Immigrant workers
They find jobs in Britain
In the BBC debate Should benefits be linked to community service?, some people pointed out that immigrant workers, particularly East Europeans, find it so easy to get work in Britain. They ask "Why can't unemployed Brits get these jobs?". Others counter by suggesting that the immigrants may not mind working for below the national minimum wage and some of them may be here illegally.
Exploitation
Things came to a head at the beginning of 2009 in the Lincolnshire oil refinery dispute. I don't know much about the case, although I sense that the trade unions may have a right to feel aggrieved, which is a rarity for me.
One newspaper revealed the scandal of some of Britain's fruit-farm workers. It seems that these unfortunate workers are tempted by what appear to be high wages when compared to what can be offered in their own country. When they get here, they discover that the wages aren't so high after excessive stoppages are deducted for housing costs. I don't know if this is typical, but it is obvious why this particular employer wanted immigrant workers.
It's not just about wages
Wages are not the only factor that employers consider when selecting immigrant labour. Let's look at some other factors.
Language
The ability to speak fluent English is clearly not important to all employers, otherwise some of these people wouldn't find it so easy to get jobs. If employers eventually decide that it is a problem, they will change their policies where they are allowed to. We've already seen examples where some call centres were set up abroad, only for them later to be replaced by British call centres. The British call centres may be more expensive, but some employers found that they were fast losing customers because of their overseas call centres. However, other employers continue (at least for the time being) to use overseas call centres. In the same way, there are plenty of employers of other types of workers who are happy with the work done by immigrants despite any language difficulties but European Union regulations sometimes get in the way. You might think that doctors, nurses and dentists recruited from other countries would be subject to language tests, given that misunderstandings could lead to loss of life. However, those workers who are European Union citizens cannot be tested for their language skills. In view of the problems in the health service that are now coming to light, together with other cases such as the postmaster sacked for refusing to serve poorly spoken customers and irrespective of whether it was the right decision, one wonders whether immigrants should be required to pass at least a basic language test as a condition of entry.
Place names can be tricky
Although they're just one example, place names are a particular problem for foreign call centre workers. Names such as Gloucester, Worcester and Leicester can be tricky and add to customer irritation if pronounced incorrectly. Perhaps these places could be officially renamed Gloster, Wooster and Lester respectively to reflect their modern pronunciation, along with hundreds of other places in Britain, but I can imagine the public outcry that would ensue at the merest suggestion. In any case, the cost would be substantial as road signs, atlases and plenty else would require changing.
If England has difficult place names, Scotland and Wales offer no easy respite. In Scotland, you'll find Auchtermuchty, Brechin and Kirkcaldy (for the latter, say Curcoddy). In Wales, you'll find Dolgellau, Pwllheli and, of course, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, though the latter is variously abbreviated to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Llanfairpwll, Llanfair PG or Llanfair. Many English people struggle with Scottish and Welsh names. I sometimes cringe when I hear Brechin mentioned in the football reports by English people who can't get their tongue round the Scottish "ch". Breekin is as close as most of them get, but it's better than Breckon or Bree-chin, which I've also heard. Being of Scottish parentage, I can cope with most Scottish names, but I admit that I find some of the Welsh names tricky. Of course, if I ever need to know those Welsh names, I'll make an effort to get them right. A lot of broadcasters clearly make no effort, as is evident from some of the comments they make. Even when they are able to pronounce a name correctly, they insist on continuing with their chosen pronunciation. Still, the issue here is about foreign call centre workers, not indigenous broadcasters.
Even if the place names are easy to say, there is still a potential problem with ambiguity. Some place names are used many times over. Whitchurch is a prime example, though most places so named are only of local importance, therefore confusion is limited. If you plan a day trip to Bangor, be sure you go to the right one. There's a Bangor in Northern Ireland, but there are two in North Wales, which occasionally confuse people. Racegoers should head for the village of Bangor-on-Dee near Wrexham, not the university city of Bangor on the Menai Strait. Another possible cause of confusion is Leeds castle in Kent, which is nowhere near the city of Leeds in Yorkshire.
Stratford-upon-Avon or Stratford, London
While Stratford-upon-Avon has long been world-famous because of William Shakespeare, tourists discovered another Stratford in London, where the 2012 Olympics were held. I wonder how many visitors will end up at the wrong place. I heard a suggestion that the new railway station on the channel tunnel rail link was to be called Stratford-in-London rather than Stratford, which would help a little, but it is actually called Stratford International and is seperate from but near to the original Stratford station. As William Shakespeare is internationally famous, the International title won't help at all, although I haven't heard any reports of people going to the wrong Stratford .... so far.
Warning signs
It is easy to see that employers in the tourism and travel industries need to be particularly careful when choosing call centre locations, but other employers don't necessarily have to worry about such problems - or at least they don't think they do. Fluency in the native language of the country you're in can mean the difference between life and death in some situations. I remember reading about an accident at a private level crossing connecting two fields (so it was only used by farm employees and contractors) caused by an immigrant's inability to read the warning notices on how to use it.
Youth versus experience
For those employers who aren't worried about language, one factor in choosing immigrants is ageism, because the immigrants are mainly young while a lot of long-term unemployed people are older. (Recessions invariably cause disproportionate redundancies among younger workers, but once the economy has recovered, we find that those young unemployed people have generally found work, while the older people generally remain unemployed.) Before the influx of East Europeans a few years ago, the government used to say that demographic changes would force employers to accept older workers. That didn't happen and the government eventually introduced anti-age discrimination laws. Legislating is one thing but changing attitudes is a different matter entirely. We've seen how other anti-discrimination laws introduced in the seventies took many years to show results and even now haven't been totally effective. Some progress has been made in countering racism and sexism, but disablism, sometimes called ableism, is still rife. By the time the anti-age discrimination laws take effect, I'll be long since pensioned off, if I live to see it happen at all. In any case, the laws as they stand in 2012 contain plenty of loopholes, making them ineffective.
Persuasive?
Another factor may be that the immigrants are more persuasive. Employers sometimes want to know why you want the job that is available, which is fair enough. If an immigrant is anxious to use the job as a means to practise their English, that may impress an employer more than anything that an unemployed person could come up with. It's not good enough to say that you want a job because you're out of work and it can be very difficult to come up with a good answer that sounds convincing, if the real reason is that it's the only job on offer. People accustomed to well-paid jobs are sometimes told to apply for whatever jobs are available, but trying to explain to an employer that they really want those jobs isn't so simple. Remember that an employer will select the most suitable candidate, which may not be the most needy candidate.
Brits won't do menial jobs?
Some employers have said that, even in the current recession, they'll continue to recruit immigrants to fill vacancies for menial jobs. They claim that Brits won't do these jobs. (The comment at the bottom of this page from Mary provides proof that sometimes it's true, though I don't know when Mary recruited her PA, nor am I sure that her job really fits the description of menial.) Surely employers have a moral obligation to at least give Brits an equal chance? Of course, if Brits don't apply for such jobs, then employers have no choice but to employ immigrants as Mary did, but if immigrants are given preferential consideration even when Brits do apply, that's a different matter entirely. It's actually a form of racism, albeit not in the way that racism normally operates. Recessions generally have the effect of lowering people's expectations, so perhaps Brits will be more willing to do menial jobs, at least for a while, but even if they are willing, employers have to be willing too, as I explained when I asked if unemployed people are Too fussy?. In particular, I mentioned this e-mail from a supposedly sympathetic employer.
Thank you for your application. The job advertised is a very junior position and therefore not suitable for someone with your experience. I notice that you have previous experience in IT so have taken the liberty of passing your CV on to our IT department. I do not believe they have any vacancies at present but I thought it wouldn’t hurt for them to have it on file.
Good luck with your job search.
No, I don't think I would have got that response from Mary if I'd applied to be her personal assistant, but I doubt that I would be the kind of person she was looking for anyway.
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