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Comment by threeseed | Hacker News Reader

Many of the jobs Eastern Europeans were taking simply aren't being filled by UK workers.

They consider themselves too good to pick fruit, clean toilets and care for sick people.

Would not the praised invisible hand take care of this? If toilet cleaners provide more value than stock brokers (they do), they should be paid more.

There is also the fact that Eastern European construction workers in Germany do not follow German regulations, rip out Asbest without precautions etc., thus undercutting local builders.

Is this a problem due to the existence of Easter Europeans or a problem of Government not enforcing the regulations. Why don't you demand enforcement of regulations instead of wholesale ban of Eastern Europeans?

Also, how do you feel about sending all non-complient workers to Eastern Europe or do you think that German non-complient workers should just get a fine?

Poor, desperate people who don't speak the local language are not exactly likely to turn whistleblower. We've seen this in the UK recently with the Covid-19 outbreaks on vegetable farms - which are (as Brexit opponents in the press repeatedly and smugly pointed out) almost entirely staffed by migrant workers from Eastern Europe to the point that when Covid shut down travel they had to charter special planes to fly them in - when the people who went to the press about the dodgy hygene conditions were the only British workers. There's a reason these companies prefer migrant workers, and it's not a good one.

Why would workers(those who are accused of breaking the law) blow the whistle? Why do you expect that? How about solving the issue through inspectors and such? Is it normal for UK to have its criminals to report themselves? Is this where Eastern Europeans culturally fail?

Also, were the high Covid-19 counts in the UK due to these workers? If so, if these workers are so bad in hygiene why UK is much worse off than Eastern Europe?

No. Notably in picking seasonal food. The supermarkets don’t pay enough for the food. The picking companies don’t demand enough, plus they have some questionable or outright illegal employment practises. Most of all it’s hard work and Brits simply don’t last in the job.

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