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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

for getting fed up with dh not being able to get work

37 replies

2shoes · 03/02/2008 10:15

I keep reading threads about immigration. oh how wonderful it is. it will pay my pension. yippee I can get a builder who will fix my pc as well and work for peanuts.
only trouble is if you are in the building trade and need a decent wage to support your family your f***
you can't drop your wages as suprise suprise the mortgage or rent stays the same and has to be paid. and food and petrol and fuel bills stay the same.
then to cap it all people then say lets get the lazy people of benefits.
I don't blame the immigrants by the way but the govement.

OP posts:
TotalChaos · 03/02/2008 10:22

YANBU. I'ld also be blaming the employers for being only to happy to take on foreign workers for less than the going rate to make a fast buck.

Original poster
2shoes · 03/02/2008 10:47

the strange thing is when ever I post about it on other threads I get ignored.

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spicemonster · 03/02/2008 10:52

It's a terrible situation to be in and I don't know what you can do about it. As you and someone on the other thread said, it's the government who need to enforce stricter legislation to stop companies turning a blind eye to paying under minimum wage.

The free market economy has a lot to answer for

kayzr · 03/02/2008 10:56

My dad is in a similar situation. He has found it really hard to find a job after being made redundent a few years ago. He has had a fork lift licence for 35 years but employers would rather train a foreigner to drive a fork lift and then be able to pay them less. The government should stop this from happening.
I hope he finds work soon 2shoes.

Original poster
2shoes · 03/02/2008 11:25

so do i.
I often wonder if this is what retirement will be like

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Desiderata · 03/02/2008 11:34

Well, I'm sorry about your dh's situation, 2shoes. I think you've hit the nail on the head with regard to the downside of immigration policy.

Lulumama · 03/02/2008 11:34

i am sorry your DH cannot find work in the building trade.... it must be very disheartening

if you know 100 % that he is unemployed due to immigrants being employed for cheaper wages, then i can see that that would be absolutely galling.

i don;t know what the answer is

the answer is not to stop immigration. but to ensure that employers are employing people entitled to work in the UK and are paying them minimum wage and not doing it all in cash. then there is a lot more equality in the job market.

Lulumama · 03/02/2008 11:36
  • maybe the answer is.....
Original poster
2shoes · 03/02/2008 12:01

out of interest how much is the minimum wage?

OP posts:
Desiderata · 03/02/2008 12:06

I think it's £5.35 ... or £5.65?

kayzr · 03/02/2008 12:06

£5.52 an hour for over 22's

Lulumama · 03/02/2008 12:06

#5.52 per hour if 22 or over.. had to google it, so i think that is up do date

TheDuchessOfNorksBride · 03/02/2008 12:16

It was £5.35 from 1 October 2007 - has it gone up again? I'd better check pre-sch payroll to make sure we're not slipping.

MeMySonAndI · 03/02/2008 12:17

Well, I don't know if this will make you feel better but immigrants also suffer in their own ways. I have seen doctors making a living out of ebay, pilots cleaning Tube tracks, psychologists working as postmans, or even washing dishes in a restaurant.

I have seen lots of perfectly qualified people who have immigrated and are not having a good time at all, but are unable to go back to their own countries due to political circumstances, hardship, and even being afraid of being killed on their return.

So it is not exactly as if they are having a ball...

TheDuchessOfNorksBride · 03/02/2008 12:18

Sorry - it is £5.52 for over-22yo. Was £5.35 before the 1st Oct increase.

Original poster
2shoes · 03/02/2008 12:34

£220.00 for a 40 hr week and then tax an NIS. how the hell can a family man live on that. when the rent would take at least half.

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Original poster
2shoes · 03/02/2008 12:35

MeMySonAndI I am not talking about asylum seekers. that is a totally different thing.

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divamummy2 · 03/02/2008 12:42

its those who employ them for peanuts illegally. dont get this wrong.
i stayed quite big hotel in london, house keeper lay said she cleans 20+ rooms a day, and its 2-3pounds eachsaid everyone there was from eu countries, got no working permit etc... got no english, laughed at me and said why do you need english to clean rooms
i felt sad, although they seemed quite happy about it.

TotalChaos · 03/02/2008 12:54

The money would be bumped up by tax credits/and or entitlements to other benefits ?housing benefit, don't know exactly.

malovitt · 03/02/2008 13:01

I thought you didn't need a work permit if you were from a EU country.

£60 for cleaning 20 rooms - that's £300 for a 5 day week?

Lulumama · 03/02/2008 13:05

2shoes, are you not therefore entitled to working families tax credits and other benefits to bump up how much money is coming in? even if there were not immigrants, some employers will always be less than scrupolous and employ underage people, pay less than the minimum wage or pay short term workers cash in hand. it is a terrible situation and there are no easy answers

sophiewd · 03/02/2008 13:05

I can change, hoover and clean my guest rooms in 20 mins so £6-£9 per hour isn't too bad.

needmorecoffee · 03/02/2008 13:13

2shoes, are you getting all the child tax credit and working families you are entitled too? DH gets about 250 a week and we get CTC but not WF (or whatever its called now)as we are about 20p over the limit. To be honest we would be better off on full benefits cos then the interest on the mortgae would be paid but DH goes nuts without his science research and needs to get out of the house occasionally.
We don't have any pension at all for any immigrants to pay!

Pan · 03/02/2008 13:15

malovitt - you don't need a work permit, unless you are from one of the "Acession States", which are largely the East European states, from whence many of the new tradespeople are from. The type of work permit also varies between two types of ASs.

Original poster
2shoes · 03/02/2008 15:33

nmc yes we get all the stuff. When working we don't get housing benefit though. I wouldn't expect him to work for that kind of money though after 20 years in a trade.
we are lucky i suppose I ger carers allowance and we have a mobility car and dla to get by on.
he goes "door knocking" whick used to be a sure far way of getting a job. he would just go round all the sites. but now it is a waste of time as he can't find anyone who speaks english even to ask.

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