[SPUGGIE J]

the last time there was a protest at the refinery not much really came of it and it was very civilised. Now sadly I think there could be one hell of a backlash if all affected parts of the economy (whats left) pitch in. The issue will never go away as the benifits system does make it easier for some groups not to work. Also as mentioned these "imports" will work all hours for minimum wage which I have done myself. There are many out there who will not work because the wage they expect is far beyond what is reasonable.

Remember the hullabaloo over the minimum wage and the disaster it would be? Did it really happen that disaster? The imports will work for it knowing it is a gaurenteed minimum hourly rate. I have worked for it and have the principle that its better to have a job that puts coin in the pocket than no job at all. It seems that these workers were freely accepted when we needed them with open arms but now that we have a recession then its "lets export our imports and give the jobs to british workers.

Now if our education system was better and there was more of the good old fashioned apprenticeships then we would not have a skill shortage here that needs filled by "imports." We need to start at the begining again by teaching and training for the jobs of the future to avoid this unholy mess. Dosnt matter which party is in power they need to start it as soon as they can. I am not saying as a country we should be specialists in a certain field nor do a bit of everything but find a happy balance. The EU expansion may have come with issues but some with specialist knowlege have come over. Ok we get the free loading kind were the benifits system we have can work to there advantagebut to overhall it could leave those that genuinly need it in limbo with no support.

Would the American version work in my opinion no it would be a step back but we can take what is good about it and ignore the rest. Those that want a job will find work and those that dont will find a way to expoit the system. When a guy who has 3 kids is better off on the benifits ringroad than employed with all the benifits he can recieve then we do have a problem. The so called retraining schemes are no better than the YTS and all the variants that there has been.

Yet to throw out all those not British would make it no diferernt than the early part of the 20c when there were trade and employment barriers which in some cases there still is. We have as a country benifited from the "imports" and should be thankfull to those that did contribute but the hard bit is finding a way to lessen the impact when things are tight. Unions are happy in the good times as those who do contribute make it easier for their members. Sometimes an employer gets more work per pound hour out of an "import" than out of the resident worker which is down to culture not a case of "sticking it up the British" so to speak.

If you look at those that we rely on most in the NHS for instance how many are "imports" especially in critical disiplines? Yes fight for what you believe in but not to the detriment of people as a whole. One day we will again need them and they might not be too keen if this gets out of hand and victimisation becomes the norm. It is one balancing act that will take a saint to solve and the willpower of a few that will not be deflected to sort.