We’ve got a labour shortage. It’s not new. They’ve been talking about it for ages. Crops of various kinds have rotted in fields for lack of workers to pick them. Small businessmen explained on the radio news last night that they can’t expand because they can’t get the staff to meet the orders that they could be getting. One spoke about having raised the wages to attract workers but all to no avail. Commentators seem reluctant to say that this is a consequence of Brexit, which it certainly is. Others factors come in but EU workers went home because of Covid and then did not or could not (Brexit) return. Now they are talking of allowing more foreign workers in - just not EU freedom of movement allowing people in.
According to one report I heard, although we no longer have EU freedom of movement workers coming in, numbers of immigrants from other places have not reduced. One problem is that many these immigrants come with baggage in the shape of families and children. So there are more people but fewer of them are available for work.
Then there is the matter of child care and how much it costs in his country. Apparently large numbers of women, women with decent jobs, are now deciding that it’s not worth their working if all or almost all of their pay goes on childcare costs. So they are being forced to become stay-at-home mums and even so in some cases the family is still pushed to meet all the bills on the husband’s pay. If the working mothers turn to grandparents for childcare this can force older working women out of the job market. It’s a crazy situation.
Apparently a suggestion was “floated” at the Conservative Party conference that we need a baby boom and that women should get tax cuts to encourage them to have babies. “Look at the labour shortages we are suffering from. We need to have more children. The rate keeps falling. Look at Hungary – they cut taxes for mothers who have more children.”
I was reminded of a book we used to read with our AS French students back in the 1990s about post-war France and the benefits families received to encourage them to have more children. A certain number qualified families for a bigger flat, another child meant extra benefits so that they could afford a fridge, a car, all sorts of amenities!
It’s somehow dystopian! And it’s now 2022!
Besides, it’s going to be a while before those babies could fill the job vacancies!
But far be it from me to criticise the government. That sort of thing is not really encouraged just now. Here’s the story of an academic who was due to give a talk to a civil service network within a government department on Monday relating to women in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) and found that her services were no longer required apparently because she had criticised government policy on social media.
Hey! Ho!
Just as all of this was getting too depressing, I found an item on social media about how to cheer things up, without breaking the bank:
“Supermarket giant Lidl has stunned shoppers with a 59p home decoration that will make any room look cosy. Now October is here and the weather is getting chilly, people are looking to give their homes cosy autumnal touches.
Lidl has come up with a simple yet effective budget option. And people are loving it; with some calling the 59p item 'adorable'.
Lidl's 'British Munchkin Pumpkin' has proved popular with shoppers, who have shared their find on social media. One user, Katie, said: "Lidl are selling baby pumpkins for 59p and I highly recommend for an autumnal release of serotonin."”
Good grief! Do people really scatter tiny pumpkins around their homes to cheer themselves up? A bit of bright orange to make the place look bright and cheerful! It takes more than the sight of a cute pumpkin to give my serotonin a boost!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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