Cheap labour is diet for Staples

The issue of flooding is one that won't go away.
We raised it a few days ago and reminded readers that Boston is allegedly at the heart of a major flood risk area.
We made the point that huge chunks of Boston said to be at risk from flooding have never seen a drop of water, and called for negotiation between the Environment Agency and insurers to try to lighten up on home owners and businesses who are being unnecessarily penalised for a non-existent danger.
However, there are areas where flooding still occurs, which is why it's important that planners listen to the Environment Agency when they offer their opinion on such matters.
So it was surprising to learn that plans to house almost 250 migrant workers in a caravan "village" in Wrangle have been approved despite the EA's description of the site as "a very evident flood risk."
The application was made by Staples, a local firm of vegetable producers, which apparently prefers to employ eastern European "students" under the government Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.
It says local workers are hard to find and that those provided by local gangmasters are also less reliable than those taken on under SAWS.
But to us, SAWS sounds more like a cheap way to employ staff and then send them packing after six months.
According to the government's UK Border Agency, SAWS allows UK farmers and growers to recruit low-skilled overseas workers solely from Bulgaria or Romania at the Agricultural Minimum Wage for a maximum of six months.
No mention is made of these people being students.
For full details of the scheme see http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/eea/saws/
But back to the flooding issue.
Staples managing director dismissed the flood risk claim by saying that it was "a once in 200 year event."
This of course is meaningless.
Once in 200 years could mean that the site could flood tomorrow.
Couple this with the information on yesterday's blog concerning Boston Borough Council's poor record on provision for people made homeless in emergency situations, and we wonder how the powers that be would cope with a flood next week that threw 250 people out on the street.
It beggars belief that an application like this can go through almost on the nod.
In a nutshell, the council has opted to approve an application that militates against the indigenous workforce in favour of a group that will impose extra strain on the local infrastructure, particularly the NHS, and also putting that group at work in an area where they could face danger in the event of a flood.
Just to save a local company (we can't call it a local "employer") a few quid in wages.
Ten out of ten once again for Boston Borough Council. We wonder whether anyone checked on the so-called "student" status of the proposed workforce, as it received no mention in the SAWS information.
It's no wonder that local people don't want these jobs.
Most of them want more than the £5.73 an hour that these European workers will receive - UNLESS they are aged 18-21, when they will receive £4.77.
We feel sure that the only problem with the gangmaster system, which has served local farmers well for decades, is that it's no longer cheap enough for the likes of companies like Staples.

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