The Brexit thread

[Mussels]

If Joe Brexit sees that HGV driving offers a long term wage increase he may well decide it's worth getting a licence, but he's not as stupid as you think so if Labour increase minimum wage again he'll stick with the easy indoor job he has that pays more than it's worth.

[Nidge]

Are you equally concerned about Filipino house staff and Bangladeshi road workers in the UAE or is that cheap imported labour ok?

No idea whether it's true, when working in Dubai I was told that there are over 140 nationalities represented in the workforce.

I heard similar numbers when working in Abu Dhabi - at the time only 7% of the population were Emirati

[irie]

This is an opportunity to help UK drivers get better pay and conditions, but some of you are doing your absolute best to sabotage it. If you're one of the ones advocating for cheap foreign workers to come back then hang your head in shame, you're a scab and a backstabber and I hope you get that karma right back when it's your turn.

Market forces chum.

If "Proud Joe Brexit" really cared about the ideals of Brexit he'd be volunteering to drive those tankers and scrawling "we sent the buggers home, now we're keeping the buggers out" on the side. (It would need to be a big tanker, a bus would be better for slogans). Then there could be a big street party and we could win the world cup.

Yep, let's rejoin the EU and let EU "market forces" as they have done in the past continue to determine road haulage drivers incomes. What could possibly go wrong?

Oops

[Count Steer]

They probably won't, and I don't blame them. The transport industry can bleat all it likes, but the real solution is decent wages, decent conditions, decent training and a career structure. Then the problem will solve itself, everything else is stop-gap measures.

There's just the issue of paying for it...

True, but the main problem in this country is that people want everything cheap. And the only way to do that is to screw the people at the bottom of the food chain. I am not a socialist, I am a conservative, but I also recognise truth in the old saying that a workman is worthy of his hire. Markets work when they are not distorted, today a lot of them ae very distorted. Readjustment will be painful but necessary.

Fair comment. It's also fair to say that some people who work hard and are desperately trying to get off the 'bottom of the food chain' currently need things to be cheap. People keep pointing at the 'benefit society' but there are far too many people trying their damndest to provide a decent roof over their heads and food on the table in what we like to think of as a civilised society. It's pretty shocking when many of those people are providing what we class as essential services - whether you're of conservative, liberal or socialist tendencies. It would be a painful/shameful readjustment if they're the ones that have to bear all the pain.

[Count Steer]

Jenny from the Block

[DefTrap]

Yep, let's rejoin the EU and let EU "market forces" as they have done in the past continue to determine road haulage drivers incomes. What could possibly go wrong?

Oops

No shortages here.
And the weather's lovely.

[cheb]

None here either, and the weather's shite

[Horse]

and we could win the world cup.

That's a point: post-Brexit, why are we still involved with the Eurovision Song Contest?

[Asian Boss]

Yep, let's rejoin the EU and let EU "market forces" as they have done in the past continue to determine road haulage drivers incomes. What could possibly go wrong?

Oops

No shortages here.
And the weather's lovely.

No. There must be. Brexit has spoken. Brexit has no downsides. We knew what we were voting for and this is it.


I reckon it's the remoaners who've caused the fuel shortage here by panic buying. Them with their 'me first', no-cooperation attitudes. I bet they don't even care we've got crowns back on pint glasses and slightly more widespread use of imperial units.

[Hoonercat]

Yep, let's rejoin the EU and let EU "market forces" as they have done in the past continue to determine road haulage drivers incomes. What could possibly go wrong?

Oops

No shortages here.
And the weather's lovely.

No. There must be. Brexit has spoken. Brexit has no downsides. We knew what we were voting for and this is it.


I reckon it's the remoaners who've caused the fuel shortage here

Waiting until they get to the pumps before trying to work out the litre to pint conversion was always going to cause delays

[Count Steer]

You lot ever thought of moving on before turning bitter and miserable or is that to late?

Where's the fun in that?

Exactly.

[Cousin Jack]

Fair comment. It's also fair to say that some people who work hard and are desperately trying to get off the 'bottom of the food chain' currently need things to be cheap. People keep pointing at the 'benefit society' but there are far too many people trying their damndest to provide a decent roof over their heads and food on the table in what we like to think of as a civilised society. It's pretty shocking when many of those people are providing what we class as essential services - whether you're of conservative, liberal or socialist tendencies. It would be a painful/shameful readjustment if they're the ones that have to bear all the pain.

Also very true.
We are in a country with a shrinking workforce, so wages ought to be rising in competition for a scarce resource. What we have is people in some job paid a pittance, and the taxpayer has to make up the difference in benefits to allow them to live. We need a minimum wage that is realistic, and that will feed through into prices. If the minimum wage is linked to a decent measure of RPI they will go up in step.

Hand in hand with that the benefits and tax systems need a root and branch overhaul. Too many shirkers play the benefit system, too many genuine people are failed by it. The tax system is byzantine, and gets manipulated by the uber rich. I am also in favour of good rewards those at the top, but the gap between top and bottom is becoming obscene.

Will it happen? Not in my lifetime! Far too many turkeys don't want xmas.

[Potter]

Are you equally concerned about Filipino house staff and Bangladeshi road workers in the UAE or is that cheap imported labour ok?

I don't understand why you keep dragging your past up and throwing it at me.
If you witnessed worker abuse in your company when you were here then that's you and your company fella, don't tar other people with the same brush. If you'd have worked for me then your feet wouldn't have touched the floor for standing by and allowing it.

If you have specific knowledge then make an allegation against the UAE government, don't moan to me about it - and in return I won't complain to you about Operation Yewtree or suggest that you're complicit in it due to you being in the same country at the time.

[Nidge]

Are you equally concerned about Filipino house staff and Bangladeshi road workers in the UAE or is that cheap imported labour ok?

I don't understand why you keep dragging your past up and throwing it at me.
If you witnessed worker abuse in your company when you were here then that's you and your company fella, don't tar other people with the same brush. If you'd have worked for me then your feet wouldn't have touched the floor for standing by and allowing it.

If you have specific knowledge then make an allegation against the UAE government, don't moan to me about it - and in return I won't complain to you about Operation Yewtree or suggest that you're complicit in it due to you being in the same country at the time.

There's no allegation implicit or otherwise, I was asking if this new found concern for underpaid workers was limited to UK lorry drivers, but as ever your thin skin results in yet another snide retort

[Potter]

There's no allegation implicit or otherwise, I was asking if this new found concern for underpaid workers was limited to UK lorry drivers, but as ever your thin skin results in yet another snide retort

My retort was because last time we had this argument you made a veiled threat about me being in a vulnerable position and I left the forum because I didn't want another email to my boss.

This time you can roll your dice matey, I've called you on it and you've disappeared up your own arse because you know you don't have any allegation to make, it was just another of your snide pokes at me.

[Nidge]

There's no allegation implicit or otherwise, I was asking if this new found concern for underpaid workers was limited to UK lorry drivers, but as ever your thin skin results in yet another snide retort

My retort was because last time we had this argument you made a veiled threat about me being in a vulnerable position and I left the forum because I didn't want another email to my boss.

This time you can roll your dice matey, I've called you on it and you've disappeared up your own arse because you know you don't have any allegation to make, it was just another of your snide pokes at me.

I genuinely have no idea what you're referring to, and I resent any implication that I emailed your boss.

[Potter]

We are in a country with a shrinking workforce, so wages ought to be rising in competition for a scarce resource. What we have is people in some job paid a pittance, and the taxpayer has to make up the difference in benefits to allow them to live. We need a minimum wage that is realistic, and that will feed through into prices.

Totally agree and as I said here we are in a once in a decade chance for UK lorry drivers to improve their lot, but what do the lefties here want to do - bring back a glut of foreign labour.
Sad, very sad.

[Potter]

I genuinely have no idea what you're referring to, and I resent any implication that I emailed your boss.

No problem, leave it there then and don't ever accuse me, or associate me, with abuse of workers, implicit or otherwise.

[Nidge]

I genuinely have no idea what you're referring to, and I resent any implication that I emailed your boss.

No problem, leave it there then and don't ever accuse me, or associate me, with abuse of workers, implicit or otherwise.

Actually there is a problem, you leveled a wrongful accusation at me, whereas I was talking in general terms about your view on cheap imported foreign labour into the UAE - which is well documented fact whether you choose to accept it or not . You chose to make it personal for some reason

[DefTrap]

Totally agree and as I said here we are in a once in a decade chance for UK lorry drivers to improve their lot, but what do the lefties here want to do - bring back a glut of foreign labour.
Sad, very sad.

There's a demand and a shortage.

Surely allowing forrin workers to do "essential jobs" was part of the Brexit plan? Some of you seem to be having a bit of trouble with the Brexit you voted for.