[Archived] Extra ! Extra ! Read All About It !

[ABBEY]

Was so depressed last night I called Lifeline, Got a call centre in Syria , told them I was suicidal, they got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck.....

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

THATCHERS LEGACY NOW COMPLETE

Yeah, you can thank that defeat for the way working people are being treated these days. My son was working for a fly by night company that moved to my area specifically to tap into the cheap labour market. The warehouse he worked in had no heating all year round. He hurt his back bending down to tie his shoelaces. He phoned in, got a Doctors note, medication etc, had three weeks off then went back to get fired for being off !

The DWP sanctioned him for 3 months benefit for losing his job and later on another months sanction for not spending 35 hours looking for work. How are people supposed to live ?

[T J Hooker]

i agree with you sentiments but 3 weeks for what sounds like a back strain does sound excessive and to be honest its no surprise that he was laid off after taking so much time off so soon after starting a job most companies would have done the same. I recently hurt my back in a similar way and my doctor would have been happy to give me a sick note for a few weeks(they wouldn't be the ones losing money) but after a few days once i could move freely I just got back to work and managed the pain with regular pain killers.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

i agree with you sentiments but 3 weeks for what sounds like a back strain does sound excessive and to be honest its no surprise that he was laid off after taking so much time off so soon after starting a job most companies would have done the same. I recently hurt my back in a similar way and my doctor would have been happy to give me a sick note for a few weeks(they wouldn't be the ones losing money) but after a few days once i could move freely I just got back to work and managed the pain with regular pain killers.

No two back injuries are the same. I did a disc years ago and it's never really been right since. My son had been there 18 months. Depends what you do for a living. Sat down all day in a nice warm office - you could probably limp along. On your feet all day in a freezing warehouse or on your feet all day in heavy engineering as I was is a different ball game altogether.

[Tom]

Not sure what the aim here was, like what did they want to achieve?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-35151254

[adopted scouser]

Not sure what the aim here was, like what did they want to achieve?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-35151254

Maybe in poor taste but it seems to be more of a practical joke to me.

As an aside, isn't it a sign of the times when a school in Blackburn, Lancashire is called Markazul Uloom ?

[Audax]

In Kenya; Muslims protected Christians in this Boko Haram attack.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35151967

In Philadelphia, USA, there was a story like the school story above:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/08/politics/philadelphia-mosque-pigs-head/index.html

[T J Hooker]

No two back injuries are the same. I did a disc years ago and it's never really been right since. My son had been there 18 months. Depends what you do for a living. Sat down all day in a nice warm office - you could probably limp along. On your feet all day in a freezing warehouse or on your feet all day in heavy engineering as I was is a different ball game altogether.

im a manual labour involving a lot of lifting in a cold factory and I've had strains, slipped disks, kidney probs, etc..

the reality is in places like this unless your on staff(salaried worker) your always at risk of losing your job if you're seen as unreliable in factories, warehouses, etc.., it's not nice, but that's the way it's always been to my knowledge

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

im a manual labour involving a lot of lifting in a cold factory and I've had strains, slipped disks, kidney probs, etc..

the reality is in places like this unless your on staff(salaried worker) your always at risk of losing your job if you're seen as unreliable in factories, warehouses, etc.., it's not nice, but that's the way it's always been to my knowledge

Not in my younger days. You had a probationary period of either 3 or 6 weeks ( I'm not sure which ) during which the company could fire you without having to give a reason. After that they had to go through proper procedures and the worker involved had a chance of reversing the decision. The first thing the Thatcher Government did after giving the police, army and judiciary large pay rises ( I wonder why they did that ? ) was to increase the period to 6 months , then to 1 year and to then 2 years !

The craven Blair Government reduced it to 1 year again but I think the last lot increased it back to 2 years.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Its a balancing act. Businesses have to make money or they don't exist and unemployment is far higher than it is now. And the ability to make money is just getting tougher and tougher. Our businesses are now competing with ones all over the world, and in many countries labour costs peanuts. And then mass immigration has also driven down wages and workers rights here by significantly increasing worker supply whilst the employer demand has stayed the same.

I agree with you its not right and needs fixing, its not ethically right for things like what happened to your son to be going on. But its how you fix it that's the problem. Does the government subsidise UK businesses to allow them to treat workers better and yet still remain profitable? But then how does it pay for it? Or do we reduce the supply and make employees more valuable to companies. The second is one of the many reasons I think immigration needs to be reduced and we need to get out of the EU.

[ABBEY]

Just seen on the news 1,000,000 migrants this year have arrived in UK ! When will it stop ?

Before the site's do gooders slam me , how many do gooders have taken some in their homes ? Did Geldof ? Did anyone on here ? Or is everyone pretend and all mouth ?

[jim mk2]

Workers rights haven't been driven down by immigration - they have been driven down by the actions of successive Conservative governments. And it's quite simple with companies - if they can't make a profit without treating workers properly and paying them a decent wage, they shouldn't be in business. Companies in Europe's leading economies do it so there's no reason our companies can't. Perhaps our companies make too much profits and directors pay themselves too much.

Boiling down the EU debate to one of immigration is so narrow minded but is typical of the Brexit campaign and the europhobes in the Tory party and Ukip in particular.. Our future either in or out of the EU should be whether it is better for our economy to be part of the largest trading bloc in the world or whether we can stand alone as England and Wales (because Scotland will almost certainly want to remain in the EU) outside it. To me, it's a no brainer

[Paul]

Net migration in to the UK is approximately 100,000 per annum. This includes all foreign nationals settling in the UK for any reason.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35158769

One million migrants, with approximately 800,000 going to Germany, have entered the EU in 2015

[ABBEY]

I apologise the story now says Europe . Doesn't change the question tho .. Have any of this board or Geldof taken any in or are the dogooders all mouth .

I have not and wouldn't .

[Paul]

1000 Syrian refugees admitted to UK:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35111321

Geldof and Collymore apparently not:

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2015/12/so-bob-geldof-where-are-your-refugees/

The U.K. is planning to take 20,000 direct from camps over the next 4 or 5 years I forget which.

[Pedro]

There are approximately 350k Brits who emigrate each year now. Most are talented and skilled, improving their own lives and building up the infrastructures of other countries. Just a thought, should we shut our borders for outgoing people too?

Who can be arsed working in this country should we shut our borders? The millions of benefit scroungers - because of the area I was brought up most I know are white, equally proud to be British (when it's a World Cup year) as they are proud to be bone effing idle. People who contribute zero and think the world owes them a favour, who don't work but drink heavily, often smoke openly, somehow have the full Sky package and PS4's and Xbox Ones - Ipads, Iphones...but yet they don't work. People who are paid not to wash but merely multiply, they are fed and homed, kids schooled, fed, clothed, given new bloody cars etc!

So maybe we should shut the borders and see what happens. I'm pretty sure these British urchins won't man the tools within the NHS like the 'immigrants' do, unlike many 'immigrants' cleaning is below them, education passed them right by and unfortunately, although they are mathematical geniuses when figuring out what benefits they can absorb, they won't work on a till as it is demeaning.

For me Abbey, sort that scum out first. Cut their lifelines, make them scrub the streets, pick up litter, cut the grass - anything to improve this scroungey, filthy wretched country and anything to justify their existence. But yes, certainly be more selective of who comes into Britain.

[T J Hooker]

I apologise the story now says Europe . Doesn't change the question tho .. Have any of this board or Geldof taken any in or are the dogooders all mouth .

I have not and wouldn't

Are they asking to for a room in your home(or anybodys)? many of them have to rent privately and live in squaller in properties owned by slumlords, especially those that live in or around the big cities.

[adopted scouser]

Are they asking to for a room in your home(or anybodys)? many of them have to rent privately and live in squaller in properties owned by slumlords, especially those that live in or around the big cities.

But surely relative squalor (sic) is better than fearing for their very lives ?

They did after all come here for safety and not for economic reasons.

[T J Hooker]

who's saying it is'nt.

[Paul]

100,000 illegal migrants stopped at UK borders:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/628994/MIGRANT-CRISIS-Officials-stop-100-000-illegals-at-UK-border-as-shocking-figures-DOUBLE

[oldjamfan1]

As someone whose job it is to try and find a way to fairly distribute the scarce resource that is social housing I can hand on heart say that the back stories of refugees (not just Syrians) are eye opening. Some of these people have gone through horrors that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares. The ones that get through the system and accepted to enter the UK are just the tip of the iceberg as well.

When I see things going round social media questioning why foreigners should get priority over the indigenous population I always try to explain that it isn't quite that simple. We have a fair proportion of needy UK people as well, sure enough (and that group is expanding!) but we also have a fair proportion of lazy, feckless Brits.

There are no easy solutions to this.

[Audax]

Concerning housing, this story from the past week surprised me. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-35121260

[oldjamfan1]

Concerning housing, this story from the past week surprised me. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-35121260

We are in the midst of a housing crisis, of that there is no doubt. Housing in Scotland (where I live and work) is devolved to the Scottish Parliament and it is interesting to see the vastly different approaches being taken by Holyrood and Westminster.

Don't get me started....

[Audax]

http://news.yahoo.com/british-police-arrest-man-islamist-terror-probe-130517549.html

A man in South London arrested for planning a terrorist attack.

[ABBEY]

Those slagging bombing Isis should look at mirror today and decide would you want your Mrs to be mutilated then murdered for breast feeding .