Reedham

[Hylander]

18 hours ago, FreedomBoatingHols said:

I wonder if you're buying into the narrative that this is all the fault of the working classes? 

Got nothing to do with the working class (emphasis on the working).   There are a lot of folk around quite comfortable at the moment being paid and also if they want to do another part time job.   Running your own business a different matter.  This nonsense has gone on for far too long and the mindset needs to change.    Times gone by you didn't work you starved.    Thank God that does not happen now, especially when it affects children.    A lot of families are just scraping by and they are working all hours , however there is a minority that all this has suited them down to the ground.

[Hylander]

On 27/06/2021 at 20:05, tim said:

 

Fiona and Richard were (as expected fantasist) 

 

I did chuckle -   oh dont you just love it when the laptop changes what you originally type.....      So pleased your lovely dog is being looked after and hope she gets well soon.

[tim]

Yup combination of mobile phone sunshine (yes we did have some on Sunday) and I probably need stronger specs!  😉

[Oddfellow]

16 hours ago, Turnoar said:

In my day plenty of students were up for the task. I wonder if student loans   put paid to that, shame as for me it worked perfectly, end of June to end of September and Christmas Eve/Day and NYE shifts working the bar, mardling with the punters, occasional ahd’s, 6 days a week, sweeet. Not sure if it’s still the case but if said students didn’t earn enough then no payback and possibly written off after a number of years. May have claimed to be overqualified for such tasks as keeping the glass washer spinning, bar top mopped and beer a flowing!

Student loans are there to pay for a student's tuition and living. They are not there to allow them to be lazy and live the life of riley. Have you seen the rental values of student accommodation lately? It's criminal. 

[Oddfellow]

23 hours ago, FreedomBoatingHols said:

wonder if some of the unemployed are quite content to be so rather than getting off their fat square ones to earn rather survive on benefits.  Surely not all the unemployed are disabled / unwell / incapacitated?

 

16 hours ago, BroadAmbition said:

I wonder if you're buying into the narrative that this is all the fault of the working classes? 

And I wonder where that came from? 

I made no mention of any class system or even hinted at it, nor am I blaming anyone or any class either - I'm not buying into any theories, I leave that for others to amuse themselves with.

So wonder no more on my behalf and I would thank you not to make assumptions on my behalf too

Griff

Hard not to make such assumptions when you write this, Griff. 

[Andrewcook]

I would like to say this year's ago a Working man was the Bread Winner for the Family not any more as the Women are now taking over men's jobs and putting us behind the Kitchen sink the only trouble is Men cannot have Babies to claim maternity leaves  that life I think now day's

[Oddfellow]

4 minutes ago, Andrewcook said:

I would like to say this year's ago a Working man was the Bread Winner for the Family not any more as the Women are now taking over men's jobs and putting us behind the Kitchen sink the only trouble is Men cannot have Babies to claim maternity leaves  that life I think now day's

Woah there. Slippery slope into sexism right there. 

There aren't that many women taking "men's jobs" in reality. And what is a "man's job" anyway? Builder? Plumber? Software Engineer? Chef? Tailor or Dress Maker? MP or even PM? 

There's also the problem that the cost of living is pretty high so that in many families, two salaries (and more) are needed to cover the bills. 

Generalising is far from helpful. 

 

[OldBerkshireBoy]

26 minutes ago, Andrewcook said:

I would like to say this year's ago a Working man was the Bread Winner for the Family not any more as the Women are now taking over men's jobs and putting us behind the Kitchen sink the only trouble is Men cannot have Babies to claim maternity leaves  that life I think now day's

Better put your tin hat on Andrew as I fear the incoming flak you will receive. 

[Meantime]

I think it's worth pointing out that in many places social distancing doesn't just occur at the front of house, but in the kitchen as well. For some places it is not possible to bring the full staff back yet, and therefore reduced kitchen capacity means longer wait times and slower service. Bear with them, it is far from ideal for anyone.

[Mouldy]

1 hour ago, FreedomBoatingHols said:

Woah there. Slippery slope into sexism right there. 

There aren't that many women taking "men's jobs" in reality. And what is a "man's job" anyway? Builder? Plumber? Software Engineer? Chef? Tailor or Dress Maker? MP or even PM? 

There's also the problem that the cost of living is pretty high so that in many families, two salaries (and more) are needed to cover the bills. 

Generalising is far from helpful. 

 

Exactly right.  Times have changed since the man was the breadwinner.  Fewer families bought their own homes, but rented, fewer families owned their own car (never mind a car each!), no mobile telephone bills to pay, no satellite tv, no broadband, possibly no tv.  There are a host of reasons why women go to work, not forgetting that they have the right to.  Being the breadwinner has not been the sole right of the man of the house for a long time and rightly so.

I’m afraid that your thought process needs to be in line with the times in which we live.

[Andrewcook]

Hi to you you all as Freedom Boating Hols has pointed out the error of my ways  he's correct in saying Two members of the House hold bringing  Two sets of wages due to the cost of living and other factors such as  bring up children . 

[ScrumpyCheddar]

2 hours ago, FreedomBoatingHols said:

Woah there. Slippery slope into sexism right there. 

There aren't that many women taking "men's jobs" in reality. And what is a "man's job" anyway? Builder? Plumber? Software Engineer? Chef? Tailor or Dress Maker? MP or even PM? 

There's also the problem that the cost of living is pretty high so that in many families, two salaries (and more) are needed to cover the bills. 

Generalising is far from helpful. 

 

Actually more WOMEN are doing jobs what MEN only use to do in the past.. What is making it fair Across the board..
 

I know of women plumbers and electricians and even builders..

Here is a good example..

I’m working at a large Supermarket RDC as a HGV driver..  There are women HGV drivers,( Some better than most of the men there) Fork lift drivers, Loaders, Pickers, Transport planners, and even a fleet engineer mechanic, There’s probably some others I’ve not even seen..

Nowt wrong and sexist about that… It’s life now it’s an Equal society we all live in now.. 

 

 

[grendel]

I dont think there is any traditionally male role that does not have a few examples of female workforce now, fully 1/3 of our engineers , both in design and construction in my workplace are female now, and every bit as good as the other designers/ engineers. then think back to the war where while the men were away in the army, women took over their roles in factories and machine shops throughout the country.

[ExSurveyor]

The old MIL was spraying army truck during the war.

Women have been into space.

[Polly]

Well. Let people be what suits them and accord respect to everyone doing their best to get by. It’s good to see people choosing a career path based on interest and ability; it’s also good to see men enjoying their children, taking a lead quite often. It’s no accident that pushchair design has gone technically upmarket! 😊

[SteveO]

I suspect that the extent of the country's dependence on cheap Eastern European labour is about to be exposed big time. It seems that not only fruit and veg picking and hospitality jobs have gone down this route but a large proportion of the HGV drivers who shift goods into and around the country have gone this way too as have the food processing and packing industries. I suspect that employers in a number of sectors are playing "who blinks first" with the government over the points-based immigration system, so brace yourselves for shortages and price hikes. 

[andyg]

7 hours ago, SteveO said:

I suspect that the extent of the country's dependence on cheap Eastern European labour is about to be exposed big time. It seems that not only fruit and veg picking and hospitality jobs have gone down this route but a large proportion of the HGV drivers who shift goods into and around the country have gone this way too as have the food processing and packing industries. I suspect that employers in a number of sectors are playing "who blinks first" with the government over the points-based immigration system, so brace yourselves for shortages and price hikes. 

I work in a transport department for a large supermarket. We have been struggling to recruit hgv drivers for some years now. Our full time employed Eastern European driver have said with us since brexit the problem is with our supply of temp staff. HMRC have made changes to the tax status of agency employed hgv drivers they are no longer allowed to be classed as self employed. At a guess we have seen at least 70% of our regular temp drivers just dissappear overnight. Compound this with the ongoing struggle to entice younger ppl into our industry and we have a perfect storm brewing. We are already experiencing daily route roll overs ( jobs we just can't cover ) this will very soon cause shortages in our stores. Its the same for our suppliers with some fresh and chilled suppliers capping our daily order limits.It's is a very real problem and it's causing a huge amount of stress in our work place. My cousin works for the country's biggest brewer and its the same for his distribution centre. 

[Cheesey69]

8 hours ago, SteveO said:

I suspect that the extent of the country's dependence on cheap Eastern European labour is about to be exposed big time. It seems that not only fruit and veg picking and hospitality jobs have gone down this route but a large proportion of the HGV drivers who shift goods into and around the country have gone this way too as have the food processing and packing industries. I suspect that employers in a number of sectors are playing "who blinks first" with the government over the points-based immigration system, so brace yourselves for shortages and price hikes. 

Correct. 
Also explosion of warehouse jobs that pay way more than hospitality for those online deliveries. 
We are a funny country that expects a lot for our money. 

[Mouldy]

1 hour ago, andyg said:

I work in a transport department for a large supermarket. We have been struggling to recruit hgv drivers for some years now. Our full time employed Eastern European driver have said with us since brexit the problem is with our supply of temp staff. HMRC have made changes to the tax status of agency employed hgv drivers they are no longer allowed to be classed as self employed. At a guess we have seen at least 70% of our regular temp drivers just dissappear overnight. Compound this with the ongoing struggle to entice younger ppl into our industry and we have a perfect storm brewing. We are already experiencing daily route roll overs ( jobs we just can't cover ) this will very soon cause shortages in our stores. Its the same for our suppliers with some fresh and chilled suppliers capping our daily order limits.It's is a very real problem and it's causing a huge amount of stress in our work place. My cousin works for the country's biggest brewer and its the same for his distribution centre. 

I’ve just retired from the logistics industry, having worked in it as a driver initially, then moving into management in both warehouse and transport roles for over 40 years.  Necessary qualifications aside, the regulations that need to be complied with to retain an LGV (HGV) licence, traffic rules, on the spot fines, cameras in the cab watching the drivers every move and so on do little to entice young people into an industry where working over 80 hours a week is still legal and often for not much more than minimum wage.  Folk forget that commerce in this country revolves around the logistics industry and without drivers, it will soon grind to a halt.

Gone are the days when cheap labour from Eastern Europe was readily available and something will need to be done to encourage people to take the qualifications and enter the industry.  Lorry driving is a profession, as necessary as being a doctor, nurse, or a dentist who are revered and respected.  We need to recognise that or  soon or there will be shortages in shops that will be nothing to do with a pandemic or an errant cargo ship in the Suez Canal.

[floydraser]

Cor blimey it's all Lorry Drivers round here! You can't seem to get away from them..

I was a Distribution Manager around 1988 and when the big warehouses opened up around here (Magna Park) it was like a magnet for all logistics staff, me included; I could earn more as a class 1 driver with no responsibility.

However: 1994 - time and a half for Saturdays, double time Sundays. the rota said we work one in eight Saturdays. Then the big supermarkets started opening on Sundays and over Christmas. Saturdays and Sundays became normal time.

So now it's anti social hours, weekends and Bank Holidays and every year you have to have a day's CPC training (thanks Europe, have we binned that yet?). I may be out of date?? How much is medical now? Was about £120.

I couldn't wait to get out as soon as my mortgage was paid off. Thankfully for me, all the planets lined up nicely thank you.

 

[Oddfellow]

36 minutes ago, floydraser said:

Cor blimey it's all Lorry Drivers round here! You can't seem to get away from them..

 

 

I'm waiting for three bus drivers to turn up all at once.....

 

[floydraser]

And going back to somewhere near the original subject: one reason for today's catering problems could be to do with the way we have come to expect higher standards when we dine out.

I'll bet the places we hear praised on this forum and elsewhere all use the best available fresh ingredients and staff to prepare it?

Remember Little Chefs? Happy Eaters? I was Distribution Manager in a Puritan Maid depot. They were a wholly owned distribution subsidiary of Trusthouse Forte who owned the afore mentioned as well the hotels. We supplied the hotels with fresh stuff while the roadsiders got frozen and tinned. The idea being that during slack periods very little food was wasted.

Sounds awful now but August Bank Holidays were hysterically busy!

[SwanR]

I read online yesterday that The Swan at Horning is not doing food on Monday and Tuesday for the foreseeable future. They were advertising for staff recently so I wonder whether that’s the issue. 

[Chelsea14Ian]

This will take time to settle.Its my hope that staff in catering are valued a little more.If I use myself as an example, as a Head Chef.With nearly  50 years of experience, working in hotels,restaurants, event and contract Catering.My salary was far less  then other skilled trades men and women.Am I alone, no.Many of those that I worked with are looking for work,some have moved on to jobs outside of Catering. 

 

[MauriceMynah]

I have to admit to being confused. On one hand I hear and read that thousands have lost their jobs as a result of Covid. I also hear that many have lost their jobs as a result of Brexit. But on the other hand I hear that there are quite a few industries that are in desperate need of staff because of the lack of migrant workers.

Question Why are the people who are unemployed not filling the jobs available?

It is noticable that both groups are demanding more money from the government.