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sinkingfeeling

(51,471 posts)
Fri Feb 9, 2018, 01:35 PM Feb 2018

Fruit and vegetables rot in fields after fall in farm workers from the EU after Brexit vote

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15918694.Fruit_and_vegetables_left_to_rot_in_fields_as_Brexit_vote_sees_fall_in_EU_workers/

Farmers  have had to leave thousands of tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables to rot in fields because of the fall in the number of workers coming to Scotland from the EU since the UK voted for Brexit.

One farmer in Fife said he dumped enough vegetables to “feed 15,000 people for a year” because there “wasn’t enough hands” to harvest it. Another farmer in Angus said the region requires 4,000 seasonal workers a year and there simply aren’t enough unem

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Fruit and vegetables rot in fields after fall in farm workers from the EU after Brexit vote (Original Post) sinkingfeeling Feb 2018 OP
But all the rural brits they took the jobs from , why aren't they harvesting for pay? lunasun Feb 2018 #1
The same reason why they need seasonal migrants in the first place. Thyla Feb 2018 #2
slowly happening here in the States as well. bdtrppr6 Feb 2018 #3
Because the agricultural labour market is messed up T_i_B Feb 2018 #5
This happened in Georgia in 2011 dugog55 Feb 2018 #4

lunasun

(21,646 posts)
1. But all the rural brits they took the jobs from , why aren't they harvesting for pay?
Fri Feb 9, 2018, 01:56 PM
Feb 2018

Not enough locals but why won't the unemployed brits travel to work fields like EU workers from other countries? Makes no sense
they wanted these jobs to open up, now they are left unfilled

Thyla

(791 posts)
2. The same reason why they need seasonal migrants in the first place.
Fri Feb 9, 2018, 02:27 PM
Feb 2018

Nobody has ever been keen on low paid unskilled jobs anywhere in the world but there will always be groups from elsewhere where the Pound or Dollar will go much further back home.

It's ok though as there are bound to be teething problems, wont be long until they figure out Brits have been picking fruit for decades on backpacker holidays so they will cut the same sort of visa deal and the jobs will be done by middle class Aussies, Canadians, Americans and EU students on their gap year.
Thus paving the way for the locals to continue with their IT and Arts degrees.

 

bdtrppr6

(796 posts)
3. slowly happening here in the States as well.
Fri Feb 9, 2018, 02:30 PM
Feb 2018

"Get rid of the Mexicans, taking our jobs, but I'm not picking my own food, fuck that!"

People are so lazy they will starve just to keep from doing underpaid, back breaking work.

T_i_B

(14,746 posts)
5. Because the agricultural labour market is messed up
Sat Feb 10, 2018, 05:29 AM
Feb 2018

You try finding these jobs in your local job centre over here. There are Brits who will happily do this work, but the employers have set things up for cheap migrant labour.

Which makes it even more annoying that the political mass debate about immigration in the UK is all geared towards blaming migrants for absolutely everything, but never about asking questions about the people who demand migrants do this sort of work on the cheap.

dugog55

(296 posts)
4. This happened in Georgia in 2011
Fri Feb 9, 2018, 05:15 PM
Feb 2018

Georgia and other States enacted tougher immigrant worker laws in 2010. In 2011 the agriculture business lost $105-300 million dollars because they could not get their crops picked. Details at the link below:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/05/17/the-law-of-unintended-consequences-georgias-immigration-law-backfires/#5c7bf96f492a

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