Eastern Europeans fly in to pick fruit and veg

[Nick]

All those fit young bucks who are sitting at home under the supposed lockdown gagging at the bit to get back to work . Might not be able to pull pints or throw your bag about at Gatwick but Im sure they are quite capable of picking a few Strawberries

I believe most of these people are furloughed, not unemployed.

I don't believe SW mentioned unemployment, also furloughed workers are quite within their rights to undertake a second job whilst furloughed.

[Mashup]

It's been a good trial run for how well Brexiters have prepared the farming industry to shift to a greater reliance on domestic labour.

In summary it seems they've done absolutely nothing and we still need the immigrant labour.

[Hyperduck Quack Quack]

It's all the wrong way round.  In normal circumstances we should have freedom of movement.  During the pandemic people shouldn't.

[BeElBeeBub]

Fruit/veg picking and packing isn't low or unskilled work.



You can't just grab anybody off the street and expect then to be productive.



And that's before you get around to the seasonality and remoteness of the jobs.



As for dunking on the homeless....it seems strange that many of the same people who are dismissive of the homeless are also the same people who are very supportive of the armed forces when you consider ex-service people are massively over represented amongst the homeless

[johnofgwent]

An army of homeless have been taken from their drugged haze in their tented cities and put in all.manner of travelodge.style hotels.



Bus the whole lot who are now through the cold Turkey to these farms and make them do it.



After all, they have nothing else to do.... theyve been dossing in our city centre for years now

[Nalaar]

All those fit young bucks who are sitting at home under the supposed lockdown gagging at the bit to get back to work . Might not be able to pull pints or throw your bag about at Gatwick but Im sure they are quite capable of picking a few Strawberries

I believe most of these people are furloughed, not unemployed.

[papasmurf]

All those fit young bucks who are sitting at home under the supposed lockdown gagging at the bit to get back to work . Might not be able to pull pints or throw your bag about at Gatwick but Im sure they are quite capable of picking a few Strawberries

They are in your head, they don't exist. Despite the propaganda crop picking is a skilled job, I suspect most of the UK volunteers will either not be able to do the job or won't be able to be productive enough. Then there are the health and safety and logistics issuses.

[Streetwalker]

What "unemployed masses?"

All those fit young bucks who are sitting at home under the supposed lockdown gagging at the bit to get back to work . Might not be able to pull pints or throw your bag about at Gatwick but Im sure they are quite capable of picking a few Strawberries

[papasmurf]

Well yes I think it was always going to be the case that workers would come where required . It is a little disappointing though that the unemployed masses of the UK didn't fancy a few months fruit picking though when we are told to stay indoors ,protect the NHS, save lives ,its a bit of mixed messages , again .

What "unemployed masses?"

[Streetwalker]

Well yes I think it was always going to be the case that workers would come where required . It is a little disappointing though that the unemployed masses of the UK didn't fancy a few months fruit picking though when we are told to stay indoors ,protect the NHS, save lives ,its a bit of mixed messages , again .

[patman post]

Good to see promises being kept and essential workers brought in from overseas when needed — Eastern European farm workers are being flown to the UK on charter flights to pick fruit and vegetable crops.

Growers have called for local workers to join the harvest to prevent millions of tonnes of fruit and veg going to waste. But despite initial interest, far fewer local workers are actually signing up. Up to 70,000 fruit and vegetable pickers are needed for a modern-day "land army" of UK workers...



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52293061">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52293061