Forum Topic

EU free movement

I read this morining that the first plane of Romanian agriculture workers will land at Stanstead. We were told before the Brexit vote that Brits wanted these jobs. The reality, 500 Brits have applied for these jobs. What will happen next year? Will these workers be paid over the £25000.00

Nicholas Beard ● 2339d33 Comments

More to the point will they be tested for the virus on arrival?Probably not just like the several thousand people BA alone flew in from Madrid in the week it was at it's worst there. Who walked out of LHR and dispersed everywhere.Testing should be everywhere where there is contact and people movement.

Raymond Havelock ● 2339d

Air Charter are the company. They will have temp taken before departure and fill out a health questionaire.

Nicholas Beard ● 2339d

'The reality, 500 Brits have applied for these jobs.'So where are all the gung-ho Brexiteers now? You'd have thought they'd be queueing up to get out in those fields to stop those pesky foreigners from coming here to pick the fruit and veg we want to eat wouldn't you?

Vanessa Smith ● 2339d

They've all got a doctor's note that exempts them from hard work.

Paul Scullion ● 2339d

That is it 500. Remember Farage and co. What about next year. Will the jobs be paying £28000 so they can come. Surley the benefits should have been withdrawn from people in those areas if they did not take the jobs.

Nicholas Beard ● 2339d

Calm down everyone. We have had foreign labour coming here to pick fruit and vegetables for decades.They used to get a temporary work visa, renewable if the work continued.

Keith Iddon ● 2339d

I presume you have a guarantee that this will be allowed after Brexit?

Nicholas Beard ● 2339d

No I haven't, how could I? I would think that in the next 4 or 5 years a large % of crops will be picked by machine.

Keith Iddon ● 2339d

I dont think the farmers will want to invest in new machines. Remember they wont be getting their CAP payments. Farming will change and we will have to rely on more efficient foreign farmers.

Nicholas Beard ● 2339d

And the reason they don't invest in new equipment is because they have ready access to cheap labour..  Applies to a lot of low-productivity UK industry.

Peter Evans ● 2338d

Next year they wont have that access so they will have all new equipment!

Nicholas Beard ● 2338d

So name one industry where labour has been automated and the wage bill has gone up as a result.

Keith Iddon ● 2338d

What I Am saying is that next year they wont need labour as they will have invested in new machines.

Nicholas Beard ● 2338d

No, that's what I said. 20:21 yesterday you said you doubted farmers would invest in new machinery.What will you believe tomorrow? ;-)

Keith Iddon ● 2338d

They will have to invest or go under which would release more land for housing.

Nicholas Beard ● 2338d

Dear oh dearNicolas, can I advise taking a deep breath before you post anything and be sure of the "facts" you highlight every day without any evidence or change the newspaper you read

Paul Fisher ● 2338d

Historically, as workers' living standards rose and/or labour shortages appeared, enterprises that invested in productivity gains via better methods of working and automation survived, those that didn't failed.  Importing workers from countries with lower per capita GDP will secure cheaper products and services in the short term, but ultimately suppresses productivity gains and competitiveness.

Andy Riley ● 2338d

A lost cause I fear.  Unfortunately typical of many on all sides of the political spectrum who are incapable of critical thinking.  But also an interesting study in cognitive biases.  Have fun with identifying the biases shown by NB and his buddies:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases

Andy Riley ● 2338d

So what do the farmers do?

Nicholas Beard ● 2338d

Fruit pickers story back. GMB this morning on botton of screen. Fruit and veg may be left to rot as shortage of pickers. Goverment has still not found a solution.

Nicholas Beard ● 2299d

Why is it down to the Government?If the likes of you and me want cheap fruit and veg then the farmers cannot afford the wages to pay decent wages to attract workers

Paul Fisher ● 2299d

'Why is it down to the Government?'Because the government are the people who have stopped freedom of movement?

Vanessa Smith ● 2299d

Like it or lump it, at the referendum people made their views on free movement known and the government were charged with carrying out the voters' wishes.I rather think that it's the virus as much as anything that has ended free movement at the moment, and just about any other movement.When the current restrictions are over,I would imagine temporary visas will be available for fruit pickers, just like was so before free movement.

Keith Iddon ● 2298d

Fields of asparagus not bring picked this year :(Not just because of lack of EU free movement but because of the lack of supply network - restaurants, farmers' markets.I understand outdoor farmers' markets will open soon.

Philippa Bond ● 2298d

www.aljazeera.com/amp/indepth/features/brexit-nears-eu-workers-fortify-uk-coronavirus-front-lines-200417090617828.html

Philippa Bond ● 2298d

The end of free movement does not start until next year at the earliest so at the moment we have the major issue of travel restrictions because of the Covid-19 and farmers unwilling to offer decent wages to attract workers to their farms where most workers have to commit to many weeks and also stay on the farmsAs I said previously if we were all willing to pay a little more at the greengrocer or the supermarket which went straight to the farmer then perhaps then hopefully this should help them but I fear the retail outlets would never pass this back along the line

Paul Fisher ● 2298d

I saw a tv programme recently where it showed EU ppickers in Spain. Their opinion was that it was easier to go to Spain than come here. The farmer also said that since Brexit he had many moe pickers.

Nicholas Beard ● 2298d

How expensive is food here compared to other countries?We have a lot of child poverty and many families were using foodbanks before the Covid-19 crisis.Yet we hear that so much food is wasted here.  I have seen leeks where onlythe white part is being cooked and the rest which is edible wasted.  The same with broccoli - just the florets at the end bring cooked and not the stalk which just needs a bit of peeling if too tough.We could fo more for ourselves by learning and wasting less food.  We should have made a law like the French did that leftover supermarket food must go to companies like Fareshare to be redistributed.

Philippa Bond ● 2298d

Perhaps people dont know what parts to cook? I would not. Is this taught at school?

Nicholas Beard ● 2298d

It is easier now that any time in history to find things out. I am sure if you google' How to cook broccoli' then it would come up with a few good suggestions. Ditto any vegetable, or just about anything else.A steaming pan is alway a good investment.

Keith Iddon ● 2298d

Total immigration has changed very little since 2016 (or since 2010 for that matter)What's changed is where immigrants come from. Immigration from the EU has declined from nearly 200K pa in 2016 to a little over 50K pa whilst immigration from elsewhere -  mainly South Asia and East Asia - has grown from about 150 to about 250K

Guy Lambert ● 2298d

Meant to give this linkhttps://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/migrationstatisticsquarterlyreport/february2020

Guy Lambert ● 2298d

Whats your point Guy?The fruit and veg pickers have always been seasonal and usually short term migrants and not long term residents of the UK?

Paul Fisher ● 2298d