My guess, may be wrong, is that the jobs started out by workers from eastern Europe being recruited and supplied by a third party, a gangmaster is the crude term, and have accepted those terms en masse, like Auf Wiedersehen Pet for the modern era, no questions asked. They may now have settled here but originally that would not have been the case. Any chance of getting a decent wage has gone if there is an endless supply of workers prepared to accept bottom rung wages and terms. If you don't like it there are more to replace you on the same terms.
Things like R&D I believe
But is it the case, like the fruit picking down here, that locals dont want these "menial" jobs and if the Eastern European labour wasnt brought in the jobs wouldnt get done?
Slightly different in that fruit picking is temporary work, as well as being blooming hard. If you are unemployed is it worth the hassle of coming out of the system for 3 weeks on minimum wage for something that cripples your back? Permanent work is a different beast.
I live in an area where there are a great many fruit farms. Traditionally the picking was done by Travelers but since Gordon and Tony made the Welfare system reward staying at home they prefer to stay at home.
There are accusations regarding the warm up act & jokes by Fiona Bruce before the show started.
Maybe, but the point is that up until some years ago Londoners and the localsl would do the fruit picking in the summer, then as society has changed they stopped doing it. When the farmers had fruit going to waste they had to do something , and now the defacto call is for the Eastern Europeans who do the work without question. The issue isn't how much or hard the work is, it's that locals dont want the work. The problem then is complicated because obviously not every foriegn worker goes straight back home and temporary work becomes full time work.
I'm sure you are right. I suspect that delays in benefit payments when you go off and then come back on them has made that temporary type of job more unattractive as well.
Yes, I agree fruit picking is seasona;, I use it as an example of loacals not wanting to do anything legal they can to earn money.
Don't know regarding that one. Up here they are still locals doing that job, in my town and in Newcastle on the occasions I am there, but we don't have anywhere near the number of Eastern Europeans as you will have down in Kent. Perfectly decent job, no reason not to take it.
