Food pickers and the virus

Like most of you grans/grandad netters i wash all fresh produce.
I do feel for the pickers as they are on apathetic wage bless them.

timetogo2016

Like most of you grans/grandad netters i wash all fresh produce.
I do feel for the pickers as they are on apathetic wage bless them.

Are they? Do you know that their wages are pathetic?

No more pathetic than many other workers in the UK, especially those working in British sweatshops.

They will be paid at least the Minimum wage.
That may well be patheyptuc but many people are on that rate.

pathetic

they are on a pathetic wage, bless them

Then we should all start campaigning to pay more for our food!

Start with the supermarkets - special offers are not funded by them out of their profits but funded by farmers under duress from the supermarkets.

Yes Callistemon i do.
I speak to some whilst doing a car boot and they are only paid £3 per hour and i would happily pay a little extra for the fruit/veg if they had a better pay packet.

Well, that is illegal and should be reported.

It is not the norm.

I rinse in water. Would not dream of adding any sort of detergent. It's days old before we get it.

They should be paid at least the NMW or NLW and some will be paid more.

I said the vary same to them Callistemon but the answer they gave me was sadly they need the job to send money home.
And without blowing my own trumpet i gave them Disney frozen t/shirts for their children,their little faces were a picture and the mother just filled up.

There's an article in the Guardian (I think) about somebody who worked at this farm. It's obviously very hard work, but the writer did say that she was paid NLW. She was charged £50pw for accommodation. There are plenty of workers in cities (and elsewhere) who are paid NLW and have to pay more than that for accommodation. I'm not saying any of it's right, but they're not that badly paid.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jul/12/one-workers-experience-at-coronavirus-hit-herefordshire-farm

it's not a bowl of cherries, or strawberries or broccoli.

Fruit and veg should not be washed in water with washing up liquid.

Fruit and veg is porous so will absorb some of the chemical and no amount of rinsing will get rid of it.

Have four of them escaped?
Maybe they will get improved accommodation when they are caught. Probably 3 good meals a day in police custody.

The figure quoted is just 10p an hour above the NMW for the normal working hours and nowhere near the NLW as I understand it. £50 s week for a shared bedroom other facilities. Apparently the council are now providing food and other supplies.

My post got taken down and I got an email saying that something in my posting MIGHT cause someone offence. I call that offensive.

Greeneyegirl, viruses survive fridges and freezers in various ways. Saying that you ALWAYS thought they are all the same and all survive the cold in the same way could be taken as stereotyping and MAY cause offense to touchy viruses.

NMW is poor pay whatever your job

Ellianne what an unpleasant gloating post plus you clearly know nothing about prison food

growstuff

There's an article in the Guardian (I think) about somebody who worked at this farm. It's obviously very hard work, but the writer did say that she was paid NLW. She was charged £50pw for accommodation. There are plenty of workers in cities (and elsewhere) who are paid NLW and have to pay more than that for accommodation. I'm not saying any of it's right, but they're not that badly paid.

Agreed, they are not badly paid at all.Fruit and veg picking has never been a well paid job.
The fact that they are willing to do it means they think it’s a good deal too.
Pity that locals won’t do it though.
In normal circumstances six people to a large static caravan is fine, but is definitely not fine during a pandemic.

Well, SW, I'm insensed that they should just run off and infect goodness knows how many people until they are apprehended. It is a crime, whatever was going through their heads.

I have it on the best authority that they are on their way to Durham

lemongrove

growstuff

There's an article in the Guardian (I think) about somebody who worked at this farm. It's obviously very hard work, but the writer did say that she was paid NLW. She was charged £50pw for accommodation. There are plenty of workers in cities (and elsewhere) who are paid NLW and have to pay more than that for accommodation. I'm not saying any of it's right, but they're not that badly paid.

Agreed, they are not badly paid at all.Fruit and veg picking has never been a well paid job.
The fact that they are willing to do it means they think it’s a good deal too.
Pity that locals won’t do it though.
In normal circumstances six people to a large static caravan is fine, but is definitely not fine during a pandemic.

How many people want a seasonal job? For many of these people, fruit/veg picking is a way of life. They move around Europe to wherever the harvests are and take the money back home, where they might be able to build a house or save for education. Some of them are also phenomenally quick, so much better value to the growers than inexperienced locals.

suziewoozie

The figure quoted is just 10p an hour above the NMW for the normal working hours and nowhere near the NLW as I understand it. £50 s week for a shared bedroom other facilities. Apparently the council are now providing food and other supplies.

Have you seen where some people working in London live? And pay much more than £50pw?

Stop being so bloody patronising growstuff Of course I know that. It shouldn’t be a race to the bottom. Are workers on NMW supposed to be grateful that things could be worse - like the example quoted of Leicester. God this government is doing a grand brainwashing job isn’t it?

you clearly know nothing about prison food
I have no idea about prison food, SW, where did I even mention prison? If they are caught by police, then great care will be taken to look after them so there are no reprisals. The escapee from quarantine in New Zealand is now in the hands of the law and being cared for accordingly.