Slovakians get. Bollocks. They get off their arses and put the hours in.

Utter rot, the "people who picked our fruit before were former immigrants" what a load of rubbish ,Ive worked in the fields veg, fruit picking ,in the early 80's .not ONE immigrant, former or otherwise were doing it then ,it was ALL the British

[arista]

Bryant is Live on all media now

[Kizzy]

I think there a loopholes in wage laws in this country need closing, to protect everyone.

[Kizzy]

Why are we looking at benefits here? If companies are finding ways around the minimum wage laws by recruiting staff from agencies set up abroad specifically to find a cheap workforce then who does that benefit?
Not us and not them either as they have to live here.

[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Why are we looking at benefits here? If companies are finding ways around the minimum wage laws by recruiting staff from agencies set up abroad specifically to find a cheap workforce then who does that benefit?
Not us and not them either as they have to live here.

The companies. As usual. Who gives a stuff about anyone else. I dont expect anything to be done about this tbh

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

The companies. As usual. Who gives a stuff about anyone else. I dont expect anything to be done about this tbh

Me either but it begs the question if they earn nothing they contribute nothing and spend nothing... So how does our economy work?
So why are the government ok with this practice?

[Z]

My friend works on a 0 hour contract for a catering company, travelling bar and catering service type thing where if you are working, you and some others are driving a van full of stuff for a function (e.g. a wedding) ranging from food to the marquee tent and you set up and pack up the entire thing. They're paid insane amounts of money and they're on a 0 hour contract because it's easier for the company to call everyone on their books up and ask them short notice if they can do a 12 hour stint at a castle out in the middle of nowhere than it is to regularly have the same person provide the same service. It works well for my friend and everyone that works there because they're all young people (from about 16-24) and are either at school or are students.

[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by Zee

My friend works on a 0 hour contract for a catering company, travelling bar and catering service type thing where if you are working, you and some others are driving a van full of stuff for a function (e.g. a wedding) ranging from food to the marquee tent and you set up and pack up the entire thing. They're paid insane amounts of money and they're on a 0 hour contract because it's easier for the company to call everyone on their books up and ask them short notice if they can do a 12 hour stint at a castle out in the middle of nowhere than it is to regularly have the same person provide the same service. It works well for my friend and everyone that works there because they're all young people (from about 16-24) and are either at school or are students.

Yeah they are good for those with no commitments. But if you have a house and stuff..its no good having no guaranteed work (I know this because of my job )

[Z]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

Yeah they are good for those with no commitments. But if you have a house and stuff..its no good having no guaranteed work (I know this because of my job )

Yeah I know... just when I saw the outrage at 0 hour contracts I kind of shrugged it off because I know plenty of people who do that and it suits them just fine; whereas if I was a bit older, my social circle would likely be composed mostly of people with financial obligations and families to support so I would view that debate differently.

[Livia]

Why is it not correct to ask the question, why are there so many British people out of work when foreign people come to the country and find jobs? There are lots of people out of work where I live, and yet, there is a high population of Polish people, all integrating and working hard. Why is it seen as unhelpful if I broach that subject? I can almost hear people looking horrified and saying "Shhhhhhhh!".

[Kizzy]

The question is not where are the workers, the question is how much do they earn?
How can anyone earn enough to contribute on minimum wage or less whilst still living in the UK?

[arista]

Today Bryant had to back track
as all his data was second hand info from only a few locals
was wrong about Tesco and Next

On Ch4News Live now

[Lee.]

I work for next.. There's 50 staff in my store and we're all British.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Lee.

I work for next.. There's 50 staff in my store and we're all British.

Yes he got scatty info
not from real numbers.

[Lee.]

Infract that's incorrect.. We have 1 Romanian working for us.

[chuff me dizzy]

Originally Posted by Lee.

Infract that's incorrect.. We have 1 Romanian working for us.

Do you work in the warehouse? This is where immigrants have all the jobs at Tesco