Bulgarian workers/Keelings - read OP (threadbans listed)

Graham · 16-04-2020 11:17PM

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Which of these are importing staff?

People are putting themselves at risk every day for weeks to grow/pick/make/pack/stack/ring-up all of those items outside of the safety of their own homes and often across borders.

What's your essential list of foodstuffs that we should still allow?

ruwithme · 16-04-2020 11:17PM

Completely understandable why keelings would bring in worker's from abroad. in 2 weeks time these workers will hit the ground running.

sure isn't anyone who was in employment in Ireland prior to lockdown in receipt of social welfare payment for now.

Unlikely would give that up for a few weeks picking fruit and be unavailable to your employer should things change positively in the weeks ahead.

Jinglejangle69 · 16-04-2020 11:17PM

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

No chain gangs are being imported in to the country to create cans of beer.

Is it essential?

There is workers crammed in breweries to supply alcohol to the public as we speak.

Could be spreading the virus.

So where is the outrage?

zimmermania · 16-04-2020 11:17PM

s1ippy wrote: »

My understanding, as told to me by a lad who had tried to get work with them, is that they get food and board on the site and by providing this the company then skirts paying minimum wage, as they're just helpers and not officially employees, only paying them expenses incurred and pocket money.

I presume the "lad" who told you heard it from his grandmothers uncle who heard from two other lads who were friendly with the wife of a cleaner in in an office near the airport.

Thelonious Monk · 16-04-2020 11:18PM

blacklilly wrote: »

So show me the que of Irish people that would do this work?

They wouldn't. It's illegal immigrants in the USA, backpackers and seasonal imports in Australia and NZ, Africans in Spain, etc.
Rich countries don't do this work any more.

blacklilly · 16-04-2020 11:19PM

Danno wrote: »

Are you assuming their race now?

It would be dangerous to assume ones gender or raceðŸ˜‚

Rows Grower · 16-04-2020 11:20PM

Graham wrote: »

What else will you stop production/harvesting of now then?

Beer/Wine
Chocolate
Those small yoghurts for the kids
Biscuits
Cakes
Coffee
Tea

All non essential.

You really want to start down that road?

Would you ever go away and cop on to your self please?

Do you have any comprehension of what others are sacrificing for us?

Some of us have family in the front line, some have family that have passed away and you are ranting on trying to justify a plane load of people being brought into our country to pick strawberries?

You disgust me.

Scotty # · 16-04-2020 11:20PM

howiya wrote: »

Once again read the post. I said if I want to travel across Europe to pick fruit there's no problem. That implies a choice and a non-essential journey.

Its a very simple proposition. I'm surprised you can't grasp it.

Again...

travel for funeral = non essential travel
travel for food production = essential travel

I'm afraid I can't simplify this any further for you.

blacklilly · 16-04-2020 11:21PM

I must add, I don’t believe the Irish are lazy, however I believe the majority of Irish view themselves as being above picking strawberries for a living

whisky_galore · 16-04-2020 11:21PM

Covid19 wrote: »

I completely understand that, but your missing the point of the original outcry. Cut away the usual racism, bigotry which come hand in hand in these threads and you get to the bones of why folks are enraged. It's optics. The Company have made a huge error in the way they have managed this response to the original outcry.
Especially given the stress that front line workers are under and the growing restlessness among those under continuous lockdown.

The optics are a bit skewed if people here have been unwilling to fill those positions in the first place, but many are far too stubborn or stupid to admit to that fact.
They are only willing to pay a few euro for something that would cost twice or three times as much to produce with Irish labour.

whisky_galore · 16-04-2020 11:22PM

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Ok, can Keelings confirm each is taken on as a PAYE worker?

Ring them up yourself and find out.

Thelonious Monk · 16-04-2020 11:22PM

blacklilly wrote: »

I must add, I don’t believe the Irish are lazy, however I believe the majority of Irish view themselves as being above picking strawberries for a living

It used to be a thing even up till the 90s were local kids would pick spuds etc when off school in North County Dublin. My friends from Skerries and Kinsealy did this, I doubt it happens now though.

Tenzor07 · 16-04-2020 11:22PM

billie1b wrote: »

I work there and witnessed the bars being loaded by DHL for it.

DHL load bars on flights?? :rolleyes:

Atlantic Dawn · 16-04-2020 11:23PM

whisky_galore wrote: »

Ring them up yourself and find out.

I'd imagine if they want to put out this fire they will circulate to the media if they are.

Jinglejangle69 · 16-04-2020 11:24PM

Loving the sudden concern for low paid workers from people who love nothing better than buying a bag of carrots in Aldi for 50 cent and think nothing of it.

RobertKK · 16-04-2020 11:25PM

Best of luck to the Bulgarians who are coming here to do an honest job.

16-04-2020 11:25PM

There’s over 7 million people in Bulgaria and they’ve conducted just over 18,000 tests.

There’s nearly 5 million people in Ireland and as of 13th April we’d tested nearly 91,000 people.

In any other fruit picking season I would have no issue but while there’s a global pandemic emergency ongoing, we need to contain it in any way possible. Even the Bulgarian prime minister is worried about seasonal workers coming back to their home country and bringing the virus with them.

Danno · 16-04-2020 11:25PM

blacklilly wrote: »

So show me the que of Irish people that would do this work?

The 737-800 seats 162 passengers in a two-class layout or 189 passengers in a one-class layout. Most of Ryanair planes are... 737-800s

Keelings admitted on their press release that exactly, wait for it... 189 workers arrived today.

The fact that these folks were packed in on a flight CHARTERED by Keelings is the issue.

They weren't even on the ground in Dublin and they have already broken restrictions.

If you buy the rest of the muck that these 189 folks will be isolated for fourteen days before picking a berry, you're gullible.

They'll be picking berries in just over six and a half hours time. (7am).

I've no issue with bringing in seasonal workers for this task, but the company has flouted much of the Governments health advice.

Graham · 16-04-2020 11:26PM

Rows Grower wrote: »

Would you ever go away and cop on to your self please?

Do you have any comprehension of what others are sacrificing for us?

Some of us have family in the front line, some have family that have passed away and you are ranting on trying to justify a plane load of people being brought into our country to pick strawberries?

You disgust me.

You are assuming I have no family on the front line.

You are assuming the population is suddenly going to willingly give-up all non-essential products and still happily remain at home.

It is probably fair to say you are making all of those assumptions (incorrect and correct) from a home stocked with products purchase in the last 2 months that are almost certainly not all essential.

It's probably worth considering for a while what the next few weeks will be like for the entire country/continent if governments suddenly restrict food products to essentials only.

At that point you may concur, placing food restrictions on an already restricted populace is probably not the best move.

bigroad · 16-04-2020 11:26PM

There are plenty of companies at this craic.
The haulage industry has been at this for many a year.

Alrigghtythen · 16-04-2020 11:26PM

The company added it was also recruiting local workers to pick crops on its farm along with other roles within the business.

Im sure all the eager beavers on the thread will be applying

blacklilly · 16-04-2020 11:27PM

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

It used to be a thing even up till the 90s were local kids would pick spuds etc when off school in North County Dublin. My friends from Skerries and Kinsealy did this, I doubt it happens now though.

I did it quite a few times as a child, got paid pennies but have great memories from doing it.
I really hope this doesn’t have too much of a negative financial impact on keelings. Would be terrible if the response of Irish people meant an Irish company folds

Rows Grower · 16-04-2020 11:28PM

Graham wrote: »

You are assuming I have no family on the front line.

You are assuming the population is suddenly going to willingly give-up all non-essential products and still happily remain at home.

It is probably fair to say you are making all of those assumptions (incorrect and correct) from a home stocked with products purchase in the last 2 months that are almost certainly not all essential.

It's probably worth considering for a while what the next few weeks will be like for the entire country/continent if governments suddenly restrict food products to essentials only.

At that point you may concur, placing food restrictions on an already restricted populace is probably not the best move.

I'm not assuming anything, I read your contributions and you disgust me with your ignorance.

16-04-2020 11:28PM

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

They wouldn't. It's illegal immigrants in the USA, backpackers and seasonal imports in Australia and NZ, Africans in Spain, etc.
Rich countries don't do this work any more.

They didn't do it in the 80s either, I grew up in the area where keelings is and they used to take on school kids, from ten years old and up for the strawberry picking.

If I remember correctly they paid a pound a day.
I got twice that for working on my uncle's farm with dinner thrown in as did anyone else my age that he took on and that was just to harvest potatoes.

DelaneyIn · 16-04-2020 11:29PM

Are these workers paid Irish minimum wage, or are they paid a by sub contractor in their home country?

Graham · 16-04-2020 11:29PM

Rows Grower wrote: »

I'm not assuming anything, I read your contributions and you disgust me with your ignorance.

And yet you haven't been able to refute any of my points, offer sensible alternatives or offer a compelling argument as to how/why I'm wrong.

Jinglejangle69 · 16-04-2020 11:30PM

DelaneyIn wrote: »

Are these workers paid Irish minimum wage, or are they paid a by sub contractor in their home country?

You gonna stop buying cheap products now?

16-04-2020 11:30PM

Covid19 wrote: »

F"$#@ the strawberries.

Tenzor07 · 16-04-2020 11:30PM

Danno wrote: »

The fact that these folks were packed in on a flight CHARTERED by Keelings is the issue.
They weren't even on the ground in Dublin and they have already broken restrictions.
If you buy the rest of the muck that these 189 folks will be isolated for fourteen days before picking a berry, you're gullible.
They'll be picking berries in just over six and a half hours time. (7am).
I've no issue with bringing in seasonal workers for this task, but the company has flouted much of the Governments health advice.

As there's no scheduled commercial flights in the EU then a charter makes sense, the agency who sent them would most likely have arranged a charter flight anyways to bring everyone in.

Your comments suggest that all of this was done without consulting the authorities in Ireland, seems unbelieveable to me...

RobertKK · 16-04-2020 11:31PM

I have a friend from Eastern Europe who is taking up a job on the seas, he will have 14 days quarantine before he sails and he was telling me in total before he starts his job, he will have done two stints of 14 day quarantine.

Bulgarian workers/Keelings - read OP (threadbans listed)

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