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With 3 million people in the UK still without work that want it - and many more laid off, redundant or self-employed without clients, the solution should be obv

With 3 million people in the UK still without work that want it - and many more laid off, redundant or self-employed without clients, the solution should be obvious. Pay a decent wage and you'll get the people. The era of cheap labour is over.

H8crilA 7y ago
I understand what you're saying but in this economic climate (of a massive layoffs) you won't even have to pay a "decent wage". A deflationary crisis is not supportive of high wages. Not in the least.
rusk 7y ago
I don’t think English people want to do this kind of work ...
- tomp 7y ago
  If the 80% of salary from the government came with strings attached (i.e. "basic job", not UBI "basic income"), this wouldn't be a problem (provided that either masks are provided as well, or work is organized so that social distancing is maintained).
  - Proven 7y ago
    it would be even less of a problem if it didn't.
- jsjddbbwj 7y ago
  They don't want to do it because of the salary.
  - H8crilA 7y ago
    Give the recession some time to work its magic.
  - vkou 7y ago
    And this is where we discover that the most important jobs that keep society running pay the least.
    - ekianjo 7y ago
      They pay the least because you don't need qualifications to do them, and supply of non-qualified people >>> demand. Simple economics.
      - cco 7y ago
        The article here, and the discussion above, is a situation where clearly the demand is high but the supply is low.
        pnako 7y ago
        Then pay more. As a white collar worker I'm not offended that some blue collar workers make more than me. And if I have to pay more for food so we actually have a country, with people who care for each other, and not just a giant economic zone with the disappointing selfish behavior we've observed in this crisis, that's fine with me too.
  - bluGill 7y ago
    I don't know about the UK, but I've talked to California farmers who (off the record) tell me they quit advertising locally for workers because at $25/hr they still couldn't get people to work (most wouldn't apply, the ones who did quit after less than a day). Immigrants (not always legal I'm sure but I know better than to ask that question) are happy with $13/hour.
    - empath75 7y ago
      So pay more than $25 an hour. There is surely a salary that people will accept to do the work. I don’t know why everyone assumes that manual labor only deserves near poverty wages.
      - infinite8s 7y ago
        No one will pay $5 for an avocado.
        mikekchar 7y ago
        Clearly, you've never been to Japan ;-) We've got $50 grapes! And that's for one grape... not a bunch... But I think you are correct that most North Americans especially are geared toward buying the cheapest produce available, often regardless of quality or production methods. I think it's slowly been changing over the years, but people still baulk at paying prices that would sustain small family farms without imported cheap labour. However, every time this kind of discussions come up, I feel it necessary to point out that vast majority of cost in food production is distribution, not production. This is due to the practical monopoly on food distribution that some companies have. You could actually raise the production price a pretty hefty amount without affecting the final price terribly if you regulated the distribution. Of course, what would the poor Cargill's do? They wouldn't be able to have swimming pools full of money. That won't do...
        empath75 7y ago
        People said similar things about cotton before slavery was abolished. The world managed to survive.
- IshKebab 7y ago
  Yeah because it is badly paid and physically demanding.
- pnako 7y ago
  People in Britain were eating slugs they found on the ground before Polish explorers brought fruits to the country in 1549.
s1artibartfast 7y ago
> Pay a decent wage and you'll get the people. The era of cheap labour is over. or maybe some labor intensive fruits and veggies will no longer be economically viable.
- fierarul 7y ago
  They will become a delicacy.

H8crilA 7y ago

I understand what you're saying but in this economic climate (of a massive layoffs) you won't even have to pay a "decent wage". A deflationary crisis is not supportive of high wages. Not in the least.

rusk 7y ago

I don’t think English people want to do this kind of work ...

tomp 7y ago
If the 80% of salary from the government came with strings attached (i.e. "basic job", not UBI "basic income"), this wouldn't be a problem (provided that either masks are provided as well, or work is organized so that social distancing is maintained).
- Proven 7y ago
  it would be even less of a problem if it didn't.
jsjddbbwj 7y ago
They don't want to do it because of the salary.
- H8crilA 7y ago
  Give the recession some time to work its magic.
- vkou 7y ago
  And this is where we discover that the most important jobs that keep society running pay the least.
  - ekianjo 7y ago
    They pay the least because you don't need qualifications to do them, and supply of non-qualified people >>> demand. Simple economics.
    - cco 7y ago
      The article here, and the discussion above, is a situation where clearly the demand is high but the supply is low.
      - pnako 7y ago
        Then pay more. As a white collar worker I'm not offended that some blue collar workers make more than me. And if I have to pay more for food so we actually have a country, with people who care for each other, and not just a giant economic zone with the disappointing selfish behavior we've observed in this crisis, that's fine with me too.
- bluGill 7y ago
  I don't know about the UK, but I've talked to California farmers who (off the record) tell me they quit advertising locally for workers because at $25/hr they still couldn't get people to work (most wouldn't apply, the ones who did quit after less than a day). Immigrants (not always legal I'm sure but I know better than to ask that question) are happy with $13/hour.
  - empath75 7y ago
    So pay more than $25 an hour. There is surely a salary that people will accept to do the work. I don’t know why everyone assumes that manual labor only deserves near poverty wages.
    - infinite8s 7y ago
      No one will pay $5 for an avocado.
      - mikekchar 7y ago
        Clearly, you've never been to Japan ;-) We've got $50 grapes! And that's for one grape... not a bunch... But I think you are correct that most North Americans especially are geared toward buying the cheapest produce available, often regardless of quality or production methods. I think it's slowly been changing over the years, but people still baulk at paying prices that would sustain small family farms without imported cheap labour. However, every time this kind of discussions come up, I feel it necessary to point out that vast majority of cost in food production is distribution, not production. This is due to the practical monopoly on food distribution that some companies have. You could actually raise the production price a pretty hefty amount without affecting the final price terribly if you regulated the distribution. Of course, what would the poor Cargill's do? They wouldn't be able to have swimming pools full of money. That won't do...
      - empath75 7y ago
        People said similar things about cotton before slavery was abolished. The world managed to survive.
IshKebab 7y ago
Yeah because it is badly paid and physically demanding.
pnako 7y ago
People in Britain were eating slugs they found on the ground before Polish explorers brought fruits to the country in 1549.

s1artibartfast 7y ago

> Pay a decent wage and you'll get the people. The era of cheap labour is over. or maybe some labor intensive fruits and veggies will no longer be economically viable.

fierarul 7y ago
They will become a delicacy.