Migrants taking all our jobs?

I must admit I’m getting a little bemused by the whole argument that migrants are coming over and taking jobs off British people, and the persistence of some to link immigration and the deterioration in the UK manufacturing base.

This link is simply not there. As someone who was a manager in manufacturing for four years I can state categorically that immigration contributes far more to the survival of British manufacturing than to its demise.

The closeted myopic view of many in this country is that it’s all the fault of Johnny foreigner, never some shortcoming of the indigenous populous. What rubbish.

Oh here we go you cry….”You’re a self-loather”. No I am merely objective enough to realise that we have contributed to our own demise and are subject to uncontrollable global trends. This country lost most of its manufacturing backbone through years of poor management skills and too powerful unions. The Americans, Japanese, and yes even the French could be often heard joking about British production management, and their lack of sophistication and commercial awareness. The emergence of professional development and organisations such as the Institute of Operation and Production Management has begun to improve aptitude among the countries many managers.

There is also the cliché of working in a factory, that leads many of our best and brightest to steer clear of manufacturing, leading to a critical shortage of skill and talent. Many of the managers that run facilities have no formal training in efficient production management or cost control. Many British companies have been found out and have subsequently gone bust.

Many cite the Labour government and its poor record within manufacturing, this is admittedly poor, but to claim that it’s all Labour or the ‘liberals’ fault is absolute nonsense.

The reality is far more international and historical….

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union the balance of power tipped to America, and its many corporations could now spread across the globe more freely. This also coincided with huge reform in the Indian political system leading to a new stability, liberalised markets, and pro-globalisation policies. Coincidence struck again as Deng Xiaoping’s reforms finally came to fruition succeeding in “opening-up” China. China has become a manufacturing giant (80% of Wal-Marts manufactured goods are produced in China), swallowing up oil and steel and record rates, causing a rise in commodity prices therefore increasing the relevance of labour costs.

The other major factor has been the pioneering of the Internet and the ability to connect truly global supply-chains instantaneously. Sales order processing now seamlessly interfaces with remote - cheaply run – production facilities. Armed with a satellite tracked logistics backbone companies now enjoy a small flat world. Corporations exploit increasingly open markets to maximise productivity and reduce unit costs. Manufacturing jobs are not being lost to immigrants in this country but lost entirely oversees.

The influx of immigrants - in reality - do many of the jobs the British people do not want to do, pampered as they are with ever greater state provided provisions and unrealistic expectations. Why work in a factory when the minimum wage means that it’s just as worthwhile to sell shoes in a nice smart shop? Why work in a hot kitchen when you can earn just as much as a receptionist? In my experience I have seen wages spiral in production factories, as the minimum wage has reduced the available workforce prepared to work in a factory. The option of last resort is imported agency, which are even more expensive, but do turn up and do the work. That’s right in reality foreign agency workers (as the majority of Polish, Portuguese, and others are) actually work out more expensive than the average British worker. I know I have conducted the work-studies (however the fact that the turnover is generally lower with contracted agency, means the costs eventually become lower as businesses are not constantly advertising, recruiting, and training).

As I stated the provisions and working standards of this country, allied with an increasing unproductive and transient workforce, have pushed up costs and lowed competitiveness further. No wonder businesses outsource so much of their production.

America and Europe have both suffered significantly from the shift, and both regions have experienced a retraction in their manufacturing base. The past decade Europe and America have diversified to concentrate on the service sector and added value markets, this has been reasonably successful but growth is now slowing.

So the worker rights, the scandalous corporate salaries, and the social benefits we enjoy are contributing to our collective demise. We are yesterday’s men. We’re expensive, pampered, and inflexible.

Is this all Labour’s fault? Is this the fault of economic migrants?

No. It’s the reality of this borderless flat world. And any suggestion otherwise is simplistic opportunistic xenophobia.