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Britain's Hardest Workers - Inside the Low Economy Wage BBC 2
Britain's Hardest Workers - Inside the Low Economy Wage BBC 2
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UK workers could share 14 to a flat if they wanted, and swap beds after shifts if they wanted.
Would that be progress Studyform? You may be aware that a majority of singletons arrive from Poland, their situation is rather different to the UK lower paid. Agencies will organise accommodation for the new arrivals. You need to do your homework Studyform. |
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I agree Zen, they are single blokes, used to having it rough.
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There is no reason that workers in Poland should not live 15 to a house?
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Average wage in Poland is 10k average wage over here is 30k ... there is the difference.
We are told embrace immigration by rich people (mainly in London) and share holders of companies so they can keep wages low and profits high. |
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true!
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I do not see the point in coming to England and living 15 to a house when you could do the same in Poland.
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You £ goes a long way when exchanged for Zloty lfc.
As pointed out, you earn £10K in the UK,and you are earning the national average in Poland. |
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Do the same job in Poland and earn 60% the national average
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What are they buying food with, zen? Or their rent or travel, Zloty?
I doubt it. You need to do yours. These are people on minimum wage, Hamsterdam, about £12k a year so not much room to get rich is there? |
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yes, i suspected that might have something to do with it, and Poland is so poor.
its hard to explain when it has such industrious and talented workers |
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btw, The agencies take even bigger pish out of these people than the employers.
Also, and this is most important - conditions for low paid workers from all places (Brits included) are very poor. Just like Victorian times. When there were no foreign employees. Also and this is quite important. The companies employing many poorly paid people are not British, and pay no tax in Britain either. |
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You are missing the point Studyform, If they save up £300 a month by over sharing their accommodation, that will equate to over £400 a month.
Then as singletons, they will qualify for working tax credits for their first year, if index linking their previous years earning back in Poland. A UK worker earning minimum wage the previous tax year and working full time will not qualify. |
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but then conditions for lower paid jobs were not always so bad. there was the greatest increase in standard of living for the working and middle classes in Britain between 1950 and 1980.
greater almost than at any time in history, and any country |
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You are right lfc1971 we have seen a great increase in our standard of living.
But these times may be coming to an end. Don't believe the official unemployment figure. Many people, including some I know, claim no benefit. JSA is incredibly tough. They survive other ways, picking up work here and there, working on contract, minimum wage. We have a baby boom coming  .I am now a pensioner but did not work for a long time before that,reasons I cannot go into. I have enough to survive but support someone else as well, a friend and her husband. It is getting tougher and tougher, our society is growing more vicious, who knows where it will end. For Christ sake bring back smoking! |
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Sorry Zen, I think you are confusing making a little bit of money over a 3 or 4 year period, if all goes well and you work your nuts off 1000 miles from home with bucking the system and getting rich from it - like some at the other end of the wage divide are able to do.
Anyone would think it was like being a British bricklayer in Germany in the late 80's or something! Yes lfc, until 1980..... the 1st year of the demise. The beginning of the end for manufacturing, mining, unions and so on. A potential link spotted there, I think. |
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 true studyform. |
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yes i agree with that Studyform. But also until we address the question of mass immigration with some honesty we will continue to decline, and this decline will get quicker.
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The German bricklayers were also doing well Studyform.
The UK low skilled are not. |
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These are people on minimum wage, Hamsterdam, about £12k a year
so not much room to get rich is there? But 10k is the average wage over there that's including Doctors, Lawyers etc. The unskilled workers would be on 4 or 5k approx if they are lucky. Takes the Poles from Sport Direct Warehouse (as an example) they wouldn't be able to get the staff from the UK on the minimum wage. They'd be forced to pay more. They'd still make profit, just not as much. |
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Yes lfc, until 1980..... the 1st year of the demise. The beginning of the end for manufacturing, mining, unions and so on. A potential link spotted there, I think.
Remember 'The Boys from teh Blackstuff', Yosser Hughes, the Miners strike. We destroyed a whole class of working men and their communities. But we were optimistic then, and did ok until the Credit Crunch. This is far worse now, it has hit everybody. We want women to work, making it even more competitive. How much competition can we stand? I do not know the answer. Frankly we need a lot less people in this country and the World! |
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But they're earning here and like the rest of us spending it here. Rent (especially in London) is exorbitant, food, travel, clothes etc etc almost certainly means not much left to send home or to keep. But I do completely agree that employers (and agencies) are the most culpable.
Low wages are not enough to live on, Unemployment money is even less, food banks have to feed millions, basic services are being cut, the national debt is actually 1.5 trillion!!! (doubled in 6 years) and the majority of the population is at the throats of the poor (most lately immigrant poor) instead of those who really cause the problems. |
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Since 2001 we have increased our population by 5 million, due to immigration.
This is too many! The Credit Crunch has exacerbated everything, |
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Debt is the problem everywhere Studyform, that was the Credit Crunch.
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when I was a furniture mover I took with me two tee shirts as spares
to change into - I sweated so much. try lifting furniture 8 hours a day. up and down three flights of stairs. Every day for twelve years. This foreign worker superman mythology is total bull sheet. Moved safes thousands of pianos a few anvils - one by myself. chandeliers OG drawers - OG, because you cried O God when you lifted them up. Garden Statues from estates. |
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Debt is the problem everywhere Studyform, that was the Credit Crunch.
The Polish were not foolish enough to spend tomorrows labour, today. They have a different attitude and will find a way to save up. |
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No doubt, ebul, 8% population increase is not helpful. but I contend our problems are more than 8% worse.
So much business has been sold (or allowed to thrive) by the governments to foreign investment and so little tax paid (Amazon, Starbucks, Google, eBay and so on) by them and other corporations (there weren't many corporations of this size before 30 years ago), that the 8% extra needed for infrastructure could have easily been covered. There is evidently a tax shortfall of billions pounds from these companies over the past few years. I cannot accept, ZenMaster, that the Polish minimum wage workforce in the UK is responsible for low wages, poverty, high rents and all the other problems we face. The blame game is something Govt and its media puppets are good at. |
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As a matter of interest.
The Co-op paid £82million in tax last year. Amazon, Apple, eBay, Starbucks and Facebook paid a combined total of £52million. I know who I'm more angry about! |
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I cannot accept, ZenMaster, that the Polish minimum wage workforce in the UK is responsible for low wages, poverty, high rents and all the other problems we face. The blame game is something Govt and its media puppets are good at.
Accept? who has suggested this? |
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The system is to blame, not the individuals Study.
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 I agree studyformthere is no excuse for the tax situation...... No it is not all the Poles, the Credit Crunch is the biggest culprit. Everything will hang together, as long as we and other countries can pay the interest on debts When we or others cannot , then that is bankruptcy, I hope I am gone by then.My only solution is less people in our country, less people everywhere. Which is the exact opposite of what is happening |
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When we or others cannotShocked, then that is bankruptcy, I hope I am gone by then.
Gone, as in snuffed it? Is bankruptcy worse than death now?  |
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Poles saving to buy Polish Houses money sent back ,A lot of them got the Lot registering Child Births in this Country ,Child allowance paid to them back in Poland ,Some are interested in Living
in this country Long term but I would not say that many ,As stated if your Paying a oner rent a month then Minimum wage is a decent enough wage .. |
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The Remainers seem to think that the Brexiters blame the Polish and other EU national migrants for wage stagnation, high rents etc.
I would say that the economic crash was the injury, and an over supply of foreign labour the insult to that injury. |
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The public are sick and tired of big corporates not paying their fair share in tax, it seems global firms and governments are in cahoots in stitching up the average person or small company, think brexit told us that people were sick of low tax globalisation and migration.
Some companies pay lots of tax, sse paid over £400m in tax last year. |
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I would say that the economic crash was the injury, and an over supply of foreign labour the insult to that injury.
That is well put Zenmaster |
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agree Ibrahima
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Should be a Point of Consumption rule on all taxation.
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certainly needs to be a way of them avoiding tax aka, and guess what, global companies would still want to sell to a country that takes tax out of there hands, but big governments are scared and there future employment.
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Another problem our workers have, is that the universal World language is English...because of the USA.
So most people in other countries will learn English language as their 2nd language, but for our people to go and work in European countries there are any number of languages we need to learn, depending where we go. I had a vague offer of a job in Germany when I was younger, I started to learn Germany but this was before the Internet so I gave up, there were no betting shops in Germany  |
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I think global companies will do business here, as long we do not tax all their profit. It is in their interest.
I see no need for letting them off tax, that is disgusting! |