Fruit picking? Are they f***ing serious?

[emmcan]

So whichever hapless muppet got dragged out today to do the daily lying to the gullible has suggested that furloughed workers could br picking fruit.

Fuck me, how fucking badly run is this shitshow?

The reason that we have had a two decades of migrant workers doing these jobs is because British people are too lazy and incompetent to do them.

And now they expect furloughed workers to head out into the fields and get their hands dirty?

It will happen, in a fashion, as they will just stop paying money to people who refuse to work, but it will be an appalling form of slave labour.

So - let me get this straight. We’re furloughing workers because it’s too dangerous for people to go to work and hence lots of businesses are on the brink of collapse

No, the furlough scheme is to prevent job losses because of covid. Many jobs arent required right now. It's not about safety.

@MadMadaMim
And it’s just the tip of the iceberg

I got it

I’ve only one thing to say about soft-fruit picking-

Raspberries!! Prprprprplplplplplplp

Right, house! Yes, people on furlough should be forced to do hard labour for free for profit making endeavours. JCOAB how can anything think this is acceptable?! Farms are not charities or city councils. Being furloughed is not a crime that should be punishable by forced conscription to provide free labour for business. Let that sink in.

@tonemeth. Jobs aren’t required right now because business have shut down because of SAFETY reasons. So my business has shut down because it’s not SAFE for it to stay open. Therefore I am furloughed at home because the Government forced businesses to close for safety reasons.

@peppermintcapsules

Perfection.

Personally if I lived in an area where there was fruit picking I would offer to go and help them for free. People really have to take notice of how serious this situation could be, if the farmers can't get people to help with all the crops there will eventually be no food left.

Safety may be part of it, but it isnt the full picture. Many businesses that have shut down didn't need to in the first place.

@ZombieFan hilarious farms can bus people out. Ok so that would be a three hours there . Three hours back and a 9 hour shift. Yet schools will only be open from 9 -3 hmmmm ok. Never mind the 15 hour days for 80% of minimum wage .

What about people on jobseekers pick the fruit? If they are unfortunate enough to have not been able to find employment and they are healthy, would think it would be the ideal opportunity for them to join the workforce, get off benefits and help out?

@Tonemeth of course it's about safety. The government has ordered many businesses to close for safety reasons! If pubs, salons, cinemas were still open you can bet many people would still be using them.

What about prisoners? What about SAHPs whose partners are now furloughed? What about people who retired before the most current pension age? What about immigrants who are not on permanent residency visas? So ideal, to work for free or below min. wage for for-profit businesses in conditions ripe for the virus. Didn't we already try this, like, many times? There's a name for that . . .

It's not a relevant argument here - essential services etc need to to ahead. They need to socially distance but there's no issue with fruit picking.

The furlough scheme is not just about safety and safety isnt mentioned in the guidance. I'll concede it is relevant - but it's certainly not the whole "pick"ture.

I used to pick fruit as a youngster, in the summer holidays or at weekends. I also used to have part time work in the supermarket. Problem is youngsters no longer get that sort of chance because they tend to choose eu workers to do the work, they are willing to work for the same price as the youngsters. Something some people just do not understand, it was the eu workers that caused the problem, not the youngsters. Just glad Corbyn did not get in, all his ideas about the minimum wage and paying under 18s £10 an hour, way to price youngsters even further out of the market.

Oh, and just one other thing. They were going to allow fruit pickers in anyway (just look it up) so stop going on about Brexit. it is nothing to do with that.

it was the eu workers that caused the problem, not the youngsters

I bloody despair at this kind of comments, I really do.

I'm furloughed because my workplace cannot safely introduce measures for us to follow social distancing guidelines and still do our jobs. Otherwise we will be open, and should do within the next month at the latest. Regarding the pay, sure I'm "doing nothing" as I'm not allowed to do any other paid work, I can volunteer but actually my "wages" are less than minimum wage at 80%, my expenses have not gone down but I'm £500 down this month (I had some sick days, and don't get sick pay). That's a huge difference. I don't drive, so some voluntary work is impossible without using public transport which we are encouraged not to do, plus I cannot afford as I've only just got enough to live on this month. Sure, I can help my neighbours, but none of them need it! I also paid tax and national insurance on furlough pay (so by some logic on here, I'm actually paying my own wages this month, being a tax payer and paying tax on it), so, even though I am furloughed for absolutely nothing I can change, I should be made to do other work should I? I'd rather be doing my job but I can't due to a virus going about (you might of heard of it), and being shut down by the government (to a point, where I work is classed as essential retail). Some people really seem to think I'm lazy because of this. Perhaps so, but I should be doing my normal job. That I can't do at the moment but will be going back to. So why the hell should I be doing other (unpaid) work when I would be at work if it wasn't because of a world wide pandemic?

Let Brexiters do it. All the migrant labour left due to them making them feel unappreciated.

We have a history of exploiting other nations workers. We banned child labour in the cotton mills, and then bought textiles from India made with child labour. If there is no supply of cheap labour, there we will then be the incentive to develop machines to pick the fruit. You only need to watch some of the incredible machines on Inside the factory type programmes to realise that there is not much that machines cannot be made to do.

@Vkrr Yep Because what is needed during the pandemic is someone full of resentment who catches the virus. What do you think the outcome of that would be?

Wait so no furlough if you don’t do it...so why do people on jobseekers/dole not get made to do these jobs? Fecking bizarre

I think you emmcan are the " useless muppet" (your words, not mine). We must all pull together at this difficult and unprecedented time. If I lived near a farm I would be doing my bit. As it is I live in the town but I am helping out by delivering shopping and prescriptions for those who are isolated. Also sewing ppe for nhs workers. We ALL have to pull our weight. STOP MOANING!!!

@AvalancheKit

@canklekitten how refreshing to see someone else with this attitude, I really felt like an odd one out big time. Well said.

Cheaper to hire foreign workers... The farm owners get kickbacks from the EU and bungs from foreign work agencies, fly them in and pay them £75 week... Don't fall for the MSM bullshit! The rich get rich because they don't want to pay minimum wage and then exploit the system! Plenty of people in the UK applied and got knocked back (letters published online) for cheaper foreign labour! It was a con and the owners were lying about no workers here! Always follow the money!