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[Diamond Black Geezer]

anyone catch the top gear that said in the 'old days' 25% of all jobs in uk were in some way connected to manufacturing......


that figure today is 9%


Sad.

[2woody]

a simple example....

say you want to make a widget, do you...

make it in the UK, where it has to conform to various standards, you have to meet Environmental rules for your factory, you have to have a corporate responsibility policy, maternity pay, sickness benefits, Health & Safety protection, ethical responsible behaviour, 75% tax on fuel, workforce representation (i.e. the right to strike) and on top of all of that to pay a wage of £5-odd an hour.

or, do you make it in China, where you have to do none of the above and workers are happy to do 80hours per week for less than a fiver in total.

not a difficult choice is it ?

[Banjax]

a simple example....

say you want to make a widget, do you...

make it in the UK, where it has to conform to various standards, you have to meet Environmental rules for your factory, you have to have a corporate responsibility policy, maternity pay, sickness benefits, Health & Safety protection, ethical responsible behaviour, 75% tax on fuel, workforce representation (i.e. the right to strike) and on top of all of that to pay a wage of £5-odd an hour.

or, do you make it in China, where you have to do none of the above and workers are happy to do 80hours per week for less than a fiver in total.

not a difficult choice is it ?

yep - because all those workers on slave wages and poor conditions in China all spend their hard earned cash in Britain 
countries with the best working conditions and pay are the most prosperous, happy and have the lowest unemployment rates....but hey, the bottom line eh? to go for the cheapest option is simple minded, short term-ist and detrimental. of course, allowing the rest of the world to pluck our best companies from under our noses doesnt help as we're left with owners with no regard for the UK, only the mighty dollar....or yen 

[Dishevelled Den]

a simple example....

say you want to make a widget, do you...

make it in the UK, where it has to conform to various standards, you have to meet Environmental rules for your factory, you have to have a corporate responsibility policy, maternity pay, sickness benefits, Health & Safety protection, ethical responsible behaviour, 75% tax on fuel, workforce representation (i.e. the right to strike) and on top of all of that to pay a wage of £5-odd an hour.

or, do you make it in China, where you have to do none of the above and workers are happy to do 80hours per week for less than a fiver in total.

not a difficult choice is it ?

yep - because all those workers on slave wages and poor conditions in China all spend their hard earned cash in Britain 
countries with the best working conditions and pay are the most prosperous, happy and have the lowest unemployment rates....but hey, the bottom line eh? to go for the cheapest option is simple minded, short term-ist and detrimental. of course, allowing the rest of the world to pluck our best companies from under our noses doesnt help as we're left with owners with no regard for the UK, only the mighty dollar....or yen 

the bottom line eh? to go for the cheapest option is simple minded, short term-ist and detrimental. of course, allowing the rest of the world to pluck our best companies from under our noses doesnt help as we're left with owners with no regard for the UK, only the mighty dollar....or yen

I'm more than happy to agree with you BJ.

[2woody]

so am I

But, I'm afraid that's just the way of the world.

sorry