I have just left a factory in Tunbridge Wells (voted In). I was supposed to be there all day but the MD was pre-occupied.....
About 80% of their staff are Eastern European. They have been coming to the HR office in dribs and drabs all morning asking if their jobs were safe or if they would be sent home. These are semi skilled manual labourers, incredibly polite and according to the MD very hard working.
It got to a point that the MD went down to the car park to address all of the staff. He was very sorry that he couldn't give them more information than was on the news but did make it clear that the company would not exist without their hard work and said that they advertise weekly for workers in the local papers as they are a success and expanding. They offer £12 per hour and rarely get applicants from UK citizens so he sees no reason for them to worry.
(As at May 16 there were 490 unemployed people in Tunbridge Wells and 5,000 plus within a reasonable commute.)
(£12 per hour is currently insufficient to meet the Govt.'s earnings requirement for non EU nationals to stay within the UK.)
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