Dissident Congress

The fact of the matter, is that hundreds of thousands of unemployed people are not technically in a position to take employment for one reason or other. How about single parent families with several young children.

Robin

The TUC says that immigration have`nt lowered wages (a moot point) but another question needs also to be asked;
Have they stopped wages going up ?

Since most of the jobs they are doing are the lower paid jobs, this could mean the TUC is condemning many in the low paid sector to remain there, never joining the high paid sector.

g hall

Immigration gives a a larger pool of labour much of it unskilled because of the lack of english, hence they get the **** jobs.

It's always nice to blame "benefits or dole scroungers" but if you analyse this it is fair to say as Dissident Congress does that many of the people claiming benefit are not in a position to take employment. Another factor is the lack of education because of the political interference in the education system that has happened in the past 45 years. Again the benefits system is too complicated to understand and administer.

The level at which taxation on earnings is also at a very low level.
If you are on minimum wage and do a 40 hour week your earnings are about 200 p.w. and you will lose about 45 p.w. in taxes

All of these things are a disincentive to work.

The real cost of living - housing travel and food is also expensive

__________________
"That government is best which governs least."
"This is a sharp Medicine, but it is a Physician for all diseases and miseries".
"To be "matter of fact" about the world is to blunder into fantasy --and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful."

Dissident Congress

This is absolutely true. Some people are better off on benefits than taking a low paid job. I'm not sure if cutting benefits really is the best solution to get people into work. Perhaps more higher paid jobs need to be created.

This is not strictly true because you have to take into account whether jobs that require skills and qualifications actually exist in sufficient numbers. In my area there are countless thousands of unskilled dead end jobs that employers cannot fill, and strong competition for any jobs requiring any reasonable level of skills and qualifications.

Over the past 5 or so years, many skilled jobs in IT, engineering, data processing, and manufacturing have been lost due to globalisation and outsourcing. Unskilled jobs that cannot be outsourced such as rinsing beer glasses in pubs remain safe.

g hall

Any job which requires a physical presence and cannot be automated is probably safe - you never know what will be invented next.
e.g. Self service tills - who would have suggested that checkout operators could be replaced

Of course the "non-jobs" so beloved of the left wing islingtonia will not be replaced even though most of the persons employed are overpaid under performing drones

__________________
"That government is best which governs least."
"This is a sharp Medicine, but it is a Physician for all diseases and miseries".
"To be "matter of fact" about the world is to blunder into fantasy --and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful."

John Youles

The Bank of England has cited immigration levels as a factor in holding down wage levels and inflation, thus enabling interest rates to be lower than they otherwise would have been.

g hall

Funny that when it's directors and top management it's the story of we must pay more to attract the best but when it's Joe punter it's take this and be lucky you got it

And when you see the track record of many of these Captains and Lieutenants of industry it does make you think that a monkey (Frenchman for Hartlepool) could do better

If an immigrant could do the job of Mervyn King for a quarter of the price would he think it such a good thing somehow I don't think so

__________________
"That government is best which governs least."
"This is a sharp Medicine, but it is a Physician for all diseases and miseries".
"To be "matter of fact" about the world is to blunder into fantasy --and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful."

Bluemerle

I believe that ex Archbishop Carey has now joined the debate and wants to see immigration curbed.