Worst times for being in the trade

[ricardo123]

I got laid off from a decent firm about 4 and half years ago been self employed since then and managed to scrape along. Been out of work now since Christmas. Getting hacked off with the constant battle to try and pick up bits of work. My missus says I have to leave this trade and get a new career. Any old timers remember any times worse than this one. To top it off - no permie jobs about and you can't claim JSA if your self-employed. ?

 

[GLENNSPARK]

good for mowin the lawn with though.....

 

[PEG]

Not the place for politics,this,but just to put the eggwhisk in the goldfish bowl....2 questions, How much of our own coal (at inflation adjusted price),have we needed since? AND,how much do the ex-miners revere Mr.Scargill now? (Google his latest shananagins/popularity) I loved Maggie 75% of the time and thought she was out of order the other 25,which puts her in the same club as me neighbour,brother-in-law and mobile phone provider....:wink_smile:

 

[KFH]

Wilson closed more mines than Maggie. She did not start the miners strike that was Scargill. Anyone remember the three day week, rubbish piled up in the streets, the dead in portable freezers as they were not being buried? Any one remember pay restraint and the £50 limit on taking money out of the country for holidays etc imposed on us by the International Monetary Fund ? Did any one own a British Leyland car or a Triumph motorcycle although I have to admit the French rubbish was even worse? Wasn't there a job tax at some point that encouraged companies to put employees onto contract and help put an end to apprenticeships? Anyone know who cut manufacturing output the most Blair or Thatcher?

I was there, starred in the remake in the 90s and have the T-Shirt and the scars.

We should be grateful we do not get the Government we pay for. (Will Rogers)

 

[Essexboy7]

I have been through 3 recessions in my career and this has been the worst one for me.The difference i have noticed this time is whereas in the first 2 the 80's and 90's there just wasnt any work about at all .But this time down in london and the south there has been a massive boom in the building game.In the last few years we have had the olympics,the Athletes village,stratford westfield,the Shard,crossrail and the london underground upgrade to name just a few.If you walk round the city of london today you will see massive building projects absolutely everywhere but loads of British workers cannot find work.Well these jobs are taking up tens if not hundreds of thousands of workers so someone is doing them but who? Answers on a postcard please

I have never met an Eastern European who only had one job,every single one of them works 7 days a week on a building site and 7 nights a week elsewhere if they can.And i have never met one if he had his family here with him who didnt have his missus geting the rent paid on housing benefit while she also worked cash in hand as a cleaner or in a cafe or shop.Thats why they can afford to work for well under the rate as they have 4 seperate forms of income while most blokes i know have to survive on one.Every single one of them gets paid offshore if they can so they are not paying stamp or income tax and as for paying council tax they would just laugh at you if you suggested it


As for the miners strike for those who dont remember it or those who have a selective memory this is how i rememberit.I was a 16 year old apprentice spark in 1984 and a member of the sparks union i think it was called the EPTU at the time i can remember as it has changed names so many times.Thatcher wanted to close down loads of unproductive pits and Scargill called a national strike.He should have called a national ballot but refused to as the last 2 had gone against him.As such the strike was unofficial and other unions couldnt support it.If it had been official the whole trade union movement would have supported him and they could have brought the country to a standstill and the miners could easily have won.You have to remember at the time the NUM was heavily infiltrated by the Communist party and they were pulling the strings in the background and had thier own agenda and thier first thoughts werent for the miners.I remember that the socialist workers party used to come round building sites having collections for the miners and no one would put in as the strike was unofficial.I only used to put in if it was for the wives and children.Also the NUM was directly funded from the Communist party in Moscow .All the way through the strike the Government was willing to negotiate with the miners and right up until the very end were willing to give him more then half what he wanted but Scargill refused to budge an inch.Eric Chapple the leader of the sparks union acted as an intermediary between scargill and the Government and pleaded with him to see sense but Scargill was a power crazed egomaniac.He led his union into defeat and disaster.The blame for what happened to the miners lays squarely with him

What you have to remember as well was the miners werent turfed out with sod all.Miners with 30 years service were geting payoffs of £30,000 a huge amount in those days and there was a pro rata sliding scale.In 1993 i worked at Canary Wharf and was taking home £1150 a week doing price work.An absolute fortune when most blokes were taking home less then £300 a week.The place was absolutely flooded with Scottish and northern sparks who had been paid off from the mines ,had taken thier redundancy and were digging down in london and going home every second or 3 rd weekend.So i dont buy all this stuff about communities being devestated.My Nan and then later my mum and Dad all moved over from Ireland at seperate points in thier life looking for work due to economic neccessity.If the miners chose to stay where they were and spend thier redundancy who's fault is that?Times change people have to adapt.The sparks who moved down from up North had no qualms about taking the Londoners work did they?I know people will say why should people have to move from the communities they have grown up in but its the same as any spark from Britain considering going to work in Afghanistan or Iraq because he cant get anything here.He doesnt want to but does what he has to do to provide for his family.

 

[markc123]

Well structured post essexboy. I agree though, times are hard at the moment - i know plenty of decent sparks out of work...

But going to your 'british people can't find employment' ...it's true, i know someone whose just sat the 17th, and he said 6 of the 14 on the course were polish, and 5 of them had jobs as electricians mates over here....the trade is F'd lol.

 

[ricardo123]

I suppose I shouldn't complain too much. I joined the workforce in about 1988 and have been ok up until this current recession. I don't think you really notice a recession unless you lose your job. It's only when you lose your job like I have that it becomes a problem. Very difficult to get back into a permanent role when few employers want to take people on.

 

[ricardo123]

On the subject of foreign electricians I have not come across any and I have worked on some of the largest construction projects in the midlands.

 

[bandit]

On the subject of foreign electricians I have not come across any and I have worked on some of the largest construction projects in the midlands.

Lucky for you! I have one that constantly undercuts me, although he doesn't always get the work :wink_smile: You might want to put your location in your profile, someone might be able to help you out with a bit of Sub work.