Chinese Business man promises 8000 jobs for athlone

MrMatisse

WTF?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jun/25/china-investment-ireland-eurozone

The Athlone project, which has yet to gain planning approval, involves shipping 2,000 Chinese workers to build a "Chinese hub" of factories on a 600-acre stretch of land outside the County Westmeath town that will eventually employ 8,000 Irish staff

CreepingDeath

That's a big takeaway

orourkeda

CreepingDeath wrote: »

That's a big takeaway

Thats a lot of chicken balls to get through alright

Gunsfortoys

My money is on them not getting planning permission, some Japanese firm probably has a takeaway there.

Superbus

Conquering Europe?

What's the Chinese equivalent of 'SHÍT'!?

Morlar

Why do they need to ship 2000 chineese workers here to build it ? We have countless architects and assorted construction workers with no work right here.

My name is URL

Could be great for the country. Ireland has put a lot of effort in to enticing investment and solidifying relations with China

http://www.irelandexpo2010.com/

Royal Irish

Morlar wrote: »

Why do they need to ship 2000 chineese workers here to build it ? We have countless architects and assorted construction workers with no work right here.

Because the ones we have here are overpaid morons.

Pighead

Never trust the yellow man.
http://southdakotapolitics.blogs.com/south_dakota_politics/images/2008/05/21/monorail.gif

Morlar

Royal Irish wrote: »

Because the ones we have here are overpaid morons.

There is not a single job in Ireland - including yours - that chineese people imported from china would not do for a lot less money.

thebullkf

Morlar wrote: »

Why do they need to ship 2000 chineese workers here to build it ? We have countless architects and assorted construction workers with no work right here.

that statement was just wong.

LookingFor

Interesting. I thought we weren't remotely competitive for this kind of job - or so we've been told - yet apparently low tax and free access to the EU trumps higher wages.

On the other hand, I'm not sure how this tallies with talk of upskilling for a new post-manufacturing economy.

admiralofthefleet

great news

Chinese - Great bunch of lads.

LookingFor

Also, what's the Chinese for 'dey tuk er jerbs!!1'?

Doyler92

LookingFor wrote: »

Also, what's the Chinese for 'dey tuk er jerbs!!1'?

Don't think this counts here TBH as it's gonna take 2000 chinese to build it but provide jobs for 6000 irish.

Bob the Seducer

LookingFor wrote: »

Also, what's the Chinese for 'dey tuk er jerbs!!1'?

Just in case, it's probably something like
他們偷走了我們的工作


* may not be accurate translation

starbelgrade

As soon as next month a group of Chinese manufacturers hope to get the green light to develop a €50m (£40m) plot in Athlone, central Ireland and begin transforming it into what local papers have dubbed Beijing-on-Shannon.

Demolish Athlone & rebuild it as a Chinatown? F*cking excellent idea.

PirateShampoo

Sounds more like a People trafficking scam to me.

LookingFor

Doyler92 wrote: »

Don't think this counts here TBH as it's gonna take 2000 chinese to build it but provide jobs for 6000 irish.

Well, they say 8000 irish, so I assume 10000 total. Also, that's 8000 jobs that aren't for Chinese people.

...

Dey tuk er jerbs!! :P

mikom

I can see this taking looong time.

freeze4real

i hope they get the planning permission.
8000 jobs thats awesome.

Bob the Seducer

I for one welcome our new Chinese overlords and hope they have a pleasant stay in Athlone New Shanghai!

Iwasfrozen

Bob the Seducer wrote: »

Just in case, it's probably something like
他們偷走了我們的工作


* may not be accurate translation

Which romanised is "Tāmen tōu zǒu liǎo wǒmen de gōngzuò"*.

*may not be accurate translation

Abrasax

I've seen this in poor countries, esp. Africa, the Chinese coming in, starting building or engineering projects,fostering good relations, doing what the IMF et al say they're going to do but the Chinese actually do it.

But what I don't get here is why are they building manufacturing plants here? Are they just making the buildings or are they going to manufacture here also? Surely they can manufacture stuff in China for a fraction of the cost?

starbelgrade

I bet that they're over here to build a new house for that couple in Navan.

LookingFor

Abrasax wrote: »

But what I don't get here is why are they building manufacturing plants here? Are they just making the buildings or are they going to manufacture here also? Surely they can manufacture stuff in China for a fraction of the cost?

Per the Guardian article, here they would enjoy low tax and free access to the EU. Currently exporting to the EU from China incurs tarrifs and duties etc.

I presume they've done the math and it works out for them. Or, at least, they're willing to try it out as an experiment.

They'll probably also get grants and stuff from the government. Wave 8000 jobs in front the government during hard times and I'm sure you get treated nicely...these Chinese folks know that, and they'll lean on that.

MagicMarker

I heard about this on newstalk the other week. The lady who owns the land (i think it was her) said that part of the deal is that all employees working there would be Chinese, so I'm not sure where that article is getting ''8000 irish staff'' from?

How exactly would Europe's Chinatown work if it was run by Irish people? Doesn't make a lot of sense really.

starbelgrade

MagicMarker wrote: »

I heard about this on newstalk the other week. The lady who owns the land (i think it was her) said that part of the deal is that all employees working there would be Chinese, so I'm not sure where that article is getting ''8000 irish staff'' from?

How exactly would Europe's Chinatown work if it was run by Irish people? Doesn't make a lot of sense really.

Is that what they call an equal opportunities employer?

mikom

MagicMarker wrote: »

part of the deal is that all employees working there would be Chinese,

Sales of sellotape are going to rocket amongst the Irish.

My name is URL

MagicMarker wrote: »

I heard about this on newstalk the other week. The lady who owns the land (i think it was her) said that part of the deal is that all employees working there would be Chinese, so I'm not sure where that article is getting ''8000 irish staff'' from?

I can't see that being true tbh. But even if it was, it would mean 8000 people employed, and that means employment for others outside of the development

Abrasax

And would the 8000 Chinese be working under Irish work laws or would special provisions be made for them to be able to work longer hours, less wages etc.?

Morlar

Morlar wrote: »

Why do they need to ship 2000 chineese workers here to build it ? We have countless architects and assorted construction workers with no work right here.

because of all the gendercide they need to offload a few million men before the S*it hits the fan

(one child policy)

Victor

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jun/25/china-investment-ireland-eurozone

It is understood that bulldozing the land would result in the construction of a school, railway station and hundreds of factory units and apartments.

/throws a paddy!

Mike 1972

Deleted User wrote: »

because of all the gendercide

That link requires subscription but given the source (the economist) I can probably sum it up.

1) One child policy coupled with low value placed on girls by culture/society = lots of Girls/Female foetuses being aborted or in some cases killed shortly after birth
2) Therefore long term gender imbalance in Chinese population = Shortage of poontang for the blokes = bit of a problem (albeit with the upside of continuing the trend towards reducing/reversing population growth)
3) But long term effect of supply/demand balance is that females become more valued in society (plus greater social tolerance of homosexuality)
4) Yet another state-imposed problem resolved by the wonders of market economics (Gawd bless it)
5) Everyone (eventually) lives happy ever after.

More or less the same as every story published by the Economist

Rented Mule

Morlar wrote: »

Why do they need to ship 2000 chineese workers here to build it ? We have countless architects and assorted construction workers with no work right here.

Thanks to FF you have to take what you can get these days.

Hogzy

No doubt Fianna Fail will f*ck this up completely.

Banned Account

Hogzy wrote: »

No doubt Fianna Fail will f*ck this up completely.

I agree - with 8,000 chinese on the way, now is the worst possible time to introduce the dog breeding bill.

Or is that the vietnamese

Truley

My chinese is a little rusty but here goes

" 为什么做您喜欢骑马河马 "

("Why do you like riding hippos?") :pac:

All because the paddy overpaid for land to the east of Athlone.

In other words, some "developers" have ended up stuck with a load of land that's only worth a fraction what they originally paid for it and are desperate to offload it to anyone stupid enough to buy it.

It's not going to happen, the Chinese are buying up oilfields, mineral mines etc worldwide, what has the Irish midlands got... bogs!

edit: forgot to add Ming the merciless is from Roscommon.

Sykk

Abrasax wrote: »

And would the 8000 Chinese be working under Irish work laws or would special provisions be made for them to be able to work longer hours, less wages etc.?

It's 2000 Chinese and 8000 Irish. And no there is absolutely no way that is going to happen. Human right's and all that.

General Zod

thebullkf wrote: »

that statement was just wong.

If they are employed to work here they will have to get Irish minimum wage.

ejmaztec

Hogzy wrote: »

No doubt Fianna Fail will f*ck this up completely.

...assisted by Gormley the tool, like he's doing in this case:


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0701/breaking28.html

Minister rejects Poolbeg jobs claim


CHARLIE TAYLOR
Minister for the Environment John Gormley said today he would not be pressured into issuing a foreshore licence for the operation of the Poolbeg incinerator in Ringsend.
The Minister’s comments come after reports that the US ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney had requested a meeting with him over the delay in granting a licence for the controversial project.
Dublin City Council first lodged an application for a licence almost two years ago and until it is issued, the US developer of the project, Covanta Energy, is unable to proceed.

conorhal

Morlar wrote: »

Why do they need to ship 2000 chineese workers here to build it ? We have countless architects and assorted construction workers with no work right here.

The answer is that they don't, they are doing this because they can and because we are too stupid to say no to their neo-colonial agenda.
China are the worst economic imperialists in the world right now and like all imperialists their philosophy is 'take everything and contribute nothing that you absolutely don't have to' .
The Chinese are LOATHE to expatriate a single cent that they don't have to spend outside their own economy, and 'fair trade' is an alien concept which is why they will soon have the largest economy in the world. We've already economically shot ourselves in the foot by handing China our manufacturing base, lock stock and barrel, should we hand them the jobs in this country too?

The Africans are really pissed off with the Chinese at the moment, they are buying up huge farms and mines across the continent to provide food security and raw materials to feed the Chinese boom but won't employ Africans, not even for the infrastructure projects that they have offered the African governments as sweeteners in these sort of deals. They will offer to build a road for example as sweetener to see a deal go through but they will import Chinese labor to build it.
Of course, being the short sighted economic gombeen men that we are, used to tipping out cap at imperialist nations with colonial ambitions, we'll be happy to accede to the deal because, 'ah sure der might be a couple of jobs innt', and so we will have gone from taking the queens shilling to taking Mao's yen.

Morlar

General Zod wrote: »

If they are employed to work here they will have to get Irish minimum wage.

Why should minimum wage jobs in Ireland be made available to chineese nationals resident in china but not open to Irish workers resident in Ireland (who are currently claiming welfare and desperately looking for work) ?

The arugment that the chineese nationals resident in china had exclusive skills that were not available in Ireland - I do not think that that could possibly apply to ALL of the 2000 construction jobs. This is at a time of the highest recorded unemployment in the state - a large part of that is construction workers - it is insanity to give the go ahead to a project that will discriminate AGAINST Irish construction workers. Our safety and quality standards in construction are amongst the highest in the world. If the jobs are budgeted at the minumum legal wage for construction then there is no acceptable reason why they should not be advertised and available to Irish people.

bijapos

Whats the Chinese for Hippo and Gowl ?

Athlones finest in action here.

El Siglo

Can't beat a bit of neo-colonialism. Same shit is happening all over Africa.

Morlar

Nevermind africa it's here we should be worried about. I call shenanigans on that original article anyway. The whole thing is too vague to mean anything much at this stage.

john-joe

I think is it a good idea ;

1) Providing Irish with Jobs

2) Bringing communities closer together

3) Making use of derelict grounds


all together it's a pretty nice 3in1


:rolleyes:

john-joe

john-joe wrote: »

I think is it a good idea ;

1) Providing Irish with Jobs

2) Bringing communities closer together

3) Making use of derelict grounds


all together it's a pretty nice 3in1


:rolleyes:

The :rolleyes: at the end sums it up quite well.

El Siglo

El Siglo wrote: »

Can't beat a bit of neo-colonialism. Same shit is happening all over Africa.

Sure, isn't that how the British empire got India in the first place.

Good old East India Company