Fruit grower voted Leave - sorry now!

Fruit grower voted Leave - sorry now!

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footnote

Original Poster:

924 posts

105 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
I haven't heard the evidence with my own fine ears but apparently this chap was on R4 Today, saying he'd voted Leave but his business would go bust if he couldn't get migrant workers...

I know'll I'll be sorry when there's no great British strawberries - but you can only laugh.

rxe

6,700 posts

102 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
A business model founded on poles coming over to work for buttons is never a long term thing. Regardless of Brexit, what happens when there is an economic boom in Easter Europe and people no longer want to come over.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
footnote said:
I haven't heard the evidence with my own fine ears but apparently this chap was on R4 Today, saying he'd voted Leave but his business would go bust if he couldn't get slave labor...

.
Sorted it for you. Me thinks it's time he thought about a more profitable business venture rather than whinging.

vonuber

17,868 posts

164 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
rxe said:
A business model founded on poles coming over to work for buttons is never a long term thing. Regardless of Brexit, what happens when there is an economic boom in Easter Europe and people no longer want to come over.
Agreed; we just need to pay more for food.

s2art

18,937 posts

252 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
footnote said:
I haven't heard the evidence with my own fine ears but apparently this chap was on R4 Today, saying he'd voted Leave but his business would go bust if he couldn't get migrant workers...

I know'll I'll be sorry when there's no great British strawberries - but you can only laugh.
We had seasonal workers visas long before the EEC let alone the EU. There will be seasonal workers visas after we leave. Its not a problem.

condor

8,837 posts

247 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
Many years ago - there was a great day out for youngsters with pick your own smile
Most got eaten before paying though biggrin

Robertj21a

16,475 posts

104 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
footnote said:
I haven't heard the evidence with my own fine ears but apparently this chap was on R4 Today, saying he'd voted Leave but his business would go bust if he couldn't get migrant workers...

I know'll I'll be sorry when there's no great British strawberries - but you can only laugh.
Sounds like we'll all be better without his produce anyway. He might be a good strawberry grower but that doesn't sound like a sound business model.

Tannedbaldhead

2,952 posts

131 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
s2art said:
footnote said:
I haven't heard the evidence with my own fine ears but apparently this chap was on R4 Today, saying he'd voted Leave but his business would go bust if he couldn't get migrant workers...

I know'll I'll be sorry when there's no great British strawberries - but you can only laugh.
We had seasonal workers visas long before the EEC let alone the EU. There will be seasonal workers visas after we leave. Its not a problem.
I was listening to an article about strawberry farmers round about the time the value of the pound fell dramatically, It was a very good news bad news story. When the pound dropped they were able to undercut foreign importers to the UK and do well in export markets. Because of this they were very keen to expand. What they told the radio journalist was that nowadays with polytunnels, plants elevated on a raised frame, packaging plants etc quite a substantial sum of money was required to increase production capacity. Without a guaranteed future labour supply the producers were not prepared to make the investment.

What was really irking the Soft Fruit Growers' Association was they claimed they were assured by Leave campaigners that should the free movement of labour be curtailed due to Brexit there had been mechanisms such as SAWS (Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme) around prior to current regulations that would ensure a labour supply. After we voted leave, however, the Govt has refused to commit to any scheme that would allow large numbers of foreign labour access to the UK.

A commentator commented that a considerable proportion of the UK population are so anti-immigration that the Govt is scared to commit to any guarantees of a labour supply to industry regardless of the economic consequences.

Most of the fruit growers were Leave voters but were, at that point, starting to express doubts.


Lance Catamaran

24,942 posts

226 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
They always say they are struggling to recruit people from this country, but they don't seem to be trying very hard. A quick look on cv-library show a total of 21 jobs within 250 miles of me, all at or close to minimum wage, unsocial hours and several will only consider people with previous experience

Boosted LS1

21,165 posts

259 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
Exactly.

Increase the wages and provide better conditions and the greedy farmer will be in profit if he works to sell his produce or takes a slight drop in profits. It's just economics but he wants his cake.

rs1952

5,247 posts

258 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
This story is only a symptom of a far wider issue upon which the chickens may well be coming home to roost shortly.

We have heard recently that there has been a 96% reduction in the number of applications for nurse’s post coming from EU residents. The hospitality industry is also bleating about a lack of waiters, bar staff and hotel staff. Some more detail on the “strawberry pickers” story on my local news tonight says that farmers are already finding difficulties in recruiting labour for crop picking, and we haven’t even left the fecking EU yet.

So why should this be? A couple of thoughts:

1 The nutter end of the Brexit movement, especially the tools who beat up EU migrants on the street telling them to go back to where they fking came from, are beginning to make the country an unattractive place to migrate to. The likes of Paul Nuttall aren’t helping either.

I’ll pose a question – if a company in Zimbabwe were advertising for a job that you could do and offering good salaries, would you move there? Somehow I doubt that the number of applicants from the UK would be very large, to say the least… Brits are generally not welcome in Zimbabwe, and its beginning to look like the UK is looking similarly unattractive to EU migrants.

2. The fall in the value of the £ against the Euro has made it less attractive for Eastern Europeans to take jobs in the UK, especially if they have no long term intentions to stay here and are either sending money home or saving it for a project. They could go and do the same job in say France or Spain and be better off in relative terms. In the last couple of days I have listened to an interview with a Romanian on R4 who said he’s been working here to save to build a house back home. Perhaps he could buy an extra couple of dozen bricks a day if he got paid in Euros rather than sterling.

So how would you react in similar circumstances? The real rate for the job, as far as you are concerned when you change your salary into your “home” currency, has fallen, and half the host country’s population is making it pretty clear that they don’t want your sort over here anyway. Still want to apply for that job, do you?

The combination of these two factors alone may make the government’s apparent desire to introduce a restrictive immigration policy pretty pointless anyway. People often vote with their feet, and if all this goes on we’ll have no bugger wanting to come here anyway.

But never mind, we’ve taken back control… wink

alock

4,224 posts

210 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
footnote said:
I know'll I'll be sorry when there's no great British strawberries - but you can only laugh.
We have over 1 million unemployed. He either needs to pay more or our government to needs to make it less desirable for unemployed people to reject these jobs.

It's a win win.

alfie2244

11,292 posts

187 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
rs1952 said:
But never mind, we’ve taken back control… wink
We haven't left yet you silly old fool.............Welcome back btw.....wheresu bin?

cuprabob

14,414 posts

213 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
I hope this doesn't impact the Strawberries for Wimbledon...

Smiler.

11,752 posts

229 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
What a plum.

Rich_W

12,548 posts

211 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
footnote said:
I haven't heard the evidence with my own fine ears but apparently this chap was on R4 Today, saying he'd voted Leave but his business would go bust if he couldn't get slave Labour
That what it is. he wants to pay the absolute bare minimum he can for staff (since its those low skill, low IQ migrants that go tor this work) And they won't have compulsory pension provision (I assume there's some get out for the employer if they aren't contracted) or any other benefits. And I imagine breaks etc will be utter bare minimum too. You think he'll be providing uniforms? Hats in the heat? Bottles of water?

Yet various Remoaners were on TV saying it's terrible that these people wont be able to come here post Brexit and be taken the piss out of by unscrupulous brit employers. laugh

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
A fantastic opportunity for those who voted to send those damn foreigners home. Coming over here & taking our jobs etc etc.
I bet he will be snowed under with applications from the disadvantaged locals smile

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
So it does raise the question.
Who picked the fking strawberries before Igor and his mates turned up?

Wobbegong

15,077 posts

168 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
rs1952 said:
This story is only a symptom of a far wider issue upon which the chickens may well be coming home to roost shortly.

We have heard recently that there has been a 96% reduction in the number of applications for nurse’s post coming from EU residents. The hospitality industry is also bleating about a lack of waiters, bar staff and hotel staff. Some more detail on the “strawberry pickers” story on my local news tonight says that farmers are already finding difficulties in recruiting labour for crop picking, and we haven’t even left the fecking EU yet.
Reduction in nurse applications is probably due to the new language tests for non-UK nurses

http://www.recruiter.co.uk/news/2017/06/language-t...

Sounds like the level was set too high. Doesn't surprise me, a friend of mine who is a non-degree UK nurse has twice failed the required English test for her Australian visa laugh

alfie2244

11,292 posts

187 months

Thursday 22nd June 2017
quotequote all
Raygun said:
So it does raise the question.
Who picked the fking strawberries before Igor and his mates turned up?
Me, my brother, my mum and most of the other families on our street......ate a few as well but only for the 1st day or so.....farmer picked us up in an old Thames Trader van IIRC.