Fruit picking Jobs

[billysboy]

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?

Our demand for cheap food, processed crap, and convenient one-stop shopping created this.

I agree with this. And there is the added irony of the fact that the cheap shopping for the majority, in our of town supermarkets, has also left a minority with less access to decent food. I live somewhere with very poor public transport and none of the supermarkets in my nearest town are on a bus route. The elderly or disabled, who can't take a long walk and carry loads of bags, are left with tiny shops with a random selection of food in them, at twice the price that it costs in the supermarket. Even 20 years ago there were greengrocers, butchers etc, but they have almost all shut down.

No-one mentioning the shit acocmodation that most farmers proivde (and are allowed to charge £55 week for!). Think people stuffed into old carvans and loads of bunks in old portacabins. Washing and cooking facilities barely adequate for the amount of people in such accomodation.

Maybe if farmers provided better terms and conditions then more British people would be interested? But, hey, it's easier to ship in eastern Europeans (who can live reasonably well from 6 months work here due to lower prices in romania etc) and pump out propoganda about "lazy brits"

It's unfair to say Brits don't want to do it. I know a few young people, dd included, who've applied. We live in an area with lots of farms nearby and they could easily get to work, but not one of their applications has been successful. They're all young, fit and hard-working. What is going on? Is it because the farms make more money charging rent to live-in workers from overseas?

Last post is unfair on farmers . They get low prices for produce caused by us all wanting low prices in the supermarkets
So if they can’t get local labour they have to offer accommodation.

Agreed Lulu

If British farms weren’t having to sell to supermarket at such low prices , supermarkets just import more from countries that can grow it cheaper.
So if you want training, decent accommodation , flex hours (!) it would need the British public to only buy British and pay £10 a punnet for strawberries.

All of those saying you can't when on furlough. You can work for a second employer while on furlough, it is in the guidance that you can. If your work contract allows for additional work then there is nothing stopping you. I know someone who has done just that and is raking in the extra cash.

I would happily do fruit picking, but have a young child and couldn't live in, so they don't want me!

I applied - no vacancies in my area at this time though, which really surprised me as I live in a v. agricultural area.

I keep seeing articles say it’s super skilled, but that’s somewhat at odds with it being historically a student job.

I suspect farmers and gang masters don’t want to have to update working practises to 21st century ones, combined with a bit of reluctance from UK based people to get their hands dirty.

I did fruit picking as a teen and would happily do it part time now. But they’re not offering that sort of flexibility. Got to be full time and live in. I don’t need to live in a shed with 50 other people thanks. I’m in prime agricultural area with my own transport but nope, got to live in. Don’t think so.

@Rosehip10 I agree with what you're saying, but I wouldn't blame the farmers. The public demands rock bottom prices, look at how Tesco/ASDA/Aldi/Lidl price match and try to out do each other. The public are most interested in cheap prices, not ethics.

Our staff are not permitted to work elsewhere whilst on furlough under the terms of their contract. Anyone who is permitted to will have a higher rate of tax.

@noraclavicle I agree 100% excellent post

I was about to say a similar thing: typical, sneery, headline grabbing bait piece from the Graun, which then ironically goes on to backtrack within the piece by detailing all the issues and barriers around British nationals accepting the work. Not surprising it comes from a so called liberal newspaper.

I liked this quote though:

"........she felt there was an education process under way about farm work that could have a lasting impact after Brexit, when Conservative party plans will put a block on low-paid and low-skilled workers coming to the UK from abroad."

Well thank god if some emphasis on actually training and investing in the UK workforce over easy cheap foreign labour takes place for once.

OP

So did you have some luck yourself billysboy in securing a fruit picking job?

On paper I'm ideal for a job like this. Young, currently out of work, no childcare responsibilities.

However I have the beginnings of arthritis in my lower back and can't do heavy lifting or repetitive work that requires lots of bending down. I also run my own business and need to be available to clients as soon as I can re-open.

growers prefer to get people they can underpay in sneaky ways and mistreat.

These evil ( ) growers are also under enormous price pressure by supermarkets and big buyers. And that is fed into directly by us wanting food to be cheap, uniform and plentiful. Much of which we end up throwing away!

Strawberry season in Britain is 6 months now that almost all strawberry farmers use tunnels, so it is not really a short term job. Many farms still pay more than Tesco does and some of them have busses that pick workers up in the nearest towns. But it doesn't seem right that many applications haven't been answered. There must be some problems with the coordination of the recruitments.

Maybe it would be better to contact fruit farms directly and ask to speak with the production manager/supervisor.

Fruit picking is shit job I used to live on a fruit farm. Traditionally you are paid by the amount you pick not by the hour. It takes a couple of years at the very least of doing it do be quick enough to earn good money (by Romainain/Ukranian standards that is not UK), its very long hours; in the summer the picking window for cherries for example is very short, in all weathers apart from cherries which you dont pick in the rain and they will be picking from very early in the morning till it gets dark 7 days a week and its physically tiring, you wear. container which you fill up with fruit so its heavy work. Lastly because we want perfect fruit you just cant pick every apple/pear etc you see.
I'm not saying we cant do it but its far removed from the rural idyll many think it is. If people want to be paid a decent wage an hourly rate then prices we pay for fruit oil the supermarkets will have to rise.

I agree, it should have been advertised. My DD is home from uni bored and has applied to supermarkets but not heard. She’d have jumped at £10-£15 to pick fruit!

CatherineOfAragonsPomegranate the Guardian piece actually goes on to say that the Romanian workers coming in are ‘key skilled’! It’s all so messed-up.

I’m self employed, looked to apply, but they were all a long way away with accommodation required, once you take accommodation fees out the wages it was rubbish. I’m better to stick to diversifying my business and being here for my kids.

Not sure if the point was raised earlier, but my understanding is that people in council accommodation risk losing their home if they are absent more than a certain number of days as staying on farm is required for most picking jobs. I think 14 days around here.

I'd happily do it but I could only do weekends as I already work Monday to Friday. I've done it before and I can work fast and easily ignore a few aches while getting used to it again. Like others have said though, most seem to want full time workers. Even if I wasn't working, I have a young teenager and a cat so I need to come home after work, I couldn't live on site.

Afaik Scotland filled its fruit picking vacancies with local staff.
I don't know why they weren't able to do the same in England or if they didn't really try to fill them because they'd rather have experienced pickers from Romania than local ones.

several people who applied but were turned down due to the volume of applications received

My dd (19) has been desperately applying for everything as have most of her friends - all either furloughed or sent home from university. They are skint, bored & desperately missing human company - they absolutely do not want to be sitting at home, they want to be working. None of them have had responses let alone job offers. There is no work for young, fit & healthy people like them - it’s madness.

I know of several people whose application for this work has gone unanswered.

Same as PPs on this thread.

Which certainly doesnt fit the guardian's article.

So what's the real story?