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Points system for immigrants from next year

(248 Posts)
Dottynan Wed 19-Feb-20 07:04:34

Government are proposing to bring in a points based system from next year. Immigrants will need a job offer, earn at least £25600 and speak English. A good thing or not

vegansrock Wed 19-Feb-20 19:55:56

davidsh
I am at least an hours drive to any pick your own farm as are hundreds of thousands of others. As for a bus ride- maybe treble that. If you think that is going to take the place of full time workers dream on.

Greymar Wed 19-Feb-20 19:57:15

There will of course be free rainbows and unicorns at the beginning of the courses, no questions asked.

Callistemon Wed 19-Feb-20 19:58:11

I'm so relieved to read your post Greymar!!

Nezumi65 Wed 19-Feb-20 20:15:52

Care workers don’t just care for the elderly. They care for people like my adult son who has 24 hour 2:1 care. It’s an incredibly skilled (& underpaid:undervalued) job. I doubt Priti Patel could do it. (I have degrees and PhD’s & believe me looking after my son requires a lot of intelligence, patience, skill and resilience - far more than many so called professional jobs).

Already well respected charities are handing back contracts (see home farm trust this week) as they cannot make ends meet. There is already a crisis in care.

Incidentally the ‘economically inactive’ that Patel is talking about includes people like my son. He is non-verbal and severely learning disabled. She’s also including everyone retired on this thread.

Nezumi65 Wed 19-Feb-20 20:16:33

I honestly think that govt has lost the plot.

Callistemon Wed 19-Feb-20 20:20:56

Yes, Nezumi I did wonder how she arrived at that figure.

DH and I wondered if she meant us too, retired about 15 years, economically rather inactive but doing voluntary work.
I asked DH if he was up to harvesting parsnips and carrots in the cold and wet.

paddyanne Wed 19-Feb-20 20:22:52

We need immigrants the Scottish government sent a proposal for a seperate Scottish visa to WM ,they didn't even bother to read it.They dismissed it 20 minutes after they received it .
Lack of workforce will destroy our economy which has been doing well.We are the only country in the UK who has exported more than we import for every single year since records began.Imports to the EU were up by a huge amount last year so we're already screwed if theres a no deal brexit as seems likely .

GracesGranMK3 Wed 19-Feb-20 20:37:06

Why shouldn't people have Care from people who speak their language?

I'm afraid I don't even understand what you mean by that. Are you saying that all people with little or no English should never work as carers because they are not good enough. If they wipe bottoms just as well, help people get dressed, undressed, into bed and feed themselves just as well and while they do so they communicate in whatever way the need and have people round the who communicate while the gradually learn the language, why should we not employ them while we sort our system out so that it actually works for all involved. Good carers come in all shapes, sizes and disguises. Sweeping statements never make good arguments.

Greymar Wed 19-Feb-20 20:52:00

I think anybody who comes from a non English speaking country and wishes to take up employment needs some English. Probably you need English to build a rapport with a client and fill in notes and so on?

Nezumi65 Wed 19-Feb-20 20:55:47

Yep Callistemon - bizarrely economically inactive doesn’t include those who are seeking work. It is those who are ill, disabled, carers, retired and students. Students are actually the largest group in the category. I suspect they would prefer to do their fruit picking abroad.....

Nezumi65 Wed 19-Feb-20 20:57:32

There are 1 million economically active who are not in the above groups & are not seeking work. No-one knows how baby of them actually want to work (I suspect it’s a lot of SAHMs)

GracesGranMK3 Wed 19-Feb-20 20:58:12

More sweeping statements.

Australia has had a points system for years, their social care and care homes are, in my experience, excellent. The cost of living is also much lower than in UK

Australia has a points system to attract people not drive them away. They, like us, have an aging population. The cost of living is not much lower than here. Housing - rental and buying is overall cheaper in the UK. Food, groceries and eating out is cheaper in the UK. The cost of motoring is cheap in Australia but the cost of commuting is about even. The salaries are higher in Australia but then I expect our overall level to increase as some salaries will go up as our prices increase.

It is polite to check and show the source of your facts if you are trying to support an extreme point of view.

Nezumi65 Wed 19-Feb-20 20:58:14

*many

Anyway I doubt Priti is going to find her support workers and fruit pickers there.

Nezumi65 Wed 19-Feb-20 21:00:34

Incidentally when we were first looking for support workers for my son we put an ad on indeed. Had a huge number of replies. Most went straight in the bin (were not up to the job), we interviewed about 20 for a team of around 12. It is hard to find people up to the job. (And we do not look for experience - we actually often prefer people not to have experience).

Callistemon Wed 19-Feb-20 21:00:50

The salaries are higher in Australia but then I expect our overall level to increase as some salaries will go up as our prices increase.
Food prices have shot up but agricultural workers are probably paid twice as much as in the UK.
Our food is relatively cheap in comparison despite the fact that some is imported from the EU, although I suppose it has only travelled the same distance.

Nezumi65 Wed 19-Feb-20 21:01:06

When I say huge number of replies - I mean many hundreds.

Riverwalk Wed 19-Feb-20 21:14:24

Grannypiper I said that every EU migrant that I'd worked with spoke at least reasonable English; the fact that some would need interpreters for court or the NHS is a different matter.

I'm sure plenty of UK nationals have made use of interpreters in the EU over the past 40-odd years.

suziewoozie Wed 19-Feb-20 21:22:16

www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-12/bupas-aged-care-homes-failing-standards-across-australia/11501050

Maybe better evidence than one posters experience ?

GracesGranMK3 Wed 19-Feb-20 22:22:14

To be honest I don't think any of the first world countries has an answer to growing aging population. Care - how to give it and how to afford - it is a problem all over those countries.

etheltbags1 Wed 19-Feb-20 22:41:52

Believe me I get out of bed sometimes for 5.00 a day. I'm on zero hours and results only job, but many years ago young people with jobs would go friut picking in their holidays, it meant cheap board and getting paid with the evening's free. Students would go fruit picking. Nowadays what is wrong with people they are so greedy, none of my dd friends would have done this they all went abroad, this was 10 years ago.
The British people on benefits should do these jobs they get tax credits nowadays. There's nothing to stop yhem

Nezumi65 Wed 19-Feb-20 22:53:45

People on tax credits are already working.

pinkquartz Wed 19-Feb-20 23:00:47

GGMK3would love to explain..
Imagine you live alone and the only person you see each day is your Carer.
That person cannot speak English and you do not speak-any other language except English.
Also the carer is homesick and misses her family

it is not good.
Why should old and disabled people be deprived of even a conversation?
Why?

pinkquartz Wed 19-Feb-20 23:01:25

I forgot to mention you try and explain what you need doing to a non English speaker....try it!

pinkquartz Wed 19-Feb-20 23:03:56

Bed Blocking as it is so charming called, exists totally because the Govt has starved the councils of money and did not ringfence the money for social care so the councils cut social care.
In fact it would be so easy to put right but no-one is listening.

Joelsnan Thu 20-Feb-20 00:22:32

UK has had a points based immigration system for decades. All that is happening is that it will be applied to EU citizens. Exceptions are always allowed to meet an urgent and specific need.
This action just enables immigration to be administered fairly to all potential immigrants wherever in the world they come from.