The Governor of the Bank of England has expressed concerns that foreign workers are dragging down UK wages. He said that British wages are being kept artificially low because two million mgrants are working for peanuts in the UK, picking fruit in the farms or dong construction work. EU migrants do the jobs that British workers do not want to do. He said that the structure of employment here has changed because EU migrants earn ten times more here than they do back home and are prepared to work for whatever wages they can get and send their savings back home while living in austerity while they are here . This has an effect on domestic wages. Growth comes from household spending. Lower wages mean lower spending. So the growth is being stunted.
How is this affecting the people already living here, especially us Asians? The arrival of these eastern Europeans has adversely affected us as these people are much stronger and hard working and are used to working in adverse weather conditions. They have much energy and dynamism, and they will be prepared to do any kind of available work at much lower wages, thus taking away jobs in the building industry from Asians workers. However, there is little which can be done as restriction on the free movement of people is against the principles of the European Union.
Dinesh Sheth
Newbury Park, Ilford
