"British hotel chief criticises some UK workers as he praises Poles" (claim)

kernow · 13-01-2008, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tito

""The local people, we find, do not have the motivation to turn up each day and once they've worked 15 hours a week their benefits start to be removed - so there's no motivation to want to work more than 15 hours."

And herein lies the true problem.

Never a truer word, I know!

Smidgey · 13-01-2008, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tito

""The local people, we find, do not have the motivation to turn up each day and once they've worked 15 hours a week their benefits start to be removed - so there's no motivation to want to work more than 15 hours."

And herein lies the true problem.

Exactly!

This dependency culture is terrible.

George · 13-01-2008, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tito

""The local people, we find, do not have the motivation to turn up each day and once they've worked 15 hours a week their benefits start to be removed - so there's no motivation to want to work more than 15 hours."

And herein lies the true problem.

Exactly.

.

Popeye · 13-01-2008, 08:31 PM

Let's turn the problem on its head. Say the minimum wage here is £5.60 and in Poland (I will use Poland as an example but the principle applies to all the other enlargement countries) it is £28 - ie 5 times as much. If I were 21 ( I wish) and had free access to the Polish job market I would be across there like a scalded cat. When I was 21 (even with a degree) I wouldn't have minded dossing in a caravan or student squat having a whale of a time in a foreign country if I could earn 5 times what I could earn at home with virtually no living costs. After 3 or 4 years I could come back with a sizeable wedge (work it out - £28ph x 40hrs x say 48wks x 4yrs = £216,040 less tax and beer money) whilst my chums in Blighty were either still living pretty comfortably at home on £180pw after tax, but with no prospect of getting their own place, or were trying to raise a family on state handouts.

The Poles can see a future for themselves by working hard in relatively unskilled jobs in what to them is a high wage economy and becoming well off relative to their contemporaries back home (at least for the time being). Brits in the same position can see no such future.

I don't blame the Poles etc, after all they are only heeding Norman Tebbit's advice to "get on yer bike". But it's not a level playing field and all the time unskilled Brits are forced out of the job market by what amounts to unfair competition there will be increasing resentment.

Of course, if a young relatively unskilled Pole decides to stay here and raise a family then he will have exactly the same problem - low wages in a high cost economy - and will become just as benefit dependent.

Robin · 13-01-2008, 09:35 PM

Absolutely Popeye. Never a truer word spoken.

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13-01-2008, 08:31 PM	#14 (permalink)
Popeye Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 227	Let's turn the problem on its head. Say the minimum wage here is £5.60 and in Poland (I will use Poland as an example but the principle applies to all the other enlargement countries) it is £28 - ie 5 times as much. If I were 21 ( I wish) and had free access to the Polish job market I would be across there like a scalded cat. When I was 21 (even with a degree) I wouldn't have minded dossing in a caravan or student squat having a whale of a time in a foreign country if I could earn 5 times what I could earn at home with virtually no living costs. After 3 or 4 years I could come back with a sizeable wedge (work it out - £28ph x 40hrs x say 48wks x 4yrs = £216,040 less tax and beer money) whilst my chums in Blighty were either still living pretty comfortably at home on £180pw after tax, but with no prospect of getting their own place, or were trying to raise a family on state handouts. The Poles can see a future for themselves by working hard in relatively unskilled jobs in what to them is a high wage economy and becoming well off relative to their contemporaries back home (at least for the time being). Brits in the same position can see no such future. I don't blame the Poles etc, after all they are only heeding Norman Tebbit's advice to "get on yer bike". But it's not a level playing field and all the time unskilled Brits are forced out of the job market by what amounts to unfair competition there will be increasing resentment. Of course, if a young relatively unskilled Pole decides to stay here and raise a family then he will have exactly the same problem - low wages in a high cost economy - and will become just as benefit dependent.

13-01-2008, 09:35 PM	#15 (permalink)
Robin Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 932	Absolutely Popeye. Never a truer word spoken.