The Student Room Group

Should there be a ban on employers hiring EU citizens to do low skilled work

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I'm somewhat undecided. As a capitalist I'm generally happy with EU immigrants coming to work especially however I do think that there'd be a smaller net job loss than people think. Farms and small business might struggle to raise wages for natives but plenty of firms would not.

I think there's too much focus on EU immigrants taking jobs though. If we vetoed further expansion and took a nail to the importation of third world migrants then that would reduce labour competition at the bottom end too.
Reply 21
Original post by Errm20
The Government is trying to force me to employ someone at a minimum amount so that they are guaranteed a certain amount of tax receipts a year, regardless of whether I make a profit or not.


How much tax does the government make from someone earning £7,390 a year? If you cant make a profit after paying the legal minimum wages then you shouldnt be in business. Plenty of others manage it.
Reply 22
Original post by Errm20
Minimum Wage (From October 1st): £6.70


You've taken the over 21 minimum wage. I thought we were talking about 16/17yr olds a minute ago?
One thing which is often ignored is that migrants have moved from another country so have no ties to a community and therefore are willing to move or live somewhere less desirable for the work.

A lot of British people who are unemployed can't or don't want to move from where they live but continue to complain about migrants taking their jobs when they won't move away from areas which has massive unemployment and lack job prospects.
Reply 24
Original post by Errm20
Why hire native Brits (meaning you are forced to pay higher salaries due to age) when you can hire 16/17 year olds?


Because, as I pointed out earlier; I doubt there are many 16/17yr old immigrants looking for employment. Indeed if they move to this country would they then not also need to be in some form of education until 18?

You seem to have completely changed this discussion from being around you (illegally?) paying someone £2 an hour and so undercutting the native Brits who refuse to work for that little.. to now purposely targeting under-aged immigrants.
Reply 25
Original post by Maker
Some Brits really don't want to work. Theres loads of seasonal work on farms that no Brits will go near and its all seasonal workers from the EU that does it. Lots of farms would go out of business if EU workers were banned and the price of food will go up.


Maybe not seasonal farm work but any other work employers must make sure that they recruit British people first.

The other day, I spoke to this agency to look for a summer job in a warehouse the agency is based in the UK and the lady picked up the phone and spoke to me in Polish, she really didn't need to speak in Polish she is in England.

Farms wages is really low, which makes me think if the migrants were banned from working in the UK the employers would be forced to pay a little over the minimum wage to attract people
Reply 26
Original post by Zerforax
One thing which is often ignored is that migrants have moved from another country so have no ties to a community and therefore are willing to move or live somewhere less desirable for the work.

A lot of British people who are unemployed can't or don't want to move from where they live but continue to complain about migrants taking their jobs when they won't move away from areas which has massive unemployment and lack job prospects.


I'd happily move to a different city but have you seen house prices it's not easy to find affordable houses these days
Migrants are happy to share a house with 10 other people.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by spurs9393
That's simply not true. The vast majority of Brits are willing to work, but when a citizen comes from a former Communist country with a minimum wage 1/8 that of ours, British citizens just can't compete. No wonder the EU has led to wage compression.


Posted from TSR Mobile


Enforce a higher wage.

Problem solved.
Original post by Reue


You seem to have completely changed this discussion from being around you (illegally?) paying someone £2 an hour and so undercutting the native Brits who refuse to work for that little.. to now purposely targeting under-aged immigrants.


DO you think native Brits should refuse to work for £2 an hour?
Original post by _icecream
I'd happily move to a different city but have you seen house prices it's not easy to find affordable houses these days
Migrants are happy to share a house with 10 other people.


True, the last tenants of my 2 bedroom flat were 10 Polish guys and when the rent is £220 a month its not as if they would struggle to pay £22 each, neighbours hated them as they also had guests round often and drank all the time.

They moved across the road and never changed their address so I constantly get pension letters, and tax letters saying they havent paid their rent in over 3 years, job application forms, or letters from places saying they have been accepted for a position, I have been living here almost 18 months now and had them at my door moaning I dont give them their letters.

Also had letters from police saying they owe fines,bank cards and statements and loads of junk

Where I lived going bakc 8 years ago there was a well known dodgy landlord(only took people on benefits and immigrants as he knew they couldnt find elsewhere) he had 12 bedrooms in one house and about 60 people total getting £70 a week housing benefit, he only got found out because the only British tenant attempted suicide off the BROKEN roof, then the people in the house moaned about how they had nowhere to stay now so were given council homes.
I do like it when the left wing parties advocate a "living wage" yet are supportive of open borders which leads to compressed and lower wages. Or when they moan about affordable housing, but the same argument can be cited, regarding an increase in house prices due to the same factors.It was only recently Yvette cooper said she would build 300,000 homes a year, which would still be **** all lmao.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 31
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
DO you think native Brits should refuse to work for £2 an hour?


I think they should report the company for illegal wages.
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
DO you think native Brits should refuse to work for £2 an hour?


They should be happy they're not forced to live in a workhouse

:smile:
Original post by Reue
I think they should report the company for illegal wages.


OK then.


But lets pretend we don't have a min wage or any other legal regulation of the market. People do get paid that amount for doing that kind of work. So if there was no regulation that is what the going rate for those kinds of jobs would be. As a thought experiment should Brits accept that kind of work in this situation?
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by The Free Radical
They should be happy they're not forced to live in a workhouse



If they are forced to work for £2 and hour on a farm they may as well be.
Reply 35
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
But lets pretend we don't have a min wage or any other legal regulation of the market. People do get paid that amount for doing that kind of work. As a thought experiment should Brits accept that kind of work in this situation?


Before the minimum wage Brits worked for a turnip and some potatoes. What are you trying to ask? :s
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
If they are forced to work for £2 and hour on a farm they may as well be.


We should ban labour unions, abolish the minimum wage and maybe this country will be great again
Original post by Reue
Before the minimum wage Brits worked for a turnip and some potatoes. What are you trying to ask? :s


What I am getting at is that is it just a matter of blindly following the law or is their some kind of grater moral component. Like what happens if the minimum wage falls to a to low amount to live off? You can't live off a turnip and some potatoes.

Are you fine with people working and living in poverty because they are paid £2 and hour? Is your only objection to that due to mindless obeying of the law?
Reply 38
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
What I am getting at is that is it just a matter of blindly following the law or is their some kind of grater moral component. Like what happens if the minimum wage falls to a to low amount to live off? You can't live off a turnip and some potatoes.

Are you fine with people working and living in poverty because they are paid £2 and hour? Is your only objection to that due to mindless obeying of the law?


No, I believe that the minimum wage should be enough to live off of (as it currently is)
Original post by Reue
No, I believe that the minimum wage should be enough to live off of (as it currently is)


Haven't read rest of your posts yet so not sure the context but by enough do you mean if someone worked 40 hours in a stressful intense job and after paying bills had just enough to live off basic food thats enough to live off?

Even so it can vary, as a single guy living in dirt cheap accomodation after paying bills every week and no luxuries I would be reasonably well off(but even then not much more than on benefits and thats on dirt cheap rent)

If I paid the going rates for rent in a lot of areas I would be lucky to have as much as on benefits then I would also have to cover things like prescriptions, eyetests etc.

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