Bulgarian workers/Keelings - read OP (threadbans listed)

amadangomor · 17-04-2020 12:17AM

What I can take from this thread is that there is plenty of thoughtful people who can see the subtleties of a situation and make their mind up based on that.

Then there are the reactionaries who get their news from the latest trending outrage on Facebook and have zero subtlety of thought and are looking for something to get annoyed at.

amadangomor · 17-04-2020 12:21AM

Danno wrote: »

That woman comes across as a racist two faced twat who should be home herself.

Rows Grower · 17-04-2020 12:22AM

Graham wrote: »

It's not a strawberry issue though.

Whether they realise it or not, people are essentially arguing that government should start to decide which food products are essential.

That is not a good thing.

Do you think government should start to decide what food products are essential?

It is, a plane load of people were flown into our country to pick strawberries.

billie1b · 17-04-2020 12:25AM

Tenzor07 wrote: »

So the flight came from Bulgaria, therefore DHL up the road from Dublin airport didn't load any booze onto the charter flight.

Yes they did, the bars are loaded onto the aircraft in Dublin every morning, it was a Dublin based aircraft that positioned over empty and flew back.

Graham · 17-04-2020 12:25AM

Rows Grower wrote: »

It is, a plane load of people were flown into our country to pick strawberries.

So you're not suggesting we should start and differentiate between essential and non-essential foods or you are?

seanboylan87 · 17-04-2020 12:25AM

Surely some of the 50,000 or so black market Brazilian students who've been laid off from their cleaning jobs could have done this? Ah no, they're happy enough with the €350 handout every week.

JP Liz V1 · 17-04-2020 12:27AM

Scotty # wrote: »

No there isn't!!! One is non-essential travel, the other is not. It's not f'king rocket science!

How is travelling from one country to another to pick strawberries essential

Scotty # · 17-04-2020 12:27AM

Rows Grower wrote: »

It is, a plane load of people were flown into our country to pick strawberries.

It's a food supply issue. Strawberries are just a small part of the business, despite what you've read on facebook. These workers are essential in maintaining an adequate supply of fruit and veg on our supermarket shelves. I can see you are finding that hard to accept but that's the bottom line.

Keeling employ a huge amount of locals but at this time of year there are just not enough.

Graham · 17-04-2020 12:29AM

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

How is travelling from one country to another to pick strawberries essential

It's food.

All food production is considered essential at the moment.

Plumbthedepths · 17-04-2020 12:30AM

Graham wrote: »

It's not a strawberry issue though.

Whether they realise it or not, people are essentially arguing that government should start to decide which food products are essential.

That is not a good thing.

Do you think government should start to decide what food products are essential?

Judging by some of your comments here, may I suggest you use that shovel to dig up.

bigroad · 17-04-2020 12:31AM

So flight paid for 189 people.
Accommodation paid for.
Accommodation for 14 days and no work done.
PAYE minimum wage paid or more with some bonus.
But can't get Irish workers on a decent wage.

Rows Grower · 17-04-2020 12:33AM

Graham wrote: »

So you're not suggesting we should start and differentiate between essential and non-essential foods or you are?

Graham, there are times when it's okay to argue a point and there are times when you just need to let it go.

This is one of those times you just need to let it go.

Go to bed Graham, I sincerely hope you wake up with a hangover tomorrow as it might go some way towards explaining the tripe you are posting.

Stay classy, we are all in this together and together we can overcome this pandemic.

Strawberries come and strawberries go.

RobertKK · 17-04-2020 12:33AM

mgn wrote: »

So your friend in Europe has 28 days off between jobs in the peak time of the season, staying in hotels, maybe its not a bad paying job after all.

He is a qualified ship captain.

JP Liz V1 · 17-04-2020 12:44AM

Might be just me but I'd consider strawberries as a luxury non essential expensive fruit

wonski · 17-04-2020 12:45AM

I am actually amused by this because there are dozens of flights coming into Dublin every day and all of a sudden everyone is concerned about a group of Bulgarians who will be living in fairly isolated place in isolated group and since it is made public they will have to follow hse guidelines before letting them work.

Meanwhile hundreds of Irish and non Irish nationals are coming bacj to Ireland and no one knows where they go and what they do and well you will never find out.

These are jobs that would have never been taken by most here...

If they were small 200g punnet of Strawberries would cost 5-6 euro at least. If you ever find them.

Not defending Keelings here. They never were and never will be great place to work, so are most places like that in Ireland.

They can't find people to work for them, because the pressure from supermarkets etc is too much and they just can't offer good pay and continue running the business.

That's the reality.

Graham · 17-04-2020 12:45AM

Rows Grower wrote: »

Graham, there are times when it's okay to argue a point and there are times when you just need to let it go.

I'm sure at some point you might actually argue a point rather than having a dig at me personally.

Donald Trump · 17-04-2020 12:48AM

mgn wrote: »

Brought up on a farm so know all about picking spuds and thinning carrots and turnips so picking fruit wouldn't be a problem
I bet you if a lot of these superstar fruit pickers spend a day in bog the would be very happy to get back to their strawberry's the next day.

Well why don't you give your Irish workers a break from the bog and let them go for a holiday up to pick fruit.

If you need more down there, you can replace them with any of the other Irish workers who are queuing up to work on the bog for you

All the people on here who "used to do it back in the day" or who "did it as a child". Yet none yet to tell us they do it now, or have done it recently as an adult.....

Did you ever do it as an employee as an adult? Not for a relative and not giving someone a dig out temporarily. As a job for an entire season?

Rows Grower · 17-04-2020 12:51AM

Graham wrote: »

I'm sure at some point you might actually argue a point rather than having a dig at me personally.

I'm retired from pugilism Graham.

17-04-2020 12:52AM

Covid19 wrote: »

Either some folks here are trolling, or have no clear understanding of the current crisis. Keelings have dropped the ball here big-time and the individual within the company who thought their business plan would merrily tip along with no effect from the current pandemic is extremely naive.
The optics alone are terrible. As someone who worked in this area, and as a former horticulturalist, you don't need "skilled horticulturalists to pick fruit. It's a simple, mind numbing job in an industry with the largest turnover of staff.
However, you do need an exploitable workforce willing to work for food and board, that's it. Enter the Bulgarians.
One scroll through the glass door reviews into companies in this area in Ireland tells you all you need to know.

One individual here mentioned " they won't pick themselves". Well, apply that logic to the industries currently shut down while complying to, and stepping up to the plate, for the good of the country.
Like the thousands of companies currently unable to trade, if Keelings were unable to sustain their production without flouting the current restrictions and basically giving two fingers to every carer, nurse, doctor etc and any other essential worker, then they should have ceased trading and applied for government support until things got back to normal. Despite what may be contained in future press releases, strawberries are not an essential food.

Silly rabbit. Food suppliers are all operating. There's no limit on 'essential food'. It's all considered essential.

People are being paid 350 to sit at home. That's 350 in their hand. They are not going to get up at 5am to pick fruit all week for 404 gross!

You can argue the unemployment numbers all day, people simple won't do it. And keeling will do just fine, they will continue to supply restaurants and shops and you will continue to buy said produce in that shop.

ted1 · 17-04-2020 12:56AM

Alrigghtythen wrote: »

How many of the 800000 applied for the job?

Up to three weeks ago, none needed to.

Plumbthedepths · 17-04-2020 01:04AM

Graham wrote: »

I'm sure at some point you might actually argue a point rather than having a dig at me personally.

What point would you like argued? When it's wise to drop the shovel it's best to do so. You have made a fool of yourself here . I referenced health care workers feeling aggrieved that Keelings were bringing in untested people to the country , your response was did they want the jobs. A sad and pathetic response. You being a moderator was of no revelence, although how you can police the opinions of others is open to question.

Heart Break Kid · 17-04-2020 01:06AM

Has anyone ever picked fruit or flowers. It’s not fun, anyone with experience of it in Australia can tell you. Probably more of a case many wouldn’t do the job. The wages the Bulgarians get probably go a lot further.

Anyone ever see the form type residence they have on the farm. Always wondered what it was like. Would get loads of folks coming from Eastern Europe buying SIM cards with st Margaret’s as their address

JP Liz V1 · 17-04-2020 01:07AM

I wonder has Rusev came over as WWE left him go

Graham · 17-04-2020 01:15AM

Here's a couple of interesting snippets from an article in the UK Independent last week.

They are worthy of consideration before we argue for leaving food rot in the ground.

Supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables in Europe could dwindle, suppliers say, as the coronavirus pandemic hampers the global movement of produce and of people needed to gather crops.

Workers being prevented from travelling to farms in Africa and the grounding of flights and a shortage of lorry drivers are all starting to affect the usual plentiful supplies.

In Kenya, a major supplier of green beans and peas to Europe, half of the sector’s workers have been sent home on mandatory leave because orders cannot be shipped.

Shipments from South Africa are also becoming tougher, with the country beginning a 21-day lockdown this week.

Even longer-lasting produce such as citrus fruit, which is normally transported by sea, could be stranded because of a shortage of shipping containers.

A shortage of migrant workers also threatens to disrupt production at suppliers including Spain, the biggest exporter of fruit and vegetables in the EU.

lawrencesummers · 17-04-2020 01:36AM

Graham wrote: »

Here's a couple of interesting snippets from an article in the UK Independent last week.

They are worthy of consideration before we argue for leaving food rot in the ground.

Do you know that parts of Africa are heading for locust related famines.

The Irish table won’t be as badly affected without strawberries.

A bit of context is needed.

99nsr125 · 17-04-2020 02:31AM

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.

Jaysus
Keelings is shìte anyway
Extra glad now I don't buy them

jimmycrackcorm · 17-04-2020 02:57AM

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Might be just me but I'd consider strawberries as a luxury non essential expensive fruit

Who needs dem fancy foods when we can stick to milk and potatoes.

Woodsie1 · 17-04-2020 04:02AM

Graham wrote: »

Here's a couple of interesting snippets from an article in the UK Independent last week.

They are worthy of consideration before we argue for leaving food rot in the ground.

So why not get the processors in the milk factories back to work?

https://www.independent.ie/business/farming/dairy/dairy-farmers-face-dumping-milk-as-processors-sweat-over-a-shut-down-39080341.html

Milk is slightly more important than a few poxy strawberries.

KyussB · 17-04-2020 04:31AM

Fuck me, this one has split a crack straight down the middle of many peoples integrity and self-image.

Hypocrites who claim to support proper income and employment rights for workers - then piss away all their integrity over the price of a punnet of strawberries...

KyussB · 17-04-2020 04:44AM

Covid19 wrote: »

Either some folks here are trolling, or have no clear understanding of the current crisis. Keelings have dropped the ball here big-time and the individual within the company who thought their business plan would merrily tip along with no effect from the current pandemic is extremely naive.
The optics alone are terrible. As someone who worked in this area, and as a former horticulturalist, you don't need "skilled horticulturalists to pick fruit. It's a simple, mind numbing job in an industry with the largest turnover of staff.
However, you do need an exploitable workforce willing to work for food and board, that's it. Enter the Bulgarians.
One scroll through the glass door reviews into companies in this area in Ireland tells you all you need to know.

One individual here mentioned " they won't pick themselves". Well, apply that logic to the industries currently shut down while complying to, and stepping up to the plate, for the good of the country.
Like the thousands of companies currently unable to trade, if Keelings were unable to sustain their production without flouting the current restrictions and basically giving two fingers to every carer, nurse, doctor etc and any other essential worker, then they should have ceased trading and applied for government support until things got back to normal. Despite what may be contained in future press releases, strawberries are not an essential food.

Sure even the coronavirus has paused to express its outrage at this!

Bulgarian workers/Keelings - read OP (threadbans listed)

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