AIBU?
Fruit picking Jobs
billysboy · 18/04/2020 09:37
With so many Fruit Picking Jobs available aibu to think that a few of the people already in this country would want to take them up
It feels as if we are paying 1m to stay at home rather than take up this work
Its hard work no doubt but also pays £10-15 an hour is it beneath too many people?
Fairylillie · 18/04/2020 09:45
Apparently they got hardly any applications from people in the UK - despite thousands of people sitting at home complaining that they're bored, getting no exercise and hate having no contact with other people which would make this job ideal for them!
Maybe it's the dirt and the weather that puts them off.
MrsGrindah · 18/04/2020 09:47
What a sneery thread. What are we supposed to do..March people to their nearest field with a gun to their heads?
chipsandpeas · 18/04/2020 09:52
when i go on furlough at the end of the month part of the condition is im not allowed to do other paid work, so for some people they will be in the same boat
Tattiebee · 18/04/2020 09:53
People here evidently don't want to seen as though they have been more than welcome to apply for the jobs and haven't.
HandfulOfDust · 18/04/2020 09:55
I don't think we should force anyone to take on this kind of work but I do think we should accept how reliant we are on foreign workers. We can't have it both ways.
Puddlesplasher · 18/04/2020 09:56
People should have applied for the jobs then. They have been widely advertised.
Macncheeseballs · 18/04/2020 09:57
I know, I think its mad. What's wrong with fruit/veg picking?
NatashaAlianovaRomanova · 18/04/2020 09:58
when i go on furlough at the end of the month part of the condition is im not allowed to do other paid work, so for some people they will be in the same boat
Only for your current employer - if your contract would usually allow you to pick up a 2nd job then you are still allowed to while furloughed
Fuchsake · 18/04/2020 09:58
They want the pickers to live on site. So it’s no good for anyone with a family or a house or any responsibilities. Only young single people with no ties are likely to apply. And even then they would have the hassle of signing off benefits and waiting weeks to get signed back on again afterwards, and potentially losing their council house if they’ve got one. I’m guessing Romanians don’t have any benefits to lose in the first place?
Kokapetl · 18/04/2020 09:58
I've heard of people applying for these jobs and hearing nothing back. When I had a period of unemployment, I actually looked for fruit/vegetable picking jobs and they were really hard to find. I was living in the middle of an agricultural area at the time.
EricaNernie · 18/04/2020 09:59
www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/17/british-workers-reject-fruit-picking-jobs-as-romanians-flown-in-coronavirus
dd did apply, she is hard working, sort of, but would have to live away from home, interesting article above.
i did fruit picking as a teenager but it was perhaps less intensive
Thighmageddon · 18/04/2020 10:00
- The terms of my furlough means I can't work anywhere.
- I'm not physically capable despite looking like I am.
- nope, no number three, the above two points cover it fully.
Teacher12345 · 18/04/2020 10:00
Well the schools are closed so the only people actually available are those who's furlough contract does not prohibit them making money elsewhere and don't have kids that need constant supervision. People not being at work doesn't mean they are available.
glitterelf · 18/04/2020 10:00
My friends partner applied and was turned down because they'd had over 18 thousand applications 🤷🏼♀️
makingmiracles · 18/04/2020 10:01
I know some people whose student children applied, on who lives very near a picking farm, they never had a response back. There is a rumour that the fruit farmers dislike employing English pickers as they’re nowhere near as fast and efficient.
As an aside, I looked to see if there were picking Jon’s a week ago and most are on the south coast, so very little use to people that don’t live on the south coast!
cantdothisnow1 · 18/04/2020 10:01
I have heard that British people have applied for the jobs but been unsuccessful.
Apparently the benefit of Romanian fruit pickers is experience. They have to work to a certain amount per day otherwise they are dismissed. They also live on site.
ChrissieKeller61 · 18/04/2020 10:02
It's part of the requirement for the 2nd year WHV in Australia. Thousands of young people all over the world do indeed pick the fruit and veg. It horrendous heat, so the British not wanting to do it doesn't sound quite right to me. Many uni students and recent graduates will have done it and could/would do it again. Maybe they want to be paid minimum wage though
ThroughThickAndThin01 · 18/04/2020 10:02
I did this as a teenager but you could dip in and out and get paid for the days you did.
I work full time but would happily sign up for this and work weekends to get a bit of extra money and ‘help’ farmers out as that seemed to be what they are crying out for. But it seems not to be what they want - they want people to sign up for the whole of the summer full time as far as I can see, and there aren’t any part time jobs.
GrumpiestOldWoman · 18/04/2020 10:03
They have vegetable farms near us and the workers live in bunk houses and work alot of hours/early starts/nasty weather conditions.
I doubt many people would want to move into temporary and very basic accommodation on the farm for months, away from families and responsibilities. I like the idea of helping out but I'm nowhere near fit enough, and couldn't work fast enough. I've seen the foreign workers - they're very motivated and I imagine they work through lots of aches and pains.
The farmers near us work really hard and it's their livelihood - they need motivated hardworking people to harvest the crop that they've invested so much in.
HandfulOfDust · 18/04/2020 10:03
I know, I think its mad. What's wrong with fruit/veg picking?
To be fair there are obvious reasons why people don't want to leave their homes (and abandon their childcare responsibilities) to live crowded in temporary accommodation doing arduous physical labor.
PTW1234 · 18/04/2020 10:04
I think most unemployed and able people live quite far away from farms etc. I live quite close to the country side and could take a job, but you are not allowed to do so on furlough.
I can also see quite clearly from looking around my area the conditions people who take these jobs live in, and I think it’s disgraceful that we treat poorer immigrants like this - Modern slaves.
It’s not the farmers faults usually, but the supermarkets and consumers fault. Cheap labour to satisfy price points, dictated by the shops.
And it’s not £10-15 an hour, that is truly propaganda - you earn the more you pick, which in turn incentivises workers to work excessive and dangerous hours
Lemonnhoney · 18/04/2020 10:04
It's just not practical. A lot of these jobs are in the middle of nowhere where you have to work on site. As well as this these people are trained and pick to a standard and speed.
Who will look after peoples children while they go off to a farm for a few months? People have responsibilities.
I get probably young people/students could do it. But even then, we are being told to stay home, observe social distancing. Would it not be a risk going to work with lots of other people amongst a pandemic? Probably a risk lots of people are not willing to take while they are safe at home (probably being paid anyways...)
Thescrewinthetuna · 18/04/2020 10:04
I know several people who applied but were turned down due to the volume of applications received
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.