Do we still have a 'that's beneath me' mentality?
MIKE Lake's Soapbox ("Who is to blame for the economic mess we are in? It is not the migrants", Monday, January 28) raised interesting points about migrants and the "knock-on" effects on our lives in Derby.
How come one sees many hand car-washers who are non-British? Have we no British youngsters capable of doing the same? Is it because they are entitled to benefits? Perhaps by reducing the benefits culture, we may restore personal pride and get them thinking more carefully about surviving by washing cars. Or do we still have a British "but that's beneath me" mentality?
I would ask anyone who doubts our British attitude to work, to look no further than the benefit claimant statistics by ethnicity, and note that those of Chinese origin are the lowest in number. For them, the traditional work ethic is deeply engrained. In the US, those who try to work no matter what are treated respectfully, unlike those who won't or don't.
As someone who had one full-time job in the 1960s and again in the 80s, I took on additional lowly paid part-time work to help make ends meet because I understood that if one had to provide for your family, you had to go out and earn it. That principal still holds good today.
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David Culm
Normanton Lane
Derby
5 Comments
by Stuntrider
Wednesday, February 06 2013, 8:25PM
“Having worked alongside Romanians whilst working in the London area, they complained about how they were being exploited and ripped off. One guy in particular pointed out that he was stuck in a trap of having to work 12 hours a day seven days a week for half the pay that his Irish counterpart got paid and even at that it was a case of when he did get paid. He was desperate to go home to his family but could never afford a plane ticket home.
They do not work harder than we do but just work longer hours because they have to, to make anything like a decent wage.”
by capnpete
Wednesday, February 06 2013, 5:30PM
“During my last 20 years as captain of a container ship, most of my crew were recruited from non-EU eastern european countries and Filipinos. To say British youngsters do not want to work with foreigners does not reflect my own experience. People who want to work will do so, no matter how difficult the work is, how poor the conditions and who you have to work with. I am proud to say that the British apprentices who served on my ship worked as hard as everybody else, and made stirling efforts to get on with all their shipmates.”
by barmyburke
Wednesday, February 06 2013, 11:42AM
“Don't worry Dave, the welfare system is about to go under in 2014 when the 29 million claiments from Romania and Bulgaria set up shop in this country, courtesy of the EU.”
by DerbyBorn
Wednesday, February 06 2013, 9:37AM
“Perhaps our youngsters have a reluctance to work in an evironment where they do not have the usual legal protections. They also don't want to work with a load of foreigners.
I think it could be quite difficult working with a group of people with whom you are unable to converse about the usual day to day things.”
by dave12548
Wednesday, February 06 2013, 9:14AM
“Spot on again David, spot on.”