Current Affairs

[Ray B]

Watching footage of fighting at petrol stations from car cams, it just shows how quickly law and order could break down in a disaster situation.

[david63]

Let's start some more panic buying https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58721085

[Kendhni]

I am still laughing that, of all the things people could panic buy, they decided that toilet rolls were the most important.
When I was a lad you used a half brick.

[Ranchi]

I did wonder about the role of the media in the turmoil talking place on petrol station forecourts when shock of shocks, this appeared in today’s press:

FUEL CRISIS
Irn-Bru warns of disruption from supply chain turmoil
Hannah Boland
IRN-BRU is at risk of running short on supermarket shelves after the drink’s producer warned that deliveries had been hit by the petrol crisis and turmoil in the supply chain.

Fortunately the report by Fr Dermot of Buckfast, that they too were on the brink reporting shortages in the coming week but customers shouldn’t panic buy, was suppressed.

[screwy]

All this just goes to show the media’s role in panic buying.
Two weeks ago nobody new of ‘reputed ‘ shortage of tanker drivers, I still don’t believe this because the companies aren’t advertising vacancies.Everone just went about their normal daily routine,until the media / RHA put out the message that shortages may occur. Now allegedly the industry knew this months ago but everything was fine,possibly a few forecourts would be closed for a few days but drivers would just go to the next garage.It’s not just the Beeb all media outlets are to blame.

[barney]

I saw on breakfast news a chap complaining that he couldn’t get staff at his Turkey farm due to Brexit.
One of the presenters asked him where he actually advertised because she’d tried to find out how to get a job there but despite scouring every avenue, couldn’t find any vacancies.
She then called his company to ask about vacancies but the office didn’t know of any but suggested she email.
So she did, but got no reply.
She told the company owner that she’d be happy to work at his business for a few days to see the reality of the working conditions.
He did invite her down.

[david63]

Why is it always the Governments fault when companies cannot run their businesses and plan ahead for foreseeable problems?

[barney]

Why is it always the Governments fault when companies cannot run their businesses and plan ahead for foreseeable problems?

I said exactly the same thing David.
It's been five years since the vote to leave the EU.
There has been a shortage of HGV drivers all across Europe for years.
Why has the industry let the situation ride.
Well, it's quite obvious to me.
They have got fat on the exploitation of under paid foreign labour.
Now, the chickens are coming home to roost and they haven't prepared.

I was reading an article in the Guardian this morning about the exploitation of eastern European migrants in the Irish meat processing business.
Bulgarian, Lithuanian and Romanian workers finding out too late that they don't actually work for the company but actually for a Polish agency, thus reducing their rights.
This is all so McDonalds can sell really cheap meal deals to already over weight people.

The globalists have an awful lot to answer for.
Most of the worst exploitation is in EU countries.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... t-industry
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... t-exporter

[screwy]

All I know is that non of this would happen under a Labour or Lie Dim government, so they say.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Why is it always the Governments fault when companies cannot run their businesses and plan ahead for foreseeable problems?

[Kendhni]

Why is it always the Governments fault when companies cannot run their businesses and plan ahead for foreseeable problems?

To be fair many companies had been asking the government what form brexit would take for many years ('what does brexit actually mean to us?' was probably one of the most common questions coming from private industry) ... unfortunately the government didn't have a clue itself and jumped from flavour of brexit to another to another depending on which way the wind was blowing. Even towards the end of 2019 the CBI and many other organizations (including transport) were continually asking for clarification as to what they needed to do to prepare for brexit ... the government refused to provide any meaningful detail (apart from the odd sound bite).

Private companies are not like the civil service which simply mops up the unemployable so that they have an abundance of wastrels to do yet more worthless paper pushing at the drop of a hat. In private industry people have to justify their role.

[david63]

OK Brexit may be a contributing factor, as is Covid, but from what I have been reading the problems in the haulage industry have been festering for many years before Brexit and been known about but nothing was done.

I was reading this morning about Next who are suggesting that they will be having problems with the warehouse/logistics staff - and this is from someone who was pro Brexit.

Surely if you run a business that relies on staff, irrespective of where they come from, you have contingency plans (Covid apart) for when those staff become unavailable. It may take a couple of weeks to get those plans up and running but at least there are some plans in place.

[towny44]

In the old days it was incumbent on the employer to ensure they had adequate trained staff. Companies ran apprenticeships and management training schemes and recruited either from school or university, they did not rely on govt to ensure there was a regular flow of trained staff to fill skilled and senior staff roles.
We really need to get back to that style of management, and maybe there should be significant tax incentives to subsidise the best and penalise companies with the worst HR operations.

[david63]

You should have added Towny that replacing the "bean counters" with managers would be a start!

[Kendhni]

OK Brexit may be a contributing factor, as is Covid, but from what I have been reading the problems in the haulage industry have been festering for many years before Brexit and been known about but nothing was done.

There is no doubt about that. I remember a story during the Blair/Brown years (2005-ish) where, despite there being over 1 million unemployed, they were struggling to get lorry and bus drivers. So the big media kick-up of the day was that they advertised the jobs in Poland and recruited several hundred Polish drivers.

Surely if you run a business that relies on staff, irrespective of where they come from, you have contingency plans (Covid apart) for when those staff become unavailable. It may take a couple of weeks to get those plans up and running but at least there are some plans in place.

The problem was the total lack of clarity about what businesses had to prepare for. They were unwilling to invest millions in going down one route when it was equally likely that they may have to go down one of several different routes - if anything that lack of clarity slowed down the recruitment of drivers. COVID then became a mask for all things brexit and it is only

As an example, over 1:3 of those that I work with are not UK citizens (IT is generally are very cosmopolitan). I remember the company setting out policy to help them with paperwork and interviews, only to be told at the last minute that the process had totally changed and what they had done had just been a waste of time and money.

[Kendhni]

In the old days it was incumbent on the employer to ensure they had adequate trained staff. Companies ran apprenticeships and management training schemes and recruited either from school or university, they did not rely on govt to ensure there was a regular flow of trained staff to fill skilled and senior staff roles.
We really need to get back to that style of management, and maybe there should be significant tax incentives to subsidise the best and penalise companies with the worst HR operations.

I agree with most of what you say, I am a huge fan of re-introducing on the job apprenticeships, but I think in this instance many lorry drivers are expected to come with the relevant licence ... I am sure some companies may provide the training but I think most look for people with the correct licence (accepting I could be wrong here).

Management is usually something where you work up through the ranks of one company to be promoted to an appropriate position and then lie through your teeth on your CV as you move around to better and better management positions. I find today that many seem to consider themselves management, or get promoted into that position, without proper skills ... been there done that, hated pushing spreadsheets and Powerpoints around a desk so I asked to go back into technical roles ... it was a period of my career I actually hated (not even sure I was a good manager).

Peters principle is very true ... you get promoted to your level of incompetence.

[Gill W]

All I know is that non of this would happen under a Labour or Lie Dim government, so they say.

And if it happen under either of those governments, you can bet your life that this forum would be in the vanguard of those complaining about it !

[towny44]

All I know is that non of this would happen under a Labour or Lie Dim government, so they say.

And if it happen under either of those governments, you can bet your life that this forum would be in the vanguard of those complaining about it !

Strangely enough Gill with regard to issues like covid, the financial crisis or sudden shortages like the current petrol one, I am genuinely always sympathetic to the government of whichever colour.

[Quizzical Bob]

Why is it always the Governments fault when companies cannot run their businesses and plan ahead for foreseeable problems?

In your opinion, what should they have done?

[Gill W]

All I know is that non of this would happen under a Labour or Lie Dim government, so they say.

And if it happen under either of those governments, you can bet your life that this forum would be in the vanguard of those complaining about it !

Strangely enough Gill with regard to issues like covid, the financial crisis or sudden shortages like the current petrol one, I am genuinely always sympathetic to the government of whichever colour.

The trouble is, what’s happening now is not just one crisis, it’s a constant rolling procession of crises, one after the other, and the government is constantly reactive and never proactive. I’d be asking questions of any government of any party who got the country into the current state*

* I do ask the questions only not on this forum, as other forum members don’t like it.

[towny44]

And if it happen under either of those governments, you can bet your life that this forum would be in the vanguard of those complaining about it !

Strangely enough Gill with regard to issues like covid, the financial crisis or sudden shortages like the current petrol one, I am genuinely always sympathetic to the government of whichever colour.

The trouble is, what’s happening now is not just one crisis, it’s a constant rolling procession of crises, one after the other, and the government is constantly reactive and never proactive. I’d be asking questions of any government of any party who got the country into the current state*

* I do ask the questions only not on this forum, as other forum members don’t like it.

I do very much prefer a pragmatic style of govt rather than a dogmatic one

[Kendhni]

The trouble is, what’s happening now is not just one crisis, it’s a constant rolling procession of crises, one after the other, and the government is constantly reactive and never proactive. I’d be asking questions of any government of any party who got the country into the current state*

The reason behind that is that this government generally does not have a plan for anything it does ... it does something see how it goes down and then blunders onto the next thing. Sometimes their blunder works but often it has consequences that they have not panned for or have deliberately ignored. The problem with box tickers, like this government, is they are happy to accept anything in the belief that they can backtrack, uturn and break their word when it suits them.

The one thing that they did plan for was the vaccination program which proves that they can do it, it worked well, but in pretty much everything else they have touched the lack of a plan confirms the old 7 P's adage.

[david63]

The reason behind that is that this government generally does not have a plan for anything it does

Not really much different to any other Government in the past.

All Governments are between a rock and a hard place - if they set out their plan to do something and due to circumstances and/or unexpected events they have to change that plan then they are accused of doing a "u-turn" but if they try to retain a degree of flexibility over an issue by not giving precise details in advance they are accused of not having a plan.

Much of this is down to the current belief that everybody thinks that they have a right to know every minute detail of everybody else's life at all times.

[Quizzical Bob]

These clowns in Downing Street govern by focus group. That’s like steering a car by facing backwards and seeing where you have come from.

[Gill W]

The thing I don’t get is that everyone else has to have a plan these days, except the government.

This is seen all the time. If Keir Starmer or any other politician not in government criticises the current government, they are expected to have a full plan for rectifying matters.

Likewise, any one else, whether in the media or on the Internet comments that things aren’t going well gets demands for their plans for what they’d do different.

Yet the people who should have plans, i.e. the government are either given a free pass because plans are ‘dogmatic’ or are permitted not to say anything about their plans just in case they have to change.

It’s a really odd state of affairs.