Bulgarian workers/Keelings - read OP (threadbans listed)

howiya

Scotty # wrote: »

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

Read the post you've replied to. I said if I want to pick fruit. Hardly essential travel. It's not f'king rocket science

Jinglejangle69

Covid19 wrote: »

I am reasonably certain that a lack of strawberries within the Food Supply Chain will mot result in mass panic and starvation.

What food do you deem essential so?

Bread milk and that's it?

Why is alcohol still on sale???????

Scotty #

Covid19 wrote: »

I am reasonably certain that a lack of strawberries within the Food Supply Chain will mot result in mass panic and starvation.

I replied to you already...

Scotty # wrote: »

Strawberries account for about 1% of what Keeling process. Almost all fruit and veg on supermarket shelves is processed by Keelings. Having a workforce to do that is essential. With all due respect...

DelaneyIn

DelaneyIn wrote: »

I presume Keelings don't want Irish workers. They went to an agency who got these Bulgarians because they'll work for half nothing and don't know any Irish labour laws.

If some workers have covid-19 and spread it, I doubt Keeling's will be too worried. We can't go see our parents in the next town meanwhile the ports are open to anyone.

more new cases and deaths in Ireland yesterday than Bulgaria have had in total since the start.

they are far far more likely (assuming numbers correct) to pick it up here than be bringing it.

this employment would have been arranged months in advance before CV19.

no surprise that muppet McGregor is picking up on this!

Graham

Covid19 wrote: »

With all due respect, you have absolutely and completely missed the point, which is not the status of the strawberries, but making the necessary sacrifices in order to save lives. F"$#@ the strawberries.

Would it be fair to suggest you're probably not living off your stash of dried pasta, canned food, UHT milk and pulses at the moment.

That fresh meat, milk, bread, fruit, those vegetables, that salad, it's all been picked/made/baked/packed/shipped/shelved/rung-up by people putting themselves at risk.

The appropriate response is probably Thank You.

blacklilly

I am sickened by all the commentary on this.

Firstly keelings is an indigenous Irish company that directly and indirectly employs thousands of people. They produce top quality fruit and are a household name.

Secondly, show me the que of Irish people applying for jobs to pick fruit with them? The Irish are too above themselves (in the majority) to do this work. Simple as.

Thirdly, this is showing the Irish to be discriminatory and in part racist too. All the so called anger is entirely misplaced. Keelings are doing what the do every year to ensure they can supply our food chain with their produce.

The government are still allowing flights into and out of Ireland, what are keelings to do? Let their fruit crop die and rot?

I will make a point of buying keelings a this weekend.

I’ve no affiliation to Keelings whatsoever but the response to this has made by blood boil.

Jinglejangle69

Actually why is alcohol still for sale?

People think strawberries aren't essential.

Lets see how they would cope if alcohol is deemed non essential.

Scotty #

howiya wrote: »

Read the post you've replied to. I said if I want to pick fruit. Hardly essential travel. It's not f'king rocket science

The picking of fruit and maintaining the food chain is essential. Therefore, this seems to be the part you don't grasp... travelling to pick fruit is essential travel.

Travelling to pay your respects at funeral is not essential.

billie1b

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Source?


I have read that:



https://corporate.ryanair.com/news/limited-schedule-for-coming-days-to-keep-skies-open/

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

Scuid Mhór

Covid19 wrote: »

I am reasonably certain that a lack of strawberries within the Food Supply Chain will mot result in mass panic and starvation.

How fast is this virus mutating that it's now developed the ability to articulate itself and post on boards.ie? How did this not make the 6 o'clock news? The state of the press in this country.

McGiver

Tenzor07 wrote:

The rest of Ireland is for dairy farming and meat production etc. We're a net exporter of livestock and meat products. The lands are less suitable for fruit production in the West and more rain etc. etc.

Ah no. Highly subsided inefficient uneconomic waste of land that is the bovine industry. Lazy, backward, low tech farming. Use greenhouses and its irrelevant what land there is. Climate is extremely suitable for it here, very mild.

Diversify. Look at Holland how it's done. Automate, use greenhouses, use smart solutions, use less water, use less space, do more production. At least the East and the South could copy what Holland are doing. Supply domestic market with fruit & veg and export the excess. West maybe too windy rainy, that's probably right, but greenhouses could work there too.

On topic - cheers to Keelings as long as they isolate the lads for 2 weeks and house them on site.

Tenzor07

Jinglejangle69 wrote: »

Actually why is alcohol still for sale?
Lets see how they would cope if alcohol is deemed non essential.

Just wait until people realise that the ingredients for the beer they can freely buy and drink every day is grown on the land in Ireland then probably harvested by foreign workers!! :eek:

Scotty #

People seem to be under the impression that Keelings have no Irish staff. Keelings employ hundreds of Irish staff.

Thelonious Monk

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Just wait until people realise that the ingredients for the beer they can freely buy and drink every day is grown on the land in Ireland then probably harvested by foreign workers!! :eek:

As far as we know we don't grow any hops in Ireland, they're hard to grow apparently I looked into it for my home brewing!

howiya

Scotty # wrote: »

The picking of fruit and maintaining the food chain is essential. Therefore, this seems to be the part you don't grasp... travelling to pick fruit is essential travel.

Travelling to pay your respects at funeral is not essential.

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.

NIMAN

I see a lot of posts about these folk getting paid a couple of Euro per hour.

Are foreign workers not protected by our minimum wage rates once they are working in the country?

Surely these workers are all above board and going through the books? It's not a cash in hand, black market job?

Atlantic Dawn

Scotty # wrote: »

The picking of fruit and maintaining the food chain is essential. Therefore, this seems to be the part you don't grasp... travelling to pick fruit is essential travel.

Travelling to pay your respects at funeral is not essential.

Strawberries are not an essential food item, they could rot in the ground and not a single person in the country would suffer any malnourishment, the only loss would be the lining of Keelings pockets.

Jinglejangle69

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Strawberries are not an essential food item, they could rot in the ground and not a single person in the country would suffer any malnourishment, the only loss would be the lining of Keelings pockets.

And what about alcohol?

Richard Hillman

NIMAN wrote: »

I see a lot of posts about these folk getting paid a couple of Euro per hour.

Are foreign workers not protected by our minimum wage rates once they are working in the country?

Surely these workers are all above board and going through the books? It's not a cash in hand, black market job?

They may have to pay for accommodation and only end up with X Euro

Tenzor07

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

As far as we know we don't grow any hops in Ireland, they're hard to grow apparently I looked into it for my home brewing!

Not in large amounts no, some of the smaller craft guys do, e.g. Wicklow wolf.

We do grow other grains.

Markcheese

It's probably (from a contagion point of view ) safer to use the Bulgarian pickers ,they live on site .. they don't have their grannies with them ,so can't pass anything on to them ,probably all a youngish demographic ,so less risk to themselves ,and they'll be out working in fresh air most of the time ...

Graham

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Strawberries are not an essential food item, they could rot in the ground and not a single person in the country would suffer any malnourishment, the only loss would be the lining of Keelings pockets.

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?

Markcheese

It's probably (from a contagion point of view ) safer to use the Bulgarian pickers ,they live on site .. they don't have their grannies with them ,so can't pass anything on to them ,probably all a youngish demographic ,so less risk to themselves ,and they'll be out working in fresh air most of the time ...

Danno

blacklilly wrote: »

I am sickened by all the commentary on this.

Firstly keelings is an indigenous Irish company that directly and indirectly employs thousands of people. They produce top quality fruit and are a household name.

Secondly, show me the que of Irish people applying for jobs to pick fruit with them? The Irish are too above themselves (in the majority) to do this work. Simple as.

Thirdly, this is showing the Irish to be discriminatory and in part racist too. All the so called anger is entirely misplaced. Keelings are doing what the do every year to ensure they can supply our food chain with their produce.

The government are still allowing flights into and out of Ireland, what are keelings to do? Let their fruit crop die and rot?

I will make a point of buying keelings a this weekend.

I’ve no affiliation to Keelings whatsoever but the response to this has made by blood boil.

Calls Irish people lazy fcuks.

Then squeals racism.

Folks, you couldn't make this muck up. :rolleyes:

Atlantic Dawn

NIMAN wrote: »

I see a lot of posts about these folk getting paid a couple of Euro per hour.

Are foreign workers not protected by our minimum wage rates once they are working in the country?

Surely these workers are all above board and going through the books? It's not a cash in hand, black market job?

Could be receiving a salary through a shell company in Bulgaria, highly unlikely a single one of them will be employed here as a PAYE worker by Keelings.

Alrigghtythen

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Strawberries are not an essential food item, they could rot in the ground and not a single person in the country would suffer any malnourishment, the only loss would be the lining of Keelings pockets.

Can you give us a list of essential food products. If I see someone in the supermarket with non essential items do.i call them out for putting the cashiers life at risk?

Scotty #

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Strawberries are not an essential food item, they could rot in the ground and not a single person in the country would suffer any malnourishment, the only loss would be the lining of Keelings pockets.

Strawberries are part of the food chain and as such are essential. Like apples, mushrooms, salmon, orange splits... all food, all essential.

Thelonious Monk

If it was Irish people they would be going back to families and interacting with the community more. This is actually the safer option.

Atlantic Dawn

Jinglejangle69 wrote: »

And what about alcohol?

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

whisky_galore

Danno wrote: »

Calls Irish people lazy fcuks.

Then squeals racism.

Folks, you couldn't make this muck up. :rolleyes:

Can you be racist against your own race?
How does that work?

Tenzor07

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..

The workers flown in would work for an agency with a pre-existing contract signed with the growers, so you can't just rock up at the border of some country and say you're gonna try find work picking fruit... Apart from the fact there's no scheduled regular flights, most airlines have shut down apart from cargo in passenger jets and government arranged repatriation flights, private jets and charters. Of which the authorities can turn around like the Billionaires turned back when they tried to land for a party in Southern France.

Covid19

Scotty # wrote: »

Strawberries account for about 1% of what Keeling process. Almost all fruit and veg on supermarket shelves is processed by Keelings. Having a workforce to do that is essential. With all due respect...

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.

whisky_galore

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

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

They're not attached by chains.

Atlantic Dawn

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?

Which of these are importing staff?

Graham

The whole fuss is a knee-jerk reaction by people who really haven't thought through the consequences of limiting food to "essential items only".

If such a thing were even hinted at, there would be riots in Donnybrook Fair in the morning.

Tenzor07

Covid19 wrote: »

The Company have made a huge error in the way they have managed this response to the original outcry.
.

The company response was in line with the Government guidelines, so what do you mean specifically/factually?

Covid19

Scotty # wrote: »

Strawberries are part of the food chain and as such are essential. Like apples, mushrooms, salmon, orange splits... all food, all essential.

Thank Christ you were not around between 1939 and 1945.

Atlantic Dawn

whisky_galore wrote: »

They're not attached by chains.

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

blacklilly

Danno wrote: »

Calls Irish people lazy fcuks.

Then squeals racism.

Folks, you couldn't make this muck up. :rolleyes:

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

Danno

whisky_galore wrote: »

Can you be racist against your own race?
How does that work?

Are you assuming their race now?

Graham

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

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

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

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

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

Danno wrote: »

Are you assuming their race now?

It would be dangerous to assume ones gender or race😂

Rows Grower

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 #

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

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

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.