Why is it?

[Grockle]

Of course if these foreign contractors don't have to pay national insurance contributions, it helps them undercut our estimates for the same job.

However, as they are all honourable people , no doubt they they will pay any costs incurred if they have to use our free health service, translation services, police, television reception etc etc.

[EJJ150847]

Of course if these foreign contractors don't have to pay national insurance contributions, it helps them undercut our estimates for the same job.

However, as they are all honourable people , no doubt they they will pay any costs incurred if they have to use our free health service, translation services, police, television reception etc etc.

I have 'in laws' in Holland and they pay more for Healthcare than we do as well as paying medical insurance.

Public transport is excellent as is lots of other stuff, but as Sis in Law says they pay for it one way or 'tother.

He moved out there because there was no work for laminators here, and he is useless at anything else. Can only laminate if a mould is made for him etc.

I had to call on their medical service and with the European Health Insurance Card got the treatment I needed, so it works both ways.

The Company I used to work for had contracts to work in Rosyth, we used our engineers because they had the unique skills required, didn't stop the Jocks complaining we were taking their work from them.

I once tried to move to Scotland, never got details of one property from estate agents, even though I am Cornish and often align myself with the Celts (especially when England are losing at rugby).


John

[jozeffo]

In France or Italy, it is often impossible to make staff redundant. As a result, many firms will have surplus labour on their books. In Britain, firms have core staff and hire subcontractors to make up the slack. When a British company wins a contract, we recruit for labour and anyone can apply. When French or Italian companies apply, they use their existing idle staff. This denies us the ability to apply for work on their contracts. There simply isn't any recruitment.

The Uk Government should insist that for H&S reasons, all contractors have an acceptable level of English. That would prevent whole crews of foreign workers coming here. A foreign language crew denies native labour of the chance to work with them because there is a language divide in our own country.

Indian restaurant chefs are having their skilled migrant status cut because there are enough people here who can do the work. They are up in arms about it because they can't use British workers easily because the kitchen language is Sylheti and communication is a problem.

These language issues must be addressed if there are to be level playing fields for amployees in Europe.

[Raf]

Jozeffo; good point about the language thing..... im surprised H&S haven't caught on.

i was listening to dear old Obama and him defending the "buy american" clause. if you're not sure what that is then in a nutshell;

his $800bn stimulus plan has a clause that any contracts awarded under this pot of money means that all materials etc purchased have to be made in the US. now this man has good logic because as he said he wants his stimulus plan to reach the working class and not just bail out the fat cats.

but in comes dear old capitalism from both Britain and the Euro zone saying that this goes against the principles of free trade. because of this we will loose out and that the clause should be eradicated!

so the problem is not foreign workers but our perception & materialism.
the problem i put to you is our current form of capitalism. its in bred into the younger folk... its like a cancer.

if to survive (or get rich which is our goal) is to make lots of money then this stuff will happen. we bought the cheap chinese tat that saw our manufacturing base relocate. its not just the factory owners, the government, the business men, the bankers..... its all of us (me included)... we want cheap... it didn't have to be british.

we need to take a leaf out of Obama's book.

BUY BRITISH, MAKE BRITISH, EMPLOY BRITISH.... but we have to change ourselves for the rest to happen.

Peace!

[jozeffo]

The buy British thing is a great idea and I can't think of a country that does less to look after its own than Britian.

Over the last 30 years, competition in manufacturing means there is no profit left in it. Thatcher closed most of it down but Britian remains in the top seven because we innovate more than later arrivals to the market and first production runs are usually done here before migrating to cheaper climes ( Dyson ) for example. Successive UK governments privatised industries which allowed them to buy from the cheapest global supplier. On paper, it looked good, and it did get rid of some lame ducks in our industries. Unfortunately, the losses from this process were the government, who had to pay dole, and those communities and individuals who were left on the scrap heap. What this economic theory also ignored was that wages paid in britian are spent in britain, creating more jobs locally. Now that we have a recession, all the non-jobs created by Labour are having a trickle down effect and we are all suffering.

Given the current value of the pound, we can't afford to import much and I don't think our wages or climate will remain attractive to Sicilians for long.

IREm, the subcontractor concerned, have pointed out that there are 150 british guys working on one of their rigs in Italy. Not as convinced as I was about the lack of fair play.

[scot-canuck]

@Noid : family means a lot to me too, but theres a point where if the job was long term enough, the wife and I would be uprooting and going. Need to eat somehow. (though if the destination was sunny warm and my co-workers were all attractive women then I think the choice would be easier (of course if my co workers were all attractive male surfers then the wife would have the tickets booked ASAP )

Of course what a lot of people forget is that it works both ways and brits can and do go abroad and take advantage of healthcare etc (Costa del sol, brittany etc)

I just wish this country would stop thinking we still have an empire to lord over and realise we are all europeans and the only way the economy will work is if Europe works, reality is, UK population is ~60million, china ~1.1Billion+, India 1Billion+

I would like to see how well we would get on in this country without imports, I think the "man in the street / union trouble maker" would be up in arms that the cost of their TV shot up to over £1K from £300.

Problem is we have a service based economy and what trades we do have, are reluctant to train ANYONE, trust me I've tried, despite being keen and well read and willing to sign on with a company for 5 to 10 years, all I got were turn down letters, saying they were unwilling to pay me minimum wage as they could pay a school leaver less than £3 an hour and not have to give holiday pay.

Thing is in North America, There are training ops (lots of people unemployed but their are still opportunities if your willing to move), I know of people in their 30s doing traineeships, shame here your washed up generally as soon as firms have to start paying the minimum wage.

This is a global problem not just a local problem, houses in this country were and are inflated beyond all sense. Flats that once were £18K were on offer for close to £100K due to "buy to let"...total and utter madness

Reap what ye sow as they say.

Just my tuppence (realise its a bit random and unclear...tired from work)

[scot-canuck]

The language issue I agree with, having crews who cant speak english is madness from an H&S point of view, Should be a simple requirement, but then british crews who go to do work elsewhere (ships engineers etc) would spend a lot of time learning other languages (sad that we struggle with 1 language and other countries can handle several)

tit for tat, we do something, other countries will retailiate and it could turn out worse for us.

[Grockle]

I have 'in laws' in Holland and they pay more for Healthcare than we do as well as paying medical insurance.

Public transport is excellent as is lots of other stuff, but as Sis in Law says they pay for it one way or 'tother.

He moved out there because there was no work for laminators here, and he is useless at anything else. Can only laminate if a mould is made for him etc.

I had to call on their medical service and with the European Health Insurance Card got the treatment I needed, so it works both ways.

The Company I used to work for had contracts to work in Rosyth, we used our engineers because they had the unique skills required, didn't stop the Jocks complaining we were taking their work from them.

I once tried to move to Scotland, never got details of one property from estate agents, even though I am Cornish and often align myself with the Celts (especially when England are losing at rugby).


John

Sorry if I have got the facts wrong John, I had not realised that they carried on paying into their own countries welfare and tax schemes whilst they are here. Do they make full or reduced payments?