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Jan. 30th, 2009 05:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sobriquehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jan/30/brown-british-jobs-workers
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7859968.stm
OK, so "British jobs for British workers".
I think the worlds of the great philosopher 'Jean Luc Picard' best expresses my reaction to this:
I mean, seriously. When did racism sneak in the door and become 'ok' again? It looks like someone's parroting the BNP manifesto or something.
I mean, that's even before you get to the inherent stupidity of assuming that jobs are a finite quantity, and that 'johhny foreigner' is stealing _yours_. More jobs means more cash circulating, which means yet more jobs.
But here's where the problem kicks in - it's far easier to blame 'someone
else' for stealing a job, than it is to face up to the reality - companies aren't stupid, they'll employ based on what does them most good as a company. The guys who've been motivated enough to travel overseas to work for a living, are generally also the ones who are more motivated than the average dole dodger. They're probably also working harder for less pay than the average "British worker".
Cultural diversity is a good thing. We don't _want_ to be a minimum wage, manual labour economy. It's the influx of new ideas, cultures and the attracting of motivated people, that stimulate the kind of economy and society that we.... well I want to live in. I accept there's people out there who'd much rather hate on people for having oddly coloured skin, and abuse the staff of the restaurant they're in, because they don't do chips to go with their curry.
But frankly, that's the kind of person that we _are_ better off without.
If 'foreigners' are stealing your jobs, then stop for a moment and ask why? Why is a company going to the effort of recruiting in another part of the world to do the same job you could. Maybe, just maybe, it's because of _your_ failings.
I have seen it in action, and can very definitely tell you that it's very
rarely the polish people at work that are the ones that will be slacking off,
being sloppy on timekeeping, and generally being slapdash about the job they do.
So seriously. Let's lose this nonsense, and actually go on with doing
something more constructive about whining about the unfairness of the world.
Yes, it's unfair, now what are you going to do about it?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7859968.stm
OK, so "British jobs for British workers".
I think the worlds of the great philosopher 'Jean Luc Picard' best expresses my reaction to this:
I mean, seriously. When did racism sneak in the door and become 'ok' again? It looks like someone's parroting the BNP manifesto or something.
I mean, that's even before you get to the inherent stupidity of assuming that jobs are a finite quantity, and that 'johhny foreigner' is stealing _yours_. More jobs means more cash circulating, which means yet more jobs.
But here's where the problem kicks in - it's far easier to blame 'someone
else' for stealing a job, than it is to face up to the reality - companies aren't stupid, they'll employ based on what does them most good as a company. The guys who've been motivated enough to travel overseas to work for a living, are generally also the ones who are more motivated than the average dole dodger. They're probably also working harder for less pay than the average "British worker".
Cultural diversity is a good thing. We don't _want_ to be a minimum wage, manual labour economy. It's the influx of new ideas, cultures and the attracting of motivated people, that stimulate the kind of economy and society that we.... well I want to live in. I accept there's people out there who'd much rather hate on people for having oddly coloured skin, and abuse the staff of the restaurant they're in, because they don't do chips to go with their curry.
But frankly, that's the kind of person that we _are_ better off without.
If 'foreigners' are stealing your jobs, then stop for a moment and ask why? Why is a company going to the effort of recruiting in another part of the world to do the same job you could. Maybe, just maybe, it's because of _your_ failings.
I have seen it in action, and can very definitely tell you that it's very
rarely the polish people at work that are the ones that will be slacking off,
being sloppy on timekeeping, and generally being slapdash about the job they do.
So seriously. Let's lose this nonsense, and actually go on with doing
something more constructive about whining about the unfairness of the world.
Yes, it's unfair, now what are you going to do about it?
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and another thing (long, may contain nuts)
Date: 2009-01-31 09:41 am (UTC)It is simply about tenders from European firms being cheaper and our migrant friends being willing to be paid less for the same work. All the angst about Primark and when business does it, it's the workers who are somehow at fault. Hypocrisy!!
To take a local example, work at Staythorpe power station was awarded to a Spanish firm who specified a Spanish workforce as part of that contract - protectionism or the fact that they'd be paid less? The company accepted it when they read the contract. Did they really expect their UK employees to sit quietly by and go "Oh, that's all right then?" What price industrial relations?
And is it me, or could the economic summit have taken place somewhere else than Davos, a Swiss ski-ing resort unaffected by the issues? I had to laugh at David Cameron though, arguing for moral capitalism is like asking for compassionate terrorism.
Ironically, we will never be rid of our racists. They have their own infrastructure in place and will claim a moral high ground as the recession hits them. They are not isolated in the market and you have to blame those migrant workers for being so damned cheap - yeah, the barstewards...
We are currently experiencing a shakedown. Banks and financiers got greedy and got burned (sub-prime, short sale). Now they're not lending and businesses are undercutting the public who have to subsidise their incompetence. Are we having fun yet?
This is about responsibility. It's also about cause and effect.