Jobs - Vacancies Outnumber Unemployed?

[PRESLEY 1,229]

8 hours ago, Anna B said:

Lack of Unions and Labour politicians fighting your corner and defending your working  rights.

 

Yes Ecconoob, times change and the world moves on, but always at someone elses expense, and it's usually the little guy at the bottom of the heap that gets the ****ty end of the stick. Interesting that hospitals which really do need to be open 24/7 especially with the current backlog, all but close down at weekends, because the doctors/consultants refuse to work. 

 

You might not care what days of the week you take your rest, presumably you can choose, not a privilege given to everyone. For many folks weekends are the only time they can spend with the wife and kids who are at school all week.

Not utter rubbish at all.  I asked how this all come about and yet again an excellent explanation.  Thankyou Anna. 

[Dromedary 166]

4 hours ago, PRESLEY said:

Not utter rubbish at all.  I asked how this all come about and yet again an excellent explanation.  Thankyou Anna. 

Without any details to back the accusation up it is just that, rubbish.

 

In fact it was Thatcher as PM who wanted to change the trading laws but failed to do so.  But.....  In 1994 Major introduced the change with the Sunday Trading Act 1994 and despite some church backed protest groups such as "Keep Sunday Special" it passed into law. The change was not opposed by the Unions either as it also included a clause so that people employed in shops could opt out of working on Sundays. Sunday trading was wanted because a lot of workers also worked the normal 9-5 routine so were restricted in shopping habits. Being able to shop on a Sunday was necessary to them and also became very popular. 

 

When I first started in retail, shops were basically 9-6 with half day closing during the week.

Edited May 18, 2022 by Dromedary
clarification

[Anna B 1,414]

11 hours ago, Dromedary said:

Utter rubbish.

 

 

What planet do you live on?

 

Margaret Thatcher's entire raison d'etre was to smash the Unions, which she did most effectively, to make way for the free- for-all that is the 'Free Market Economy.'

Unfettered by regulations and rules protecting worker's rights, the Corporations took every advantage, and all the work done by the unions to improve working conditions and practices, often years in the making, were ripped up. Worker's got no help from Tony Blair (and won't get any help from Starmer.) 

 

And now we have the insecure, 0 hours, 'gig' economy as a result.  

 

Now, if you work in one of the 'new' industries, like a distribution centre, or a delivery driver for them, you are little better than slave labour with no protection whatsoever. There is no rule to say you cannot belong to a Union, but if you do you will not a get a job here, or find your hours cut to 0 very fast; complain about anything, and the result will be the same; an older worker not able to keep up the relentless pace, and you're out. 

 

These are the new sweatshops. They have you by the short and curlies, they know it, and there's nothing you can do about it.   

[PRESLEY 1,229]

2 hours ago, Anna B said:

What planet do you live on?

 

Margaret Thatcher's entire raison d'etre was to smash the Unions, which she did most effectively, to make way for the free- for-all that is the 'Free Market Economy.'

Unfettered by regulations and rules protecting worker's rights, the Corporations took every advantage, and all the work done by the unions to improve working conditions and practices, often years in the making, were ripped up. Worker's got no help from Tony Blair (and won't get any help from Starmer.) 

 

And now we have the insecure, 0 hours, 'gig' economy as a result.  

 

Now, if you work in one of the 'new' industries, like a distribution centre, or a delivery driver for them, you are little better than slave labour with no protection whatsoever. There is no rule to say you cannot belong to a Union, but if you do you will not a get a job here, or find your hours cut to 0 very fast; complain about anything, and the result will be the same; an older worker not able to keep up the relentless pace, and you're out. 

 

These are the new sweatshops. They have you by the short and curlies, they know it, and there's nothing you can do about it.   

Trouble is Anne,  some on here wern't born or old enough to have endured the Wrath of Thatcher which is continuing to this day and will do until we get the Torys out. 

Edited May 18, 2022 by PRESLEY

[Dromedary 166]

2 hours ago, Anna B said:

....

Margaret Thatcher's entire raison d'etre was to smash the Unions, which she did most effectively, to make way for the free- for-all that is the 'Free Market Economy.'

Unfettered by regulations and rules protecting worker's rights, the Corporations took every advantage, and all the work done by the unions to improve working conditions and practices, often years in the making, were ripped up. Worker's got no help from Tony Blair (and won't get any help from Starmer.) 

 

And now we have the insecure, 0 hours, 'gig' economy as a result.  

....

No mention of Neoliberalism then....

 

What is happening now is called modern progress and no matter how you keep banging on about Thatcher being the root cause, it is patently incorrect. Was internet shopping around in Thatchers day? If you can buy stuff on the internet 24/7 then why not have that also apply to shops especially so now as all high streets are suffering from lack of real shoppers. 

 

Here we are talking about job vacancies outnumbering the unemployed so it seems to have been a success. The Unions had their chance but did not stop the Sunday Trading Act as it was more to do with a religious bias and not a Union bias, not forgetting it also helped create jobs for their members.

 

Another take on why Sunday trading laws should now be completely scrapped.

 

https://www.taxpayersalliance.com/open_all_hours_why_sunday_trading_laws_should_be_scrapped

 

 

[Dromedary 166]

29 minutes ago, PRESLEY said:

Trouble is Anne,  some on here wern't born or old enough to have endured the Wrath of Thatcher which is continuing to this day and will do until we get the Torys out. 

I am plenty old enough and also lost a good job I was in because of some of Thatchers funding cuts.

 

BTW getting the Tories out will do nothing except put another lot in that will do exactly the same as that is progress. Notice how other EU countries are also doing the same and that is without any Thatcher legacy.. The clues are there but unheard.

Edited May 18, 2022 by Dromedary

[L00b 441]

On 17/05/2022 at 14:41, Anna B said:

Job vacancies outnumber the number of unemployed for the first time, according to the BBC lunchtime news. 

 

(…)

 

Your thoughts?

 

There’s half a million less people in work in the UK currently, relative to 2 years ago.

 

 

That is all.

[El Cid 220]

18 minutes ago, L00b said:

There’s half a million less people in work in the UK currently, relative to 2 years ago.

How many are working, how many are seeking work and how many are "ill"?

Compared to fourty years ago?

[Guest sibon]

15 minutes ago, El Cid said:

How many are working, how many are seeking work and how many are "ill"?

Compared to fourty years ago?

Quite a few have just given up and are living on savings, investments and reduced pensions. 

 

Quite a brain drain.

[L00b 441]

11 hours ago, El Cid said:

How many are working, how many are seeking work and how many are "ill"?

Compared to fourty years ago?

”There’s half a million less people working in the UK relative to 2 years ago”

 

Q: how many are working?

A: relative to what? the half-million I mentioned? none of those, obviously.

 

Q: how many are seeking work?

A: current unemployed total in UK is around 1.25m, inclusive of that 500k in whole or part (keeping sibon’s post in mind).

 

Q: how many are “ill”?

A: whether people are “ill” or not, makes no difference to their employment status, last I checked.

 

I’ll pass on the ‘fourty years ago’ until it gets translated into earthly timescale.

[Guest]

On 17/05/2022 at 13:41, Anna B said:

 

Job vacancies outnumber the number of unemployed for the first time, according to the BBC lunchtime news. 

(although Local news, same broadcast, however say there are 4+ applicants for every vacancy.)

 

If the top figures are correct, that should be good news shouldn't it? Yet we hear that companies can't get staff, so what's the problem? Minimum wage is supposed to be £9.50 per hour, so you'd think people  would be snatching their hand off.

 

Personally I think it's the quality of those jobs that is the problem. I suspect that they are the 0 hours, insecure, contract jobs that don't last long, and that you can't work your way up in, but what do I know....

 

Your thoughts?

 

It's not that simple. Above its only partially true. But let me tell you from my perspective, I am in UK for almost 7 years now and changed several jobs. There are, as you said, modern sweatshops, some of the warehouses, outsourcing companies etc. But there is also number of people with little or almost no working discipline. Talking about coming on the work on time, actually doing what you get paid for without slacking, constant "sick leave" because of hangovers etc. I have done the jobs that you mentioned as "sweatshops", just as a stepping stone for another, better job. 

 

I am not saying that you are not right, but there is a flip side of that coin.

[Anna B 1,414]

51 minutes ago, croat77 said:

It's not that simple. Above its only partially true. But let me tell you from my perspective, I am in UK for almost 7 years now and changed several jobs. There are, as you said, modern sweatshops, some of the warehouses, outsourcing companies etc. But there is also number of people with little or almost no working discipline. Talking about coming on the work on time, actually doing what you get paid for without slacking, constant "sick leave" because of hangovers etc. I have done the jobs that you mentioned as "sweatshops", just as a stepping stone for another, better job. 

 

I am not saying that you are not right, but there is a flip side of that coin.

Oh I agree, there is a flip side to everything. 

For a start all statistics are suspect and can be interpreted any way you like. So the initial statement could well be wrong, also the situation is very different up and down the country which makes a nonsense of it, and certainly the work ethic has changed and been eroded in some cases. I think we have to ask ourselves the question 'why?'

 

The new 'industries' like Distribution centres are something I have little knowledge of, other than what I've read or watched, which is why I put a thread on here asking for the worker's point of view, ('Working in a Distribution Centre') but it got very little response. I wonder if the young people who work there don't use Sheffield Forum, aren't interested, or are too tired/scared to respond.

Edited May 19, 2022 by Anna B