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DundiesAward 05/04/20 6:51:07 PM #1: |
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/03/business/uk-farming-coronavirus-gbr-intl/index.html
The British government wants you: To cut lettuce from the fields, pick berries from the bushes and load boxes of fresh produce into cold storage warehouses. While many people hunker down at home, reloading the internet sites of grocery stores to secure a home delivery slot or dreading the socially distanced, masked visit to a supermarket, it's easy to lose sight of the supply chain and where that food is coming from. As Covid-19 cases surpass 180,000 in the United Kingdom, British farmers are facing spring cut off from the Eastern European migrant workers that make the harvest possible. But with thousands of Brits laid off or furloughed, the UK government now says its official policy is to try to get locals onto the fields. Daniel Martin, 32, sits in a kitchenette across from a female trainer with a laptop. Until recently, he was a civil engineer, playing a crucial role in the British construction industry. Then came coronavirus, and he was furloughed. "With construction sites closed, a lot of the clients have ceased work," he explains. "So it dried up for us." His friend worked on the farm, and Martin figured driving a forklift would be better than sitting on his couch all summer. "I just wanted to be active, to get involved. Keep me fit, get me out of the house, otherwise we're locked down at home. I enjoy being outside." "I was fed up with being indoors, not earning any money," said Sally Penfold, 45. "I just wanted to get out there and do some kind of work. I think providing food for the nation is quite an honorable thing to do." She lost her waitressjob at a restaurant in Hastings, after the UK government lockdown took effect at the end of March. "I got a job in an Italian restaurant. And I worked there for about six weeks. And then the restaurant got closed down." She heard about the farm through a storyon local radio, while staying with a friend, and decided that tending the land would be better than being "stuck at home for weeks on end." Farm director Nick Ottewell, affable and full of nervous energy, looks on. "It's seasonal work," Ottewell says. "And British people haven't wanted to do seasonal work, for whatever reason." "Companies like ours have relied on migrant workers for decades to have businesses. However, we're here. And you're welcome to come. But come and commit to us for the summer." --- Black Pope ... Copied to Clipboard!
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