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In Britain, more than five million people are now in a low-paid work. | 0:00:03 | 0:00:06 | |
I am left with ?12.76 every single week. | 0:00:06 | 0:00:10 | |
Some weeks, I'm just really struggling. | 0:00:10 | 0:00:12 | |
I have to borrow, in fact, off people. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:14 | |
Whether we're unskilled workers, graduates or aged 50 or over, | 0:00:14 | 0:00:18 | |
many of us could have a future in low pay. | 0:00:18 | 0:00:21 | |
Everybody is vulnerable. Work is the new poor. | 0:00:21 | 0:00:25 | |
With zero-hour contracts, automation and global competition, | 0:00:25 | 0:00:29 | |
employees need to be more adaptable than ever before. | 0:00:29 | 0:00:32 | |
There's losers in any transition period. | 0:00:32 | 0:00:35 | |
The question is what do you do to make sure that some of the losers | 0:00:35 | 0:00:38 | |
don't fall through the cracks. | 0:00:38 | 0:00:39 | |
So, how tough are these jobs and can anyone do them? | 0:00:39 | 0:00:43 | |
20 people, all proud of their work ethic... | 0:00:44 | 0:00:47 | |
I'm a grafter, I've always been a grafter. | 0:00:47 | 0:00:49 | |
I don't ever believe anything is above me or below me. | 0:00:49 | 0:00:52 | |
Money doesn't just come to you. You've got to go out and get it. | 0:00:52 | 0:00:55 | |
..are taking part in a unique experiment. | 0:00:55 | 0:00:58 | |
I'm your factory manager for the next ten days. | 0:00:58 | 0:01:00 | |
They're putting themselves to the test, | 0:01:00 | 0:01:02 | |
trying out a range of low-paid jobs in real British workplaces... | 0:01:02 | 0:01:05 | |
So, that's what we're trying to achieve. | 0:01:05 | 0:01:07 | |
Better crack on then, haven't we? | 0:01:07 | 0:01:09 | |
I thought this was going to be easy. | 0:01:09 | 0:01:11 | |
..and in a specially constructed factory. | 0:01:11 | 0:01:13 | |
Whoa! I'll get there. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:15 | |
I knew it would be a slow start, but I'll get there. Whoa! | 0:01:15 | 0:01:17 | |
Facing an uncertain future in the job market... | 0:01:17 | 0:01:20 | |
I want to prove to myself how hard a worker I can be. | 0:01:20 | 0:01:24 | |
I'm taking part to show that there are hard-working people out there. | 0:01:24 | 0:01:28 | |
..they'll discover what skills you need to survive | 0:01:28 | 0:01:30 | |
in today's low-paid jobs. | 0:01:30 | 0:01:32 | |
I don't understand! No! | 0:01:32 | 0:01:34 | |
Sorry, it's squirting everywhere. | 0:01:34 | 0:01:36 | |
And just like in the real jobs market, it's competitive... Jesus! | 0:01:36 | 0:01:40 | |
..with the least productive worker being laid off after every shift... | 0:01:40 | 0:01:44 | |
The shift has finished! | 0:01:44 | 0:01:46 | |
..until we're left with the most adaptable | 0:01:46 | 0:01:48 | |
and most resilient worker of all. | 0:01:48 | 0:01:50 | |
THEY CHEER | 0:01:50 | 0:01:51 | |
Good morning, everybody. | 0:01:55 | 0:01:56 | |
'Over the course of the experiment...' | 0:01:56 | 0:01:58 | |
Today's task is behind those doors. | 0:01:58 | 0:02:01 | |
'..the workers have had a crash course in minimum wage work.' | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
This is going to be like robots then, doing all this. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:07 | |
They've been monitored... Martin, it's all wrong. | 0:02:07 | 0:02:10 | |
..measured... | 0:02:10 | 0:02:12 | |
Looking here, it's not really going too well for Stephanie. | 0:02:12 | 0:02:14 | |
..and motivated... | 0:02:14 | 0:02:16 | |
I feel absolutely fantastic. Didn't expect to be there. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:20 | |
..to reveal the reality of life | 0:02:20 | 0:02:22 | |
at the most disposable end of the labour chain. | 0:02:22 | 0:02:25 | |
I wouldn't be asking you back here tomorrow if you worked for me, | 0:02:25 | 0:02:27 | |
based on what you did that side. | 0:02:27 | 0:02:29 | |
Six days in and it's becoming clear that the younger... | 0:02:29 | 0:02:32 | |
I work well under pressure. ..fitter... I'm in my element. | 0:02:32 | 0:02:35 | |
..and more adaptable the worker... You're off to a good start. | 0:02:35 | 0:02:38 | |
I try the best when I can. ..the more likely they are to cope. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:41 | |
I need a new bin! | 0:02:41 | 0:02:42 | |
But there have been exceptions. Now I have to get another one! | 0:02:43 | 0:02:47 | |
With her speed and focus, | 0:02:47 | 0:02:49 | |
57 -year-old agency chef Stephanie has excelled, | 0:02:49 | 0:02:52 | |
as long as the jobs aren't too technical. | 0:02:52 | 0:02:55 | |
Why don't you like that? Come on! | 0:02:55 | 0:02:58 | |
But despite having age on her side, | 0:02:58 | 0:03:00 | |
23-year-old domestic cleaner Sabrina... | 0:03:00 | 0:03:03 | |
I'm panicking now, so I need to stop panicking. | 0:03:03 | 0:03:06 | |
..is just scraping by. | 0:03:06 | 0:03:07 | |
I feel so relieved! | 0:03:09 | 0:03:10 | |
Today, the workers are turning their hands to manufacturing. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:17 | |
In the past, working in a factory would have been a job for life, | 0:03:17 | 0:03:20 | |
the bedrock of the traditional working class. Not any more, though. | 0:03:20 | 0:03:24 | |
In the 1950s, manufacturing accounted | 0:03:26 | 0:03:29 | |
for a third of the UK's economic output | 0:03:29 | 0:03:31 | |
and provided jobs for 40% of the working population. | 0:03:31 | 0:03:34 | |
Today, just 8% of the workforce is involved in manufacturing, | 0:03:36 | 0:03:40 | |
but there are still plenty of success stories. | 0:03:40 | 0:03:43 | |
One area in which we excel is making cars | 0:03:43 | 0:03:46 | |
and the British automotive industry is at a 10-year high. | 0:03:46 | 0:03:49 | |
Good morning! | 0:03:53 | 0:03:54 | |
Just over halfway through the experiment and the seven | 0:03:54 | 0:03:57 | |
remaining workers are about to clock on for a shift | 0:03:57 | 0:04:00 | |
at a Japanese-owned car parts manufacturer | 0:04:00 | 0:04:03 | |
which is run by the manager overseeing the whole experiment, | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
Mike Matthews. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:07 | |
Some people would say my management style is tough and quite demanding. | 0:04:08 | 0:04:13 | |
I can identify somebody with a good work ethic very, very quickly. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:17 | |
I get people that talk a good talk about working hard, | 0:04:17 | 0:04:20 | |
but as soon as you see them on the job, | 0:04:20 | 0:04:22 | |
you can tell whether they're a good worker or not. | 0:04:22 | 0:04:24 | |
Mike started out as an apprentice here 30 years ago | 0:04:24 | 0:04:27 | |
and worked his way up from shop floor to managing director. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:31 | |
So, are you always on two till ten, then? | 0:04:31 | 0:04:34 | |
Producing over 1,600 unique car parts for all the major car brands, | 0:04:34 | 0:04:39 | |
Nifco is a vital link in the supply chain for global car manufacturing | 0:04:39 | 0:04:43 | |
and Mike employs a team of almost 600 people | 0:04:43 | 0:04:46 | |
to help him deliver the goods. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:48 | |
Hi, Liz. All right? How are you? | 0:04:48 | 0:04:50 | |
I'm always looking for people that shows the right attitude, | 0:04:50 | 0:04:55 | |
show the right work ethic, got the right level of respect | 0:04:55 | 0:04:58 | |
for other people and they're good communicators. | 0:04:58 | 0:05:00 | |
Is pink your favourite colour? | 0:05:00 | 0:05:02 | |
So, what do you think Mike would be like to work for? Well... | 0:05:02 | 0:05:06 | |
So far, what I've seen, he wants you to do well, | 0:05:06 | 0:05:09 | |
so I would expect his staff to actually enjoy working for him. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:13 | |
We might see another side of Mike we don't know yet! | 0:05:13 | 0:05:16 | |
See him in a boss mode. Yeah, boss mode. | 0:05:16 | 0:05:18 | |
It's been very full-on. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:20 | |
You know, each day has been hard. | 0:05:20 | 0:05:23 | |
Experiencing first hand what these jobs are like, | 0:05:23 | 0:05:26 | |
they are minimum wage, but the skill is high. | 0:05:26 | 0:05:29 | |
Morning. Morning. | 0:05:31 | 0:05:33 | |
All right, Stephanie? Well, welcome to my factory. | 0:05:33 | 0:05:36 | |
Let's get you inside. | 0:05:36 | 0:05:37 | |
Oh, impressive! | 0:05:38 | 0:05:41 | |
Wow. That is just unbelievable. | 0:05:41 | 0:05:44 | |
This is what manufacturing is all about in the 21st century. | 0:05:46 | 0:05:50 | |
There's more buttons on that there is on the computer! | 0:05:50 | 0:05:53 | |
This is how we can compete with places like | 0:05:55 | 0:05:58 | |
China, India, Russia, Brazil. | 0:05:58 | 0:06:01 | |
Despite this level of automation, there are still jobs | 0:06:01 | 0:06:03 | |
that are too intricate or too costly to be done by machine. | 0:06:03 | 0:06:06 | |
Cheers, Jim. | 0:06:09 | 0:06:10 | |
The workers are about to do a five-hour shift | 0:06:10 | 0:06:12 | |
assembling the car parts that robots can't. | 0:06:12 | 0:06:15 | |
I'm going to put them on there, like this. | 0:06:15 | 0:06:17 | |
Lead operator Ann is demonstrating how to assemble a roof clip. | 0:06:17 | 0:06:21 | |
What you'll do, you'll turn your sheet over. | 0:06:21 | 0:06:25 | |
It's a small but essential plastic clip | 0:06:25 | 0:06:27 | |
used to secure the roof trim to a vehicle. | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
You'll put it on the end and it's straight. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:33 | |
And they're perfect! Even though I say so myself. | 0:06:33 | 0:06:36 | |
The sticky tape must be put on absolutely straight. | 0:06:37 | 0:06:40 | |
It's not complicated, | 0:06:40 | 0:06:42 | |
it just needs to be done over and over and over again. | 0:06:42 | 0:06:46 | |
Would that be our target? Yes, that is the target. | 0:06:46 | 0:06:49 | |
720 per hour. Yeah. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:52 | |
Just like on a regular shift, | 0:06:52 | 0:06:53 | |
the workers' output will be monitored hourly | 0:06:53 | 0:06:56 | |
to help them hit targets | 0:06:56 | 0:06:57 | |
and the results are displayed at their work stations. | 0:06:57 | 0:07:00 | |
If you don't hit targets, | 0:07:01 | 0:07:03 | |
you would potentially lose your job. | 0:07:03 | 0:07:05 | |
And that's the reality | 0:07:05 | 0:07:07 | |
of the automotive industry, to be perfectly honest. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:09 | |
This particular job, the difficulties for me may be | 0:07:10 | 0:07:13 | |
pretty big hands, so not so nimble finger and thumb. | 0:07:13 | 0:07:17 | |
They are pretty small component parts. | 0:07:17 | 0:07:20 | |
30 seconds. 30 seconds before we go! | 0:07:20 | 0:07:24 | |
None of the workers have any previous experience | 0:07:24 | 0:07:27 | |
of car part manufacturing. | 0:07:27 | 0:07:29 | |
Being a farmer, | 0:07:29 | 0:07:30 | |
we don't tend to come across jobs that are this small. | 0:07:30 | 0:07:33 | |
This job will be a test of the workers' patience and perseverance. | 0:07:33 | 0:07:38 | |
To do a repetitive job like this, you've got to be very, very focused. | 0:07:38 | 0:07:42 | |
You've not got to allow yourself to become distracted. | 0:07:42 | 0:07:44 | |
I think it's quite easy. Just sit there putting papers on. | 0:07:44 | 0:07:48 | |
I've got small fingers, | 0:07:48 | 0:07:49 | |
so my small hands will come in handy. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:51 | |
Right, let's go! | 0:07:52 | 0:07:54 | |
Let's go, yeah? | 0:07:56 | 0:07:57 | |
This is an entry-level job and section leader Stuart | 0:08:04 | 0:08:08 | |
normally gives it to the company's new employees. | 0:08:08 | 0:08:10 | |
So, how hard can it be? | 0:08:12 | 0:08:14 | |
You can tell quite quickly | 0:08:14 | 0:08:15 | |
who's going to be good at it and who isn't. | 0:08:15 | 0:08:17 | |
With the dexterity of the fingers and the concentration levels, | 0:08:19 | 0:08:22 | |
these jobs are quite mundane and repetitive. | 0:08:22 | 0:08:25 | |
And if you don't have the correct mind-set, | 0:08:25 | 0:08:27 | |
nine times out of ten, you'll get found out quite quickly. | 0:08:27 | 0:08:30 | |
SHE HUMS | 0:08:33 | 0:08:36 | |
I'm trying to build a rhythm and that's it. | 0:08:37 | 0:08:40 | |
HE HUMS | 0:08:41 | 0:08:43 | |
Oh, my God, my hands are so shaking. | 0:09:00 | 0:09:02 | |
Despite her nimble fingers, Sabrina is already feeling the pressure. | 0:09:04 | 0:09:09 | |
It's really nerve-racking. | 0:09:09 | 0:09:10 | |
You're thinking, "Oh, that's a right easy job, this." | 0:09:10 | 0:09:13 | |
Bit more intense than you actually think. | 0:09:13 | 0:09:15 | |
My hands keep like... | 0:09:15 | 0:09:18 | |
Shaking? Yeah! Were you out drinking last night? No. | 0:09:18 | 0:09:21 | |
Mine usually do when I've had a drink! | 0:09:21 | 0:09:23 | |
At home, money is tight for 23-year-old domestic cleaner Sabrina | 0:09:26 | 0:09:30 | |
and her five-year-old son. | 0:09:30 | 0:09:31 | |
But life hasn't always been that way. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:36 | |
I came from a background where we had people cleaning for us. | 0:09:36 | 0:09:39 | |
You know, my bedroom, our house. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:41 | |
And I've gone from that to actually cleaning people's houses. | 0:09:41 | 0:09:45 | |
Things changed when Sabrina got divorced and became | 0:09:45 | 0:09:47 | |
a single mum at just 19 years old. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:50 | |
I wanted to go to college, I wanted to go to university, | 0:09:50 | 0:09:54 | |
I wanted to travel. | 0:09:54 | 0:09:56 | |
And all those plans were actually put into place, | 0:09:56 | 0:09:59 | |
but they just never went ahead. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:02 | |
Since starting the experiment, | 0:10:02 | 0:10:04 | |
Sabrina has approached each job with enthusiasm. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:07 | |
I'm quite confident with the job today. | 0:10:07 | 0:10:09 | |
Everyone can clean, but I just think because I've got the experience, | 0:10:09 | 0:10:12 | |
I know what to do best. | 0:10:12 | 0:10:13 | |
But the reality of the minimum wage work has been something of a shock. | 0:10:14 | 0:10:18 | |
You don't realise that these are human beings | 0:10:18 | 0:10:21 | |
that are doing jobs like this. | 0:10:21 | 0:10:22 | |
Just to build your pace up a little bit quicker. | 0:10:23 | 0:10:25 | |
Am I going too slow? Yeah, you are going too slow. | 0:10:25 | 0:10:28 | |
You can't afford to. Right. | 0:10:28 | 0:10:31 | |
God's sake. | 0:10:33 | 0:10:34 | |
How bloody fast do they want me to go? | 0:10:37 | 0:10:39 | |
Sabrina is not the only one | 0:10:40 | 0:10:41 | |
struggling to meet the company's targets. | 0:10:41 | 0:10:44 | |
That wee ball of orange stickies is | 0:10:44 | 0:10:46 | |
ones that I didn't get on quite straight. | 0:10:46 | 0:10:49 | |
It's just a wee bit fiddly, this one. | 0:10:49 | 0:10:52 | |
Stewart is struggling to line up the clip with the tape. | 0:10:52 | 0:10:54 | |
Unfortunately, if you've got hands like shovels, as he says, | 0:10:54 | 0:10:58 | |
it is very difficult to do that. | 0:10:58 | 0:11:00 | |
No, this is rubbish for me. | 0:11:00 | 0:11:01 | |
My fingers are too big. | 0:11:02 | 0:11:04 | |
Speed and efficiency are a concern for every company | 0:11:08 | 0:11:11 | |
as they contribute to overall productivity, which has been | 0:11:11 | 0:11:15 | |
a problem for the British economy since the last recession. | 0:11:15 | 0:11:18 | |
We're over 30% less productive than Germany and France | 0:11:19 | 0:11:23 | |
and 10% less productive than Italy. | 0:11:23 | 0:11:26 | |
So, what's going on? | 0:11:26 | 0:11:27 | |
I've come to talk to financial analyst Louise Cooper to find out. | 0:11:29 | 0:11:33 | |
Are we a lazy nation? | 0:11:35 | 0:11:36 | |
Ha! I don't think we're a lazy nation, no. | 0:11:36 | 0:11:38 | |
It's not how hard you work, that's not how it works. | 0:11:38 | 0:11:42 | |
It's sort of the output created. | 0:11:42 | 0:11:44 | |
GDP, pounds per hour of worker. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:47 | |
So, if you're not adding a lot of value to the economy, | 0:11:47 | 0:11:52 | |
then it doesn't matter how hard you work, | 0:11:52 | 0:11:54 | |
you're still a low productive worker. | 0:11:54 | 0:11:56 | |
Why is our productivity is so low? | 0:11:56 | 0:11:58 | |
OK, so one possible reason could be the impact of migration. | 0:11:58 | 0:12:02 | |
If you're a business choosing to spend your money - | 0:12:02 | 0:12:05 | |
do I buy a new piece of kit for the future of my business | 0:12:05 | 0:12:08 | |
or do I employ a very cheap EU worker | 0:12:08 | 0:12:10 | |
and instantly create some profit from them? - | 0:12:10 | 0:12:13 | |
then the latter is happening. | 0:12:13 | 0:12:14 | |
So, rather than invest in new technology or invest in | 0:12:14 | 0:12:17 | |
skilling people up, we'll just take low-skilled low-pay workers, | 0:12:17 | 0:12:20 | |
and that as a whole could dampen UK productivity. | 0:12:20 | 0:12:24 | |
I mean, we're the fifth wealthiest country on the planet! | 0:12:24 | 0:12:27 | |
Why is productivity a problem? | 0:12:27 | 0:12:29 | |
It's a problem long term. | 0:12:29 | 0:12:31 | |
Because without productivity growth, then standards of living don't rise. | 0:12:31 | 0:12:37 | |
So, therefore, is it necessary for a government to step in to say, | 0:12:37 | 0:12:40 | |
actually, the minimum wage needs to increase? | 0:12:40 | 0:12:42 | |
Yes, I actually think this is a great policy. | 0:12:42 | 0:12:46 | |
You're increasing the price of a worker. | 0:12:46 | 0:12:48 | |
That means you have to get more output per worker. | 0:12:48 | 0:12:52 | |
You have to train that worker, | 0:12:52 | 0:12:54 | |
you have to invest in better technology, | 0:12:54 | 0:12:56 | |
a better IT system for them to use and therefore it drags up | 0:12:56 | 0:12:59 | |
productivity by forcing companies to pay more for their human capital. | 0:12:59 | 0:13:04 | |
But the price of high productivity can be higher unemployment | 0:13:06 | 0:13:10 | |
as companies like these that invest in technology | 0:13:10 | 0:13:12 | |
employ far fewer people. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:15 | |
Is this bag to me, isn't it? Yep. | 0:13:15 | 0:13:17 | |
And here, to make sure they protect their investment, | 0:13:17 | 0:13:20 | |
there's a rigorous regime of performance monitoring. | 0:13:20 | 0:13:23 | |
You OK, Stephanie? | 0:13:23 | 0:13:25 | |
You've got to get them orders out the door. | 0:13:25 | 0:13:28 | |
So, we push the guys because we know we're last port of call. | 0:13:28 | 0:13:31 | |
You're on the go 24/7, really, from walking in the door to clocking out. | 0:13:31 | 0:13:35 | |
I'm just putting the... | 0:13:37 | 0:13:39 | |
Putting your score up for your first hour's production which is 246. | 0:13:39 | 0:13:43 | |
Well below where I'd expect it to be. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:45 | |
Compared to others, you're probably at the lower end of the spectrum. | 0:13:45 | 0:13:49 | |
OK? OK. All right. | 0:13:49 | 0:13:51 | |
At 427 clips below target, fish and chip shop owner Stewart | 0:13:52 | 0:13:57 | |
is hitting the limits of his natural ability. | 0:13:57 | 0:13:59 | |
It's not the same for big hands. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:01 | |
And graphic designer Leon is also lagging behind. | 0:14:01 | 0:14:05 | |
Hiya, Leon. | 0:14:05 | 0:14:06 | |
I'm just going to put your first hour's target down. | 0:14:06 | 0:14:09 | |
365 for the first hour. 365, OK. | 0:14:09 | 0:14:12 | |
Continue where you are and then increase your hand speed | 0:14:12 | 0:14:15 | |
and you'll get the next level up, OK? | 0:14:15 | 0:14:17 | |
I'm not surprised I'm not at the top for this one | 0:14:17 | 0:14:20 | |
cos I started off slow, but I'm going forward. | 0:14:20 | 0:14:22 | |
I was just getting the job done and, yeah, productivity. | 0:14:22 | 0:14:25 | |
Unlike Leon, painter-decorator Martin is making good headway. | 0:14:25 | 0:14:29 | |
Hi, I'm just going to fill your target board in | 0:14:30 | 0:14:33 | |
and you've achieved 491. | 0:14:33 | 0:14:35 | |
Which is... Which is a very good result. Well done. | 0:14:35 | 0:14:38 | |
But they're normally 720! | 0:14:40 | 0:14:42 | |
It's not just speed Nifco needs from its workers. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
Selling over ?20 million parts per month, | 0:14:46 | 0:14:49 | |
the factory has a tolerance for just one defect per million. | 0:14:49 | 0:14:53 | |
These are not going to pass. | 0:14:53 | 0:14:54 | |
Going to reject them because they are not straight at all. | 0:14:54 | 0:14:57 | |
Oh, I can see that. You see? Yeah. | 0:14:57 | 0:14:58 | |
Right, I'll go and have a word with her. Thanks, Ellen. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:02 | |
Sabrina has only been working an hour | 0:15:02 | 0:15:05 | |
and she's already produced 33 defective clips. | 0:15:05 | 0:15:09 | |
Sabrina? Yes? | 0:15:09 | 0:15:10 | |
This is some of your work that's been rejected. Right. | 0:15:13 | 0:15:16 | |
You can see, no way can they go. They're not even straight. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:20 | |
Because I'm going quicker, I'm not doing it properly. Then you need... | 0:15:20 | 0:15:24 | |
If it had been your first bag, | 0:15:24 | 0:15:26 | |
I could have said because it was a new job to you. | 0:15:26 | 0:15:29 | |
But your first bag was perfect. OK. Your second bag's crap. Right. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:33 | |
All right, thank you. Thank you. | 0:15:33 | 0:15:35 | |
Oh, how can I be one of the lowest and I think I've been quick at it? | 0:15:37 | 0:15:40 | |
Focus, concentrate. Not rush. | 0:15:43 | 0:15:45 | |
Warehouse worker Majka has produced 498 perfect clips | 0:15:46 | 0:15:51 | |
in her first hour, more than any other worker. | 0:15:51 | 0:15:55 | |
You've picked it up very quick, actually. Yeah, very good. | 0:15:55 | 0:15:59 | |
Thank you. | 0:15:59 | 0:16:00 | |
I like this job! | 0:16:00 | 0:16:02 | |
Well, if you want a job, you know where we are. | 0:16:02 | 0:16:05 | |
At home in Wales, 38-year-old Majka's day starts at 5am, | 0:16:06 | 0:16:10 | |
when she sets off to work an eight-hour shift | 0:16:10 | 0:16:13 | |
as a forklift driver in a warehouse. | 0:16:13 | 0:16:16 | |
In my opinion, it's plenty work to do here, | 0:16:16 | 0:16:19 | |
only everything is for the minimum wage. | 0:16:19 | 0:16:22 | |
Nine years ago, she and her partner moved here from Poland | 0:16:22 | 0:16:25 | |
to build a better future for their daughter, Yulia. | 0:16:25 | 0:16:28 | |
Since then, Majka's always been on minimum wage. | 0:16:28 | 0:16:31 | |
When I ask them about to pay me more, they say, | 0:16:31 | 0:16:34 | |
"If you don't like it, the pay what we give you, | 0:16:34 | 0:16:37 | |
"you can find other job." | 0:16:37 | 0:16:39 | |
So, that's why I stopped asking about paying more. | 0:16:39 | 0:16:42 | |
Potato pancake? Yes, please. | 0:16:44 | 0:16:46 | |
After work and at weekends, | 0:16:46 | 0:16:48 | |
Majka helps out at her partner's Polish restaurant. | 0:16:48 | 0:16:52 | |
I hardly ever see my mum just chill. | 0:16:52 | 0:16:54 | |
She has this thing where she hates when something is not in its place, | 0:16:54 | 0:16:59 | |
like the dishes. | 0:16:59 | 0:17:00 | |
She can't go to the bed without the dishes being done. | 0:17:00 | 0:17:03 | |
Even if there's a fork or a knife in the dishes, | 0:17:03 | 0:17:06 | |
she has to do it, otherwise she cannot sleep. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:09 | |
Yulia for me is all my life, that is my sunshine, | 0:17:09 | 0:17:12 | |
that is one thing why I want to live in this world, why I'm fighting. | 0:17:12 | 0:17:17 | |
Everything is Yulia. | 0:17:18 | 0:17:20 | |
Splash. | 0:17:20 | 0:17:22 | |
I want a bakery when I grow up. No, no, no. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:25 | |
You must be something high. Make a better life for you. | 0:17:25 | 0:17:29 | |
For me, it's very important to have Yulia financial security. | 0:17:30 | 0:17:35 | |
I think that all parents want for their child. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:38 | |
I hope she don't finish like me | 0:17:40 | 0:17:42 | |
in the same warehouse for the minimum wage. | 0:17:42 | 0:17:44 | |
How are we doing? Hello, Mike. All right? Yes. | 0:17:46 | 0:17:49 | |
Managing director Mike started out here 30 years ago | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
as an apprentice tool-maker | 0:17:52 | 0:17:54 | |
but soon worked his way out of minimum wage. | 0:17:54 | 0:17:58 | |
So, could you see yourself doing this for a living? Yes, I can. | 0:17:58 | 0:18:01 | |
If you want me, I can join. | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
You know, our colleagues start with the jobs like this. Yes. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
Then they move to more difficult jobs, and if they do | 0:18:06 | 0:18:08 | |
a good job of that, eventually they become team leaders, supervisors. | 0:18:08 | 0:18:13 | |
I think that is a good idea. Yes. | 0:18:13 | 0:18:16 | |
Not a lot of factories do it like that style of work. | 0:18:16 | 0:18:20 | |
Companies like this are the exception, | 0:18:22 | 0:18:24 | |
as in the UK, over a decade, | 0:18:24 | 0:18:26 | |
only one in four low-paid workers progressed up the pay scale. | 0:18:26 | 0:18:29 | |
So, is low pay a trap you can't get out of? | 0:18:39 | 0:18:43 | |
Mark Beatson of the | 0:18:43 | 0:18:44 | |
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is worried. | 0:18:44 | 0:18:47 | |
I think the concern in the UK context would simply be that | 0:18:48 | 0:18:51 | |
we have lots of low-paid jobs, but are we generating the routes, | 0:18:51 | 0:18:55 | |
the progression routes out of those low-paid jobs into better paid jobs? | 0:18:55 | 0:18:59 | |
What we have seen is that less and less employers have | 0:18:59 | 0:19:02 | |
what used to be called internal labour markets. | 0:19:02 | 0:19:04 | |
I mean, the police force and the fire service | 0:19:04 | 0:19:07 | |
might be the classic example. | 0:19:07 | 0:19:08 | |
You start off at the bottom, | 0:19:08 | 0:19:10 | |
you work your way up to the top and people move up that pyramid. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:14 | |
More often now, if you're looking to recruit a new manager, | 0:19:14 | 0:19:17 | |
you don't simply look around at the people already there and think | 0:19:17 | 0:19:20 | |
which is the best person to appoint, you may well go outside as well. | 0:19:20 | 0:19:23 | |
What that means, of course, is that you don't need to invest in | 0:19:23 | 0:19:26 | |
your current workforce to develop your future one, | 0:19:26 | 0:19:29 | |
you can simply go out and buy it on the external market. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:31 | |
So, a lot of managers just don't make the best use they've got | 0:19:31 | 0:19:34 | |
of the workforce available to them. Why is that? | 0:19:34 | 0:19:37 | |
We have a very flexible labour market. | 0:19:37 | 0:19:39 | |
It's easy for employers to find people | 0:19:39 | 0:19:41 | |
to do the types of jobs they want at the sort of pay they want. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:44 | |
And so, there aren't a lot of incentives often for employers | 0:19:44 | 0:19:47 | |
to think about how can I create better, more highly-skilled jobs? | 0:19:47 | 0:19:51 | |
So, if you go into a low-paid job, are you going to be stuck there? | 0:19:51 | 0:19:55 | |
I think that is the danger. | 0:19:55 | 0:19:57 | |
Back at the car part factory and the workers are starting | 0:19:58 | 0:20:00 | |
the second half of their shift. | 0:20:00 | 0:20:02 | |
You've got ten minutes | 0:20:02 | 0:20:03 | |
to get a feel of the job that you're going to be doing. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
They're learning how to assemble a bracket | 0:20:06 | 0:20:08 | |
that guides the opening and closing of car rear windows. | 0:20:08 | 0:20:12 | |
It's very difficult, you've got to really concentrate. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:14 | |
It's a 10-step process that involves sticking five foam strips. | 0:20:14 | 0:20:18 | |
Close to the edge but not over it. | 0:20:18 | 0:20:20 | |
Connecting two corner sections together... | 0:20:20 | 0:20:23 | |
Think of it as a jigsaw puzzle. Yeah, so these ones. | 0:20:23 | 0:20:25 | |
No, other way. If you think... | 0:20:25 | 0:20:27 | |
Hold on. ..and attaching a metal arm with a screwdriver. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:31 | |
And just place them there, darl. That's it. | 0:20:33 | 0:20:35 | |
It's a hard task. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:38 | |
First one has been easy peasy. Now, quite worried. | 0:20:38 | 0:20:42 | |
Experienced workers are expected to produce between 38 | 0:20:44 | 0:20:48 | |
and 47 corner covers an hour. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:51 | |
It's the most complex job done by humans on the assembly line. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:55 | |
I think everyone's worried about it, yeah. | 0:20:55 | 0:20:58 | |
Might be going home, might be going home. | 0:20:58 | 0:21:00 | |
The workers have one hour | 0:21:00 | 0:21:02 | |
to complete as many corner covers as possible. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
OK, workers, it's production time, let's go. | 0:21:05 | 0:21:07 | |
At the end of their shift, productivity over both tasks | 0:21:12 | 0:21:15 | |
will be tallied up and, once again, | 0:21:15 | 0:21:18 | |
the least productive worker will be laid off. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:20 | |
I try not to miss anything. | 0:21:20 | 0:21:22 | |
But I think after the first three or four, I will be OK. | 0:21:23 | 0:21:26 | |
Ow, I keep slashing myself! | 0:21:27 | 0:21:30 | |
Bit of a fiddler, this one. | 0:21:32 | 0:21:33 | |
Very fidgety, once again. | 0:21:36 | 0:21:38 | |
With the sponges, the seals. | 0:21:38 | 0:21:40 | |
Got to get it spot on. Can't have any overhangs. | 0:21:41 | 0:21:44 | |
Yes! | 0:21:46 | 0:21:47 | |
The reason we use human labour to assemble the process here | 0:21:48 | 0:21:52 | |
is that we need the human brain and the dexterity of the fingers | 0:21:52 | 0:21:56 | |
and this is the hardest process. | 0:21:56 | 0:21:58 | |
But some people can walk off the street and hit target within a day. | 0:21:58 | 0:22:02 | |
For graphic designer Leon, there's a logic to assembling the covers. | 0:22:03 | 0:22:07 | |
Each part is very simple. | 0:22:07 | 0:22:09 | |
It does fit together, you can't put it wrong. Two holes line up. | 0:22:09 | 0:22:13 | |
Clips into the clip holes. And then clearly... | 0:22:15 | 0:22:19 | |
..it screws in there. | 0:22:19 | 0:22:21 | |
I'm not feeling the pressure. | 0:22:21 | 0:22:22 | |
The fact that I've got the hang of it quite quickly, I feel good. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:26 | |
But for agency chef Stephanie, it's much more challenging. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:30 | |
That doesn't look the same at all. | 0:22:30 | 0:22:32 | |
Don't give up, girl. Don't give up, girl. | 0:22:33 | 0:22:35 | |
Right, that goes like that, that goes like that. | 0:22:35 | 0:22:39 | |
You will do this. | 0:22:39 | 0:22:40 | |
Come on, girl. Come on, you are not, you are not going to cry. | 0:22:42 | 0:22:46 | |
You are going to do this, you can do this. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:50 | |
I don't particularly want to let Mike down | 0:22:55 | 0:22:57 | |
but I'm... Not my task. | 0:22:57 | 0:23:00 | |
I need to concentrate. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:06 | |
Stephanie is the last remaining worker in the experiment | 0:23:06 | 0:23:09 | |
who is over 50. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:11 | |
They start, come on. Go! | 0:23:11 | 0:23:13 | |
OK? Can we change this bed? We've got to get on. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:17 | |
She may have struggled with technical challenges... | 0:23:17 | 0:23:21 | |
Looking here, it's not really going too well for Stephanie. | 0:23:21 | 0:23:24 | |
..but Stephanie is fast and focused. | 0:23:24 | 0:23:26 | |
I've got sweat on my brow and I'm effective. | 0:23:28 | 0:23:32 | |
I am a happy bunny! | 0:23:32 | 0:23:34 | |
She's come top of the leaderboard three times. | 0:23:35 | 0:23:38 | |
I have a gold star again! | 0:23:38 | 0:23:41 | |
I feel absolutely amazing. | 0:23:41 | 0:23:44 | |
But this is a complex sequence of assembly and after 20 minutes, | 0:23:46 | 0:23:51 | |
Stephanie hasn't completed a single cover. | 0:23:51 | 0:23:53 | |
Stephanie? | 0:23:56 | 0:23:57 | |
What you're doing's good, the batch building, but once you build, | 0:23:57 | 0:24:01 | |
I suggest once you build a maximum of five, then assemble five. | 0:24:01 | 0:24:03 | |
I don't know what to do next. You don't know what to do next? You OK? | 0:24:03 | 0:24:07 | |
Hey, it's OK. Take some deep breaths. All right, don't worry. | 0:24:08 | 0:24:12 | |
I can't... Hey, hey! That's all... | 0:24:12 | 0:24:16 | |
Take time out. Take your time. It's OK. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:18 | |
Don't worry, all right? Don't worry, OK? | 0:24:18 | 0:24:21 | |
I got the first half, | 0:24:22 | 0:24:24 | |
I was completely mind-blown with the rest. | 0:24:24 | 0:24:27 | |
Have a look at what we've got there. I'll try and work it out. | 0:24:27 | 0:24:30 | |
And try and remember what we've got there, OK? | 0:24:30 | 0:24:32 | |
Have a look and see how things have lined up, OK? All right. | 0:24:32 | 0:24:35 | |
I'm going to try and do this. | 0:24:40 | 0:24:41 | |
I've never used one of these, we're going. | 0:24:41 | 0:24:44 | |
While Stephanie faces technical challenges, | 0:24:44 | 0:24:47 | |
Sabrina has made a mistake. | 0:24:47 | 0:24:48 | |
Hey, Sabrina. Hey, you all right? | 0:24:50 | 0:24:51 | |
Yeah, you're missing one of the BRCs off, darling. | 0:24:51 | 0:24:54 | |
I've missed them all! That one, yes. Are these them? These are the ones. | 0:24:54 | 0:24:58 | |
Right, OK. | 0:24:58 | 0:24:59 | |
Sabrina has unfortunately lost control of the process, really. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:05 | |
She didn't follow the procedure. | 0:25:05 | 0:25:07 | |
Stephanie was struggling because she forgot how to do the second process. | 0:25:07 | 0:25:11 | |
In normal production, I would have stopped both of the operators | 0:25:11 | 0:25:14 | |
from performing and I would have taken them off. | 0:25:14 | 0:25:17 | |
But let's just see if they can turn it round. | 0:25:17 | 0:25:19 | |
The workers have just quarter of an hour left to make up for lost time. | 0:25:19 | 0:25:23 | |
In my 15 minutes, | 0:25:23 | 0:25:25 | |
I'm going to make the good ones that I can and that's all I can do. | 0:25:25 | 0:25:28 | |
It's... I'm going to try and master this. | 0:25:29 | 0:25:33 | |
I've finished this one, I can get at least, minimum two. | 0:25:33 | 0:25:36 | |
Well done, that's brilliant. Thank you. Perfect. | 0:25:37 | 0:25:40 | |
OK, workers, that's the job finished! | 0:25:47 | 0:25:50 | |
Well done. Thank you. All right. Yeah? | 0:25:54 | 0:25:56 | |
What is it that you're doing that makes you do so well? | 0:26:01 | 0:26:05 | |
I like this job. I like sorted out things. | 0:26:05 | 0:26:08 | |
You know, be focused on one thing because I must do it | 0:26:08 | 0:26:11 | |
and try to do it perfectly. | 0:26:11 | 0:26:13 | |
Majka was like, da-da-da! | 0:26:13 | 0:26:16 | |
You were like... | 0:26:16 | 0:26:17 | |
You were like a robot. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:19 | |
I'm quite focused. That's the main thing. | 0:26:19 | 0:26:21 | |
OK, yeah. Where does it come from? | 0:26:21 | 0:26:23 | |
It's coming from home, from family, yeah. | 0:26:23 | 0:26:26 | |
I can see the same things for me, because, basically, I grow up to... | 0:26:26 | 0:26:31 | |
Yeah, with that, as normal. It's what you do normally. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:34 | |
I would say British people work just as hard as any other nation. | 0:26:45 | 0:26:49 | |
But the type of work and the type of jobs that we actually go for, | 0:26:49 | 0:26:53 | |
I think that's a factor. | 0:26:53 | 0:26:54 | |
'So, have our expectations of the jobs we want to do changed?' | 0:26:56 | 0:27:00 | |
Are we too comfortable, are we too wealthy? | 0:27:00 | 0:27:04 | |
Are we too used to just doing jobs | 0:27:04 | 0:27:06 | |
that involve sitting at an office desk | 0:27:06 | 0:27:08 | |
and we just don't want to do hard graft? | 0:27:08 | 0:27:10 | |
I think we've lost an understanding of the importance of manufacturing, | 0:27:10 | 0:27:15 | |
engineering, making things. | 0:27:15 | 0:27:17 | |
You know, we've got the celebrity culture, | 0:27:17 | 0:27:19 | |
we've got people thinking service industries is the only way. | 0:27:19 | 0:27:23 | |
In my simple analysis, to make money, you got to buy materials, | 0:27:23 | 0:27:27 | |
make other things and sell those things at a profit. | 0:27:27 | 0:27:29 | |
And that is, for me, the fundamental wealth creator. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:32 | |
And we need more wealth creation in this country. | 0:27:32 | 0:27:35 | |
The workers are heading back to the factory | 0:27:36 | 0:27:38 | |
where they'll be paid for their shift. | 0:27:38 | 0:27:40 | |
Another challenging job, you've all worked very hard, | 0:27:47 | 0:27:50 | |
so I would like to give you your wages. Sabrina. | 0:27:50 | 0:27:54 | |
The workers have been paid a rate of ?7.35 an hour before tax, | 0:27:54 | 0:27:59 | |
65p above the pre-April minimum wage. | 0:27:59 | 0:28:02 | |
Leon? Can I have a job? | 0:28:02 | 0:28:04 | |
It was to nice get more than the minimum wage. | 0:28:05 | 0:28:07 | |
I probably didn't deserve it. You know, after the sticker incident. | 0:28:07 | 0:28:11 | |
But I did make up for it in the second part. | 0:28:11 | 0:28:13 | |
When I see it today, my payslip, I have been surprised and happy | 0:28:13 | 0:28:17 | |
because I think that is exactly good money for our work. | 0:28:17 | 0:28:21 | |
So, who has aptitude for the assembly line? | 0:28:28 | 0:28:31 | |
Individual productivity data has been collated | 0:28:32 | 0:28:35 | |
and sent to Mike to analyse. | 0:28:35 | 0:28:37 | |
A lot of people would think they are very simple tasks, | 0:28:37 | 0:28:40 | |
but, you know what, there's a lot of skill involved in these jobs. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:43 | |
This graph shows their productivity | 0:28:44 | 0:28:46 | |
in terms of reaching expected output. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:48 | |
The two best workers hit 65% of their targets. | 0:28:48 | 0:28:52 | |
The people at the top of the leaderboard have showed | 0:28:52 | 0:28:55 | |
great work attitude, great speed, great dexterity | 0:28:55 | 0:28:59 | |
and if you bring all that together, it gives you a really great worker. | 0:28:59 | 0:29:03 | |
The least productive worker really struggled, | 0:29:03 | 0:29:06 | |
producing only 29% of the target output. | 0:29:06 | 0:29:10 | |
They just couldn't cope with the consistency and the accuracy | 0:29:10 | 0:29:14 | |
that was required to do these repetitive tasks. | 0:29:14 | 0:29:16 | |
HORN BLARES | 0:29:27 | 0:29:29 | |
Aw! Stephanie. | 0:29:34 | 0:29:36 | |
'In the low-paid sector, you are a pair of hands.' | 0:29:40 | 0:29:45 | |
I didn't perform, I wouldn't have expected | 0:29:45 | 0:29:48 | |
to go back there another day because it wasn't my task. | 0:29:48 | 0:29:51 | |
When I see the board, I am on first, so I was like, "Wow." | 0:29:54 | 0:29:58 | |
'I'm happy with that. I think' | 0:29:58 | 0:30:01 | |
that is the result of my hard work. | 0:30:01 | 0:30:03 | |
We're now eight days into the experiment | 0:30:06 | 0:30:08 | |
and the six remaining workers face their next job. | 0:30:08 | 0:30:11 | |
It's also in manufacturing but this time requires | 0:30:11 | 0:30:14 | |
a far greater level of skill. | 0:30:14 | 0:30:16 | |
In this part of our factory, | 0:30:16 | 0:30:18 | |
the workers will be entering the world of textiles. | 0:30:18 | 0:30:21 | |
Now, due to global competition from the Far East, | 0:30:21 | 0:30:24 | |
jobs in this sector have reduced by 80% over the last 30 years. | 0:30:24 | 0:30:28 | |
At its peak in the 1970s, | 0:30:30 | 0:30:32 | |
Britain's textile industry employed almost a million people. | 0:30:32 | 0:30:36 | |
But as international trade barriers came down, | 0:30:36 | 0:30:39 | |
production moved east to countries where wages are significantly lower. | 0:30:39 | 0:30:43 | |
Now there are just 100,000 textile jobs left in Britain. | 0:30:45 | 0:30:49 | |
And with no comparative technological advantage, | 0:30:49 | 0:30:51 | |
workers compete head-to-head with their foreign counterparts. | 0:30:51 | 0:30:55 | |
Good morning, everybody. | 0:30:55 | 0:30:57 | |
You are about to enter the world, | 0:30:57 | 0:30:59 | |
the globally competitive world, of the rag trade. | 0:30:59 | 0:31:02 | |
You know how it works. | 0:31:04 | 0:31:05 | |
The least productive out of you will not be returning to work tomorrow. | 0:31:05 | 0:31:10 | |
Your next job is through those doors. Good luck to you all. | 0:31:10 | 0:31:13 | |
Yeah, let's go. | 0:31:13 | 0:31:14 | |
Oh, no! Oh, my God! No! | 0:31:16 | 0:31:20 | |
Sewing! It's sewing! | 0:31:20 | 0:31:22 | |
They'll be making cushion covers from rolls of patterned material... | 0:31:32 | 0:31:35 | |
Wow! ..and stuffing them with fibre. | 0:31:35 | 0:31:38 | |
I'm slightly worried about this one. This is a strange one. | 0:31:38 | 0:31:42 | |
I'll be fine. | 0:31:42 | 0:31:43 | |
The thing is I just have to have a bit more faith in myself. | 0:31:43 | 0:31:46 | |
There are three machines to master, an overlocker to hem the fabric... | 0:31:46 | 0:31:50 | |
That's totally out of my thing. | 0:31:50 | 0:31:53 | |
..a sewing machine to stitch it together... | 0:31:53 | 0:31:55 | |
I'm going to be absolutely awful in this. | 0:31:55 | 0:31:57 | |
..and an industrial filler to stuff the cushions. | 0:31:57 | 0:32:00 | |
Just slide it into the hole, just go...drrr! | 0:32:00 | 0:32:02 | |
This is a highly skilled job that can take up to six months to learn. | 0:32:02 | 0:32:07 | |
I'm a bit nervous. This is probably the most challenging one. | 0:32:07 | 0:32:10 | |
Each worker has been allocated their own distinct design. | 0:32:10 | 0:32:14 | |
To be honest, I don't like much cats. I prefer dogs. | 0:32:15 | 0:32:18 | |
We've got panels. Pull them towards you. | 0:32:20 | 0:32:23 | |
After cutting out the back and the front of the cushion... | 0:32:23 | 0:32:26 | |
Follow the lines all the time. | 0:32:26 | 0:32:27 | |
..they must hem the edges to prevent fraying | 0:32:29 | 0:32:33 | |
and stitch the two panels together, back to front. | 0:32:33 | 0:32:36 | |
Going to leave a seven-inch gap in the middle. You guess that yourself. | 0:32:37 | 0:32:41 | |
Then they must turn the cushion inside out, | 0:32:42 | 0:32:46 | |
fill with stuffing... | 0:32:46 | 0:32:47 | |
It's got to be 30 or 31. | 0:32:47 | 0:32:49 | |
..and last of all, neatly close up the hole. | 0:32:50 | 0:32:53 | |
Then aside. | 0:32:54 | 0:32:55 | |
I've never used a sewing machine before. I'm actually a bit nervous. | 0:33:02 | 0:33:06 | |
They've got just five hours to make as many cushions | 0:33:06 | 0:33:09 | |
that meet retail standards as they can. | 0:33:09 | 0:33:12 | |
Picked baking over sewing at school, so... | 0:33:12 | 0:33:14 | |
I wish I took sewing now. | 0:33:14 | 0:33:16 | |
And while the workers won't be expected to reach | 0:33:17 | 0:33:20 | |
industry standards, | 0:33:20 | 0:33:21 | |
it will be a daunting test of their precision, patience | 0:33:21 | 0:33:24 | |
and attention to detail. | 0:33:24 | 0:33:26 | |
Go for it. | 0:33:27 | 0:33:28 | |
This type of cushion retails in supermarkets for just ?5, | 0:33:32 | 0:33:36 | |
so profit margins are tight, | 0:33:36 | 0:33:38 | |
but customers still expect good value for money. | 0:33:38 | 0:33:41 | |
I do not know how to cut fabric. | 0:33:42 | 0:33:44 | |
Tony Caldeira runs Britain's biggest cushion producer | 0:33:47 | 0:33:50 | |
and he and his team of production supervisors are on hand | 0:33:50 | 0:33:54 | |
to make sure every cushion meets retail standards. | 0:33:54 | 0:33:57 | |
To be good at this job, you need to be fast and accurate. | 0:33:57 | 0:34:00 | |
But most of all, you've got to get the quality right, | 0:34:00 | 0:34:03 | |
so attention to detail | 0:34:03 | 0:34:04 | |
is really important. | 0:34:04 | 0:34:05 | |
The only worker who has any previous experience is Majka, | 0:34:06 | 0:34:09 | |
who trained as a tailor. | 0:34:09 | 0:34:11 | |
I have experience, only because I finished the school, | 0:34:11 | 0:34:14 | |
only I don't use a lot. | 0:34:14 | 0:34:17 | |
But she hasn't worked as a seamstress for over 20 years. | 0:34:17 | 0:34:20 | |
A little bit stressed now, only I must take deep breath, | 0:34:22 | 0:34:26 | |
chill out, keep going. | 0:34:26 | 0:34:27 | |
It's the next bit I'm pretty nervous about. | 0:34:30 | 0:34:33 | |
26-year-old farm hand Berwyn is first off the cutting table. | 0:34:35 | 0:34:38 | |
I stitch animals at home, if we've had an accident or anything. | 0:34:41 | 0:34:45 | |
That seems to be a bit easier than this, to be honest. | 0:34:46 | 0:34:49 | |
As a child growing up in Wales, | 0:34:54 | 0:34:56 | |
Berwyn's ambition was to run his own farm. | 0:34:56 | 0:34:58 | |
I was in an agricultural college, ten miles down the road. | 0:34:59 | 0:35:03 | |
And I had to leave it and in my second year, | 0:35:03 | 0:35:06 | |
just to come and work just because my mother passed away. | 0:35:06 | 0:35:10 | |
We had bills to pay. So, it was really, really hard times. | 0:35:10 | 0:35:14 | |
One thing we haven't got is a shortage of stone. No, that's good. | 0:35:14 | 0:35:19 | |
At just 17, Berwyn started working full-time | 0:35:20 | 0:35:23 | |
as a casual farm labourer for minimum wage. | 0:35:23 | 0:35:26 | |
Everybody in this area gives him the odd day | 0:35:26 | 0:35:30 | |
because he's a good lad, because he's an honest lad. | 0:35:30 | 0:35:34 | |
But Berwyn's future is anything but secure. | 0:35:36 | 0:35:39 | |
Very uncertain. | 0:35:39 | 0:35:40 | |
Like tomorrow, I may wake up and there's no work. | 0:35:40 | 0:35:43 | |
I won't be fussy, I'd go out there and do anything, | 0:35:45 | 0:35:48 | |
cleaning drains, anything. | 0:35:48 | 0:35:49 | |
Berwyn grew up in a low-wage household. | 0:35:50 | 0:35:53 | |
His single mum worked as a seamstress | 0:35:53 | 0:35:55 | |
in a local clothing factory. | 0:35:55 | 0:35:57 | |
Every day, the thoughts are in my head, like, you know, | 0:35:57 | 0:36:00 | |
thinking about my mam. | 0:36:00 | 0:36:01 | |
'She was a hard, hard working person.' | 0:36:01 | 0:36:04 | |
She worked all of her life, she had to. | 0:36:04 | 0:36:07 | |
'I used to see my mum sew stuff, sew our clothes, | 0:36:07 | 0:36:11 | |
'fill the holes in, put patches on our jeans.' | 0:36:11 | 0:36:13 | |
But despite having sewing in his blood, | 0:36:16 | 0:36:19 | |
it appears Berwyn isn't a natural. | 0:36:19 | 0:36:21 | |
Ah! Look what I've done. | 0:36:21 | 0:36:24 | |
Look what I've done. | 0:36:24 | 0:36:25 | |
So, that one's supposed to be... | 0:36:28 | 0:36:30 | |
For instance, that one's supposed to be like that. | 0:36:30 | 0:36:32 | |
So, they're inside out, then. Attention to detail. | 0:36:35 | 0:36:39 | |
And Berwyn's not alone. | 0:36:39 | 0:36:41 | |
It's like a hanky, isn't it? | 0:36:41 | 0:36:43 | |
Sabrina is also struggling to make heads or tails of her cushions. | 0:36:46 | 0:36:50 | |
I've just realised I've done it wrong. | 0:36:52 | 0:36:54 | |
I've...! | 0:36:55 | 0:36:57 | |
I've stitched two back to front. | 0:36:57 | 0:37:00 | |
Wish I'd spent a bit more time with my nannan now. | 0:37:00 | 0:37:03 | |
I would have benefited! | 0:37:03 | 0:37:05 | |
Today, more than half the people working in the UK textile industry | 0:37:06 | 0:37:10 | |
are over 45 years old, | 0:37:10 | 0:37:12 | |
like machinist Pam, who has decades of experience in the business. | 0:37:12 | 0:37:17 | |
I've been doing it since I was 15 | 0:37:17 | 0:37:19 | |
and I'm 58 now. Wow. | 0:37:19 | 0:37:21 | |
So, a very long time. | 0:37:21 | 0:37:23 | |
So, if someone came to you with no experience and said, | 0:37:23 | 0:37:26 | |
"I want to learn how to sew," would you guys train them up? | 0:37:26 | 0:37:28 | |
Thing is these days, there's no training schools. | 0:37:28 | 0:37:32 | |
Because what happened was they took all the work from here, | 0:37:32 | 0:37:37 | |
from England, to abroad because it was a lot cheaper. | 0:37:37 | 0:37:41 | |
So, really, we like to take on experienced people. | 0:37:41 | 0:37:44 | |
What's your working hours like? | 0:37:44 | 0:37:46 | |
Monday to Thursday, 8 till 5 and on a Friday, it's 8 to 3:30. | 0:37:46 | 0:37:52 | |
Minimum wage. | 0:37:52 | 0:37:53 | |
Do you not get bonus on how many cushions you make? | 0:37:53 | 0:37:56 | |
Well, if say like you do 90 an hour, it's ?3.30 for 30 cushions, | 0:37:56 | 0:38:01 | |
and you do 90, you'd be on ?9-odd an hour. | 0:38:01 | 0:38:04 | |
You have to work very, very hard, | 0:38:04 | 0:38:06 | |
it's not easy and it is a very skilled job. | 0:38:06 | 0:38:08 | |
Knowing that they get minimum wage doing this, I don't understand. | 0:38:10 | 0:38:15 | |
It should be at least above minimum wage. | 0:38:15 | 0:38:17 | |
The employment trend in the British textile industry | 0:38:19 | 0:38:22 | |
is slowly reversing, | 0:38:22 | 0:38:23 | |
with a possible 15,000 new jobs predicted before 2020. | 0:38:23 | 0:38:28 | |
But although skilled workers are in short supply, | 0:38:28 | 0:38:31 | |
pay in this sector remains the lowest in British manufacturing. | 0:38:31 | 0:38:35 | |
Talk to me about the workers. | 0:38:35 | 0:38:36 | |
Yesterday, they were in a factory doing a very basic job | 0:38:36 | 0:38:40 | |
and yet they were getting paid more. | 0:38:40 | 0:38:41 | |
Over ?7 an hour compared to what your workers do, | 0:38:41 | 0:38:44 | |
which is a skilled job. How is that? | 0:38:44 | 0:38:47 | |
We are in a globally competitive environment. | 0:38:47 | 0:38:49 | |
We're competing against countries like China and India | 0:38:49 | 0:38:52 | |
and Pakistan and Bangladesh, so whereas we want to pay our workers | 0:38:52 | 0:38:56 | |
as much as we can, our customers want to give their customers | 0:38:56 | 0:39:00 | |
the best price in the high street. | 0:39:00 | 0:39:02 | |
That's the reality of manufacturing in this country, isn't it? | 0:39:02 | 0:39:05 | |
Things are starting to change in the fact that | 0:39:05 | 0:39:07 | |
a lot of the manufacturing that went abroad is now starting to come back. | 0:39:07 | 0:39:11 | |
Why is that? | 0:39:11 | 0:39:12 | |
Chinese prices are now going up much more quickly than prices in the UK. | 0:39:12 | 0:39:17 | |
So, Britain is getting more competitive | 0:39:17 | 0:39:19 | |
with every year that goes past. | 0:39:19 | 0:39:20 | |
Will Britain ever be able to go back to the heyday of manufacturing? | 0:39:20 | 0:39:24 | |
We're never going to get back to where we had 30% of the UK workforce | 0:39:24 | 0:39:27 | |
employed in factories and in manufacturing, | 0:39:27 | 0:39:30 | |
that's never going to happen. | 0:39:30 | 0:39:31 | |
But I think most consumers out there would rather buy a cushion | 0:39:31 | 0:39:34 | |
that was made in England than made in India or China. | 0:39:34 | 0:39:36 | |
Do you think they do? The consumer really cares where it's made? | 0:39:36 | 0:39:39 | |
Surely what they want | 0:39:39 | 0:39:40 | |
is the cheapest possible cushion they can get? | 0:39:40 | 0:39:43 | |
Some people will always want the best price and will want a bargain, | 0:39:43 | 0:39:45 | |
of course they will, that's human nature. | 0:39:45 | 0:39:47 | |
But what we need to do is differentiate our product - | 0:39:47 | 0:39:50 | |
better design, better quality, better service - | 0:39:50 | 0:39:52 | |
and as a result of that, we can survive | 0:39:52 | 0:39:54 | |
and not only survive, but we can thrive. | 0:39:54 | 0:39:56 | |
An hour into their shift. | 0:39:58 | 0:39:59 | |
32-year-old graphic designer Leon is yet to complete a cushion. | 0:40:01 | 0:40:06 | |
Another hole. Agh! | 0:40:06 | 0:40:10 | |
My approach to things, if someone else can do it, I can do it. | 0:40:10 | 0:40:12 | |
Everybody has the ability to apply themselves well | 0:40:12 | 0:40:15 | |
and that's what I aim for. | 0:40:15 | 0:40:17 | |
I'll get there. | 0:40:17 | 0:40:18 | |
I knew it'd be a slow start, but I'll get there. | 0:40:18 | 0:40:20 | |
Four years ago, Leon finished a degree in graphic design | 0:40:23 | 0:40:27 | |
and since graduating, has been working for himself. | 0:40:27 | 0:40:31 | |
Being a freelance designer, it might sound glamorous. | 0:40:31 | 0:40:34 | |
But it's not glamorous. | 0:40:36 | 0:40:38 | |
The hours that I actually put in just to get products finished | 0:40:38 | 0:40:43 | |
and the pay is not great. | 0:40:43 | 0:40:45 | |
Last year... | 0:40:45 | 0:40:47 | |
..it was just over 10,000, ?10,000 last year, | 0:40:47 | 0:40:50 | |
and that was my first year of freelancing. | 0:40:50 | 0:40:53 | |
The advantage of being self-employed | 0:40:54 | 0:40:56 | |
is that it allows Leon to fit work... | 0:40:56 | 0:40:58 | |
Are you ready? | 0:40:58 | 0:40:59 | |
..around his parenting responsibilities. | 0:40:59 | 0:41:02 | |
You know what lessons you got today? Yeah, I've got English. | 0:41:03 | 0:41:06 | |
And Science, your favourite, isn't it? Yeah, OK. | 0:41:06 | 0:41:08 | |
When Amani was born, I was 20, or 19, nearly 20. | 0:41:10 | 0:41:16 | |
As a single father, it was a whole different responsibility. | 0:41:16 | 0:41:21 | |
You have to change quick. | 0:41:21 | 0:41:22 | |
It's ready. | 0:41:23 | 0:41:25 | |
Because I was in work and I would earn money and I could do | 0:41:25 | 0:41:27 | |
whatever I want with it, I could be out the weekend, do this - | 0:41:27 | 0:41:30 | |
I didn't want to come home, I don't come home. But that changes. | 0:41:30 | 0:41:33 | |
What's this? | 0:41:33 | 0:41:34 | |
What is that? I don't know, can't see it. | 0:41:36 | 0:41:39 | |
Oh, when I fell over. | 0:41:39 | 0:41:41 | |
You should have told me. Could have just put it in the wash. | 0:41:41 | 0:41:44 | |
You know? It's like you actually have a child to look after, | 0:41:44 | 0:41:47 | |
you have a responsibility. | 0:41:47 | 0:41:49 | |
I'll make them changes for you... | 0:41:49 | 0:41:50 | |
Getting his business off the ground has been hard work. | 0:41:50 | 0:41:53 | |
All right, I'll speak to you later. | 0:41:53 | 0:41:55 | |
And Leon is all too aware | 0:41:55 | 0:41:56 | |
of how precarious his financial situation is. | 0:41:56 | 0:41:59 | |
Things could go wrong tomorrow. | 0:41:59 | 0:42:01 | |
I might not get a phone call or e-mail saying there's another job. | 0:42:01 | 0:42:04 | |
And if that happens, then I have to be prepared to go back to work. | 0:42:04 | 0:42:08 | |
And if it is just a low-paid job, then I'll just have to accept it. | 0:42:08 | 0:42:12 | |
Whoop! | 0:42:14 | 0:42:15 | |
But low-paid work comes with its own challenges. | 0:42:16 | 0:42:19 | |
Each cushion must weigh no more than 31g. | 0:42:25 | 0:42:28 | |
Which is easier said than done. | 0:42:30 | 0:42:32 | |
Funny old machine. | 0:42:35 | 0:42:36 | |
First one done. | 0:42:41 | 0:42:43 | |
Leon, Stewart, Majka and Berwyn have all finished cushions | 0:42:43 | 0:42:48 | |
and quality control are checking their work, starting with Berwyn. | 0:42:48 | 0:42:52 | |
All the seam's showing here. | 0:42:52 | 0:42:55 | |
There's a hole in it. | 0:42:55 | 0:42:57 | |
All these first three are all failed. | 0:42:57 | 0:42:59 | |
Berwyn? | 0:43:00 | 0:43:01 | |
You need to watch your holes in your cushion. OK. | 0:43:03 | 0:43:07 | |
If you're on here and you see a hole in it... Go back? | 0:43:07 | 0:43:10 | |
Go back and do it, don't throw it in your box. | 0:43:10 | 0:43:13 | |
Just fix it, OK? | 0:43:13 | 0:43:15 | |
I've always thought that sewing is women's work. | 0:43:15 | 0:43:18 | |
I'm not being sexist, no, | 0:43:18 | 0:43:20 | |
but I don't think I have what it takes in this industry. | 0:43:20 | 0:43:23 | |
Erm, as I say, I'm a farmer. | 0:43:24 | 0:43:27 | |
As in I don't belong on this machine. | 0:43:27 | 0:43:30 | |
They've been working for an hour and a half, but Martin and Sabrina | 0:43:32 | 0:43:35 | |
have yet to finish a cushion. | 0:43:35 | 0:43:37 | |
I'm struggling. So for example now, I'm not sure how to take it out. | 0:43:37 | 0:43:41 | |
I think I remember, though, all the instruction, but... | 0:43:43 | 0:43:47 | |
As you can see, I have been struggling with that. | 0:43:48 | 0:43:50 | |
I mean, someone has to be on the bottom! | 0:43:52 | 0:43:54 | |
Oh, Martin. | 0:43:56 | 0:43:57 | |
No work in the box yet. | 0:43:57 | 0:43:59 | |
But... | 0:43:59 | 0:44:01 | |
He's struggling, the poor lad. | 0:44:01 | 0:44:02 | |
He'll get there. | 0:44:02 | 0:44:04 | |
Two hours into the shift... | 0:44:06 | 0:44:08 | |
I don't think anything's coming out of it! | 0:44:08 | 0:44:11 | |
..and Sabrina is about to finish her first cushion. | 0:44:11 | 0:44:14 | |
Or maybe not! SHE LAUGHS | 0:44:15 | 0:44:19 | |
In a bit. | 0:44:19 | 0:44:20 | |
Press that down with your elbow, when you're holding that. | 0:44:21 | 0:44:25 | |
How do you get it off? | 0:44:27 | 0:44:29 | |
I've finished my first one. | 0:44:32 | 0:44:33 | |
You'd buy that, wouldn't you? | 0:44:35 | 0:44:37 | |
The first half of their shift is over. | 0:44:40 | 0:44:42 | |
What matters now is not how many cushions they've made, | 0:44:42 | 0:44:45 | |
but how many pass quality control. | 0:44:45 | 0:44:47 | |
HORN BLARES | 0:44:51 | 0:44:53 | |
The mid-shift results put Sabrina at the bottom of the leaderboard | 0:44:58 | 0:45:02 | |
and trained tailor Majka at the top. | 0:45:02 | 0:45:04 | |
I don't have any secret to success. | 0:45:05 | 0:45:07 | |
Like all my work, I never do the rush. | 0:45:07 | 0:45:09 | |
I always slow down when I'm nervous, so deep breath and keep going. | 0:45:09 | 0:45:14 | |
So, I try the best I can. | 0:45:14 | 0:45:16 | |
She's a professional, | 0:45:20 | 0:45:21 | |
she can use a sewing machine as well as any of the girls in the factory | 0:45:21 | 0:45:24 | |
and I'd take her on tomorrow if you give me the chance. | 0:45:24 | 0:45:27 | |
The way she handles the fabric is just like a professional. | 0:45:27 | 0:45:30 | |
Hot on Majka's heels in second place is an absolute beginner. | 0:45:30 | 0:45:35 | |
That's wrong. That's wrong! | 0:45:35 | 0:45:39 | |
Berwyn made six cushions, two of them passed quality control. | 0:45:39 | 0:45:43 | |
It really shocks me, that. Absolutely shocks me. | 0:45:44 | 0:45:46 | |
Obviously, I'm really happy with that, but... | 0:45:46 | 0:45:49 | |
I know, it's really shocked me. | 0:45:52 | 0:45:54 | |
As in I thought I'd done very, very poor. | 0:45:54 | 0:45:57 | |
Over the same time period, | 0:45:58 | 0:45:59 | |
a professional could produce a 24 perfect cushions. | 0:45:59 | 0:46:03 | |
Sabrina, Leon and Martin, in joint last place, | 0:46:03 | 0:46:07 | |
didn't make a single one. | 0:46:07 | 0:46:08 | |
That doesn't change a thing. The result doesn't change a thing. | 0:46:10 | 0:46:13 | |
I never give up, I'm Bulgarian. | 0:46:14 | 0:46:16 | |
Oh, you are kidding me! | 0:46:17 | 0:46:19 | |
Leon managed to produce five cushions, | 0:46:19 | 0:46:22 | |
but none passed quality control. | 0:46:22 | 0:46:26 | |
Well, I have to be more focused. | 0:46:26 | 0:46:28 | |
We're three people at the bottom. | 0:46:28 | 0:46:30 | |
With the leaderboard, some people can hack it and some people can't. | 0:46:33 | 0:46:36 | |
That's just human nature. | 0:46:36 | 0:46:39 | |
I'm quite a competitive person. | 0:46:39 | 0:46:41 | |
If you're at the bottom, you need to overcome that somehow. | 0:46:41 | 0:46:45 | |
Can I do better? All right, let me go and do better, you know. | 0:46:45 | 0:46:49 | |
Hopefully this one. Hopefully. | 0:46:49 | 0:46:52 | |
He's got his teeth into it. | 0:46:52 | 0:46:53 | |
He's picked up the pace, but more importantly, | 0:46:53 | 0:46:56 | |
he didn't allow himself to be beaten. | 0:46:56 | 0:46:59 | |
His positive mental attitude carried him through and got him going again. | 0:46:59 | 0:47:02 | |
While Leon has put his failure behind him, | 0:47:04 | 0:47:07 | |
coming bottom doesn't sit well with Sabrina. | 0:47:07 | 0:47:10 | |
I've not made one! | 0:47:10 | 0:47:12 | |
You're trying your best, you just feel useless, don't you? | 0:47:12 | 0:47:15 | |
I never want to see a flipping cushion in my life again | 0:47:16 | 0:47:20 | |
after doing this. | 0:47:20 | 0:47:22 | |
They've had two hours to get up to speed. | 0:47:23 | 0:47:25 | |
Now, for the rest of the shift, | 0:47:25 | 0:47:27 | |
the workers are expected to produce at full capacity. | 0:47:27 | 0:47:30 | |
Pressure's on! | 0:47:31 | 0:47:33 | |
To help boost her output of pink cushions, | 0:47:33 | 0:47:36 | |
Sabrina is getting help from her more experienced co-worker. | 0:47:36 | 0:47:39 | |
Why the space? Because that's going to be where the thingy is. | 0:47:41 | 0:47:45 | |
No, you must sew it all together, no left that. | 0:47:45 | 0:47:49 | |
I've been very upset about Sabrina. | 0:47:49 | 0:47:51 | |
I kick her, "Sabrina, come on, you can do it, come on." | 0:47:51 | 0:47:54 | |
Shall I fill this up? | 0:47:54 | 0:47:56 | |
While Sabrina is happy with the arrangement... | 0:47:56 | 0:47:59 | |
Keep going, Majka. | 0:47:59 | 0:48:01 | |
..managing director Tony is not. | 0:48:01 | 0:48:03 | |
You're not allowed to get anybody else to help you with the cushions. | 0:48:05 | 0:48:09 | |
I'm not? | 0:48:09 | 0:48:10 | |
Oh, it's because it's faulty, she's just try to fix it, | 0:48:10 | 0:48:13 | |
but I've just told her to leave it | 0:48:13 | 0:48:15 | |
because it's faulty, you can't use it anyway. | 0:48:15 | 0:48:17 | |
Yeah, it's not going to count. Yeah, don't worry about it. | 0:48:17 | 0:48:20 | |
You need to be careful. | 0:48:20 | 0:48:21 | |
I've told her anyway, but she just wants to me carry on | 0:48:21 | 0:48:24 | |
but I will tell her. | 0:48:24 | 0:48:25 | |
Majka, he's told me that I'm not allowed to use it, | 0:48:30 | 0:48:32 | |
you have to put in the bin. | 0:48:32 | 0:48:34 | |
Never mind. She's just trying to help. | 0:48:36 | 0:48:38 | |
Final push. | 0:48:41 | 0:48:43 | |
With just one hour left of the shift, | 0:48:45 | 0:48:48 | |
Berwyn is displaying all the traits of a model machinist. | 0:48:48 | 0:48:51 | |
What's good is he's actually thinking about what he's doing. | 0:48:53 | 0:48:55 | |
He's not just a moving quickly, but he's using his brain. | 0:48:55 | 0:48:58 | |
I like that, that's good. | 0:48:58 | 0:49:00 | |
Even though I'm second, | 0:49:00 | 0:49:02 | |
erm, hopefully, I've got a chance of coming first. | 0:49:02 | 0:49:07 | |
I'm hoping to beat Majka to the top spot. | 0:49:07 | 0:49:09 | |
How are you doing? | 0:49:13 | 0:49:15 | |
See, you had the face on you before and now you're smiling. | 0:49:15 | 0:49:18 | |
So, have you changed your mind about it? | 0:49:18 | 0:49:20 | |
Would you do it? | 0:49:20 | 0:49:21 | |
Yeah, if there was nothing else on the market... | 0:49:21 | 0:49:24 | |
You'd give it a go? Definitely, definitely. | 0:49:24 | 0:49:27 | |
Well, that's an improvement. | 0:49:27 | 0:49:29 | |
While Berwyn is discovering hidden talents... | 0:49:29 | 0:49:33 | |
I'm not going to stress out over it. | 0:49:33 | 0:49:35 | |
This is a difficult task for most people to master. | 0:49:35 | 0:49:37 | |
..fish and chip shop owner Stewart is having no such luck. | 0:49:37 | 0:49:41 | |
Stewart. Just want to tell you | 0:49:41 | 0:49:43 | |
both the cushions you've done so far have failed. | 0:49:43 | 0:49:45 | |
That's sewn the wrong way and that one, you left a hole in it. | 0:49:45 | 0:49:50 | |
So, just to be careful what you're doing. | 0:49:50 | 0:49:53 | |
It's better to do them and get some right | 0:49:53 | 0:49:56 | |
than not have any in your box at the end. | 0:49:56 | 0:49:58 | |
OK? | 0:49:58 | 0:49:59 | |
With his restaurant facing an uncertain future, | 0:50:01 | 0:50:04 | |
Stewart made soon be looking for another job. | 0:50:04 | 0:50:07 | |
I would never be back on benefits, even if I lost the business. | 0:50:07 | 0:50:10 | |
I will work and I don't care what it is. | 0:50:10 | 0:50:14 | |
He's taking part in the experiment to prove | 0:50:14 | 0:50:16 | |
he has what it takes to get by in low-wage work. | 0:50:16 | 0:50:19 | |
Today, we work and we work damn hard at any cost. | 0:50:19 | 0:50:24 | |
Over the past eight days... | 0:50:24 | 0:50:26 | |
They're too short, some of them! | 0:50:26 | 0:50:28 | |
..he's shown a steely resolve. | 0:50:28 | 0:50:30 | |
Walking can get me there before they get there. | 0:50:30 | 0:50:32 | |
We're particularly impressed with Stewart's work ethic. | 0:50:32 | 0:50:35 | |
So, we'd also like to keep Stewart. | 0:50:35 | 0:50:37 | |
I saved Stuart because anybody who is willing to walk through the night | 0:50:37 | 0:50:41 | |
18 miles, he's such a hard grafter. | 0:50:41 | 0:50:43 | |
But working in some of the most arduous minimum wage jobs | 0:50:43 | 0:50:47 | |
is starting to take its toll. | 0:50:47 | 0:50:49 | |
Shoot me now, Sabrina. Shoot me. | 0:50:53 | 0:50:55 | |
Go on, Stewart. Keep going. | 0:50:57 | 0:50:58 | |
I've learned a hell of a lot about how hard all our jobs are. | 0:50:59 | 0:51:02 | |
And they are extremely difficult. | 0:51:02 | 0:51:04 | |
The likes of this, to do this for eight hours in a day | 0:51:04 | 0:51:06 | |
is seriously strenuous work. | 0:51:06 | 0:51:08 | |
'Manufacturing jobs like these are highly demanding | 0:51:11 | 0:51:14 | |
'despite their minimum wage pay packet. | 0:51:14 | 0:51:17 | |
'So, do we want more of these jobs and what are the alternatives? | 0:51:17 | 0:51:21 | |
'I've come to talk to Ryan Bourne of the Institute of Economic Affairs | 0:51:21 | 0:51:25 | |
'to see what he thinks.' | 0:51:25 | 0:51:27 | |
Should we be encouraging manufacturing back to the UK? | 0:51:27 | 0:51:29 | |
Well, there seems to be this almost fetish for manufacturing - | 0:51:29 | 0:51:32 | |
you hear it from lots of politicians and individuals | 0:51:32 | 0:51:35 | |
that we don't make stuff any more, | 0:51:35 | 0:51:36 | |
and it's just not true. | 0:51:36 | 0:51:38 | |
We do engage in lots of very high-end manufacturing activities, | 0:51:38 | 0:51:42 | |
you only have to look at the car sector and the aerospace sector. | 0:51:42 | 0:51:45 | |
Now, would it be in our interest to try and encourage | 0:51:45 | 0:51:48 | |
low-level manufacturing to compete with China and countries like that? | 0:51:48 | 0:51:52 | |
And the answer is unambiguously no. | 0:51:52 | 0:51:54 | |
These countries can do it in a much more cost-effective way | 0:51:54 | 0:51:57 | |
and it means that we get much cheaper imports of goods | 0:51:57 | 0:52:00 | |
from these countries as a result. | 0:52:00 | 0:52:02 | |
So, what's the alternative? | 0:52:02 | 0:52:04 | |
Well, many of the things that we're very good at and specialise in | 0:52:04 | 0:52:07 | |
are going to be in huge demand as China and India develop. | 0:52:07 | 0:52:10 | |
Financial services is going to be something where there's going to be | 0:52:10 | 0:52:13 | |
a huge demand for our expertise. | 0:52:13 | 0:52:15 | |
Things like educational services | 0:52:15 | 0:52:17 | |
is going to be really important as well. | 0:52:17 | 0:52:18 | |
So, you think of all of these high-end service sectors | 0:52:18 | 0:52:21 | |
and these really do seem the areas | 0:52:21 | 0:52:23 | |
where we have a huge comparative advantage, | 0:52:23 | 0:52:25 | |
we do this stuff really well and if we stick at it, | 0:52:25 | 0:52:28 | |
we can really capitalise on that engine of growth | 0:52:28 | 0:52:31 | |
that's coming from Asia. | 0:52:31 | 0:52:32 | |
We still have five million people in low-pay jobs, low-skill jobs. | 0:52:32 | 0:52:38 | |
Are we at risk of having a section of society | 0:52:38 | 0:52:41 | |
that just are completely losing out and fall through the cracks | 0:52:41 | 0:52:44 | |
as the rest of us move forward? | 0:52:44 | 0:52:46 | |
There's losers in any transition period. | 0:52:46 | 0:52:49 | |
The question from a policy maker's perspective is what do you do | 0:52:49 | 0:52:53 | |
in order to compensate some of the losers or make sure | 0:52:53 | 0:52:57 | |
that some of the losers don't fall through the cracks? | 0:52:57 | 0:52:59 | |
And that requires welfare reform, that requires education reform, | 0:52:59 | 0:53:03 | |
it means having out-of-work services responsive to people's needs | 0:53:03 | 0:53:07 | |
and individual community needs and that's all of the stuff | 0:53:07 | 0:53:10 | |
that politicians are going to need to look at in the next 10-15 years. | 0:53:10 | 0:53:14 | |
Back at the factory and the workers' experience of the rag trade | 0:53:15 | 0:53:19 | |
is almost over. | 0:53:19 | 0:53:20 | |
Bad afternoon at the office. | 0:53:23 | 0:53:25 | |
That's a fail. | 0:53:25 | 0:53:26 | |
HORN BLARES | 0:53:32 | 0:53:33 | |
Oh, Lord! | 0:53:33 | 0:53:35 | |
Right guys! That's it, job finished. | 0:53:35 | 0:53:37 | |
Hi, guys. | 0:53:49 | 0:53:50 | |
You've completed another job, so I'd like to give you your wages. | 0:53:50 | 0:53:54 | |
Leon? Thanks. | 0:53:54 | 0:53:56 | |
The workers have been paid the pre-April rate for minimum wage, | 0:53:56 | 0:54:00 | |
which was ?6.70 before tax. | 0:54:00 | 0:54:03 | |
'I didn't think there were jobs this complicated paid so low.' | 0:54:03 | 0:54:07 | |
The effort that goes into it, it's not worth the minimum wage. | 0:54:07 | 0:54:11 | |
I think it's better to pay minimum wage than not have a job. | 0:54:11 | 0:54:14 | |
'I would work for minimum wage any day of the week.' | 0:54:14 | 0:54:17 | |
A job is a job. | 0:54:17 | 0:54:18 | |
So, which of the workers could cut it in the textile industry | 0:54:20 | 0:54:23 | |
and who would come apart at the seams? | 0:54:23 | 0:54:26 | |
Mike is analysing the data from the shop floor to find out. | 0:54:26 | 0:54:30 | |
The performance of our guys just really demonstrates how tough | 0:54:30 | 0:54:34 | |
this minimum wage job really is. | 0:54:34 | 0:54:36 | |
This is a skilled job and, of course, | 0:54:36 | 0:54:38 | |
it does take time to get up to speed, | 0:54:38 | 0:54:40 | |
but we didn't expect what we saw today. | 0:54:40 | 0:54:42 | |
The difference is absolutely shocking. | 0:54:42 | 0:54:44 | |
In these factory conditions, an experienced worker | 0:54:45 | 0:54:48 | |
could produce 60 cushions over the five-hour shift. | 0:54:48 | 0:54:51 | |
Our best worker got a quarter of the way there, | 0:54:51 | 0:54:55 | |
with 16 cushions passed by quality control. | 0:54:55 | 0:54:58 | |
The person that surprised me in all of this was Berwyn. | 0:54:58 | 0:55:00 | |
He finished 12 cushions to the right quality standard. | 0:55:00 | 0:55:03 | |
That was a real shock. | 0:55:03 | 0:55:05 | |
Our least productive worker over a five-hour shift | 0:55:05 | 0:55:08 | |
got just one cushion past quality control. | 0:55:08 | 0:55:10 | |
HORN BLARES | 0:55:12 | 0:55:14 | |
Good luck, good luck. | 0:55:14 | 0:55:15 | |
Oh, never mind. | 0:55:27 | 0:55:30 | |
I honestly thought you'd caught me. | 0:55:30 | 0:55:32 | |
'I'm gutted that I'm going, but it's been a brilliant experience.' | 0:55:32 | 0:55:36 | |
I've learnt that I need to work harder than I actually am | 0:55:37 | 0:55:41 | |
to make sure that I don't do these sort of jobs | 0:55:41 | 0:55:43 | |
because I didn't enjoy them, first of all, | 0:55:43 | 0:55:45 | |
and I don't want to be like those unfortunate people | 0:55:45 | 0:55:47 | |
on minimum wage and I just want a better future for me | 0:55:47 | 0:55:50 | |
and my little boy, so I need to work harder at it. | 0:55:50 | 0:55:53 | |
Oh, I'm going to miss you all. | 0:55:55 | 0:55:57 | |
We're going to miss you too. | 0:55:57 | 0:55:58 | |
'I feel really proud for the job what I've done.' | 0:56:01 | 0:56:04 | |
So, I can't imagine what will be next. | 0:56:05 | 0:56:08 | |
A little terrified. | 0:56:11 | 0:56:12 | |
Experienced seamstress Majka may have come top of the leaderboard, | 0:56:14 | 0:56:17 | |
but novice Berwyn was only four cushions behind her. | 0:56:17 | 0:56:20 | |
In the beginning of that, I thought I'm going to fail this. | 0:56:21 | 0:56:25 | |
For some reason, halfway through, I thought, "I'm enjoying this. | 0:56:25 | 0:56:29 | |
"It's not just a woman's job. I can do this." | 0:56:29 | 0:56:32 | |
And then knowing that I came second to Majka, what can you say? | 0:56:32 | 0:56:38 | |
'I'm really, really happy. I think that my mam' | 0:56:38 | 0:56:41 | |
would be proud seeing what I've done today, | 0:56:41 | 0:56:44 | |
just because... She'd be laughing. | 0:56:44 | 0:56:46 | |
Honest to God, she would be laughing. | 0:56:46 | 0:56:49 | |
Since taking part in the experiment, | 0:56:51 | 0:56:54 | |
agency chef Stephanie has still not found full-time work. | 0:56:54 | 0:56:57 | |
But she's hopeful. | 0:56:57 | 0:56:59 | |
I am so pleased I took part. | 0:56:59 | 0:57:02 | |
I found I can work on a production line with food, | 0:57:02 | 0:57:05 | |
I did quite well on that one. | 0:57:05 | 0:57:07 | |
There must have been a seven or eight tasks | 0:57:07 | 0:57:09 | |
that I never thought I could do. | 0:57:09 | 0:57:13 | |
Now I do. | 0:57:13 | 0:57:15 | |
But her experience of the low-wage sector was not all positive. | 0:57:15 | 0:57:19 | |
I learned that there were battles that I thought had been fought | 0:57:19 | 0:57:24 | |
and won back in the '70s | 0:57:24 | 0:57:27 | |
'about employment rights and protections. | 0:57:27 | 0:57:31 | |
'They seem to have all just disappeared. | 0:57:31 | 0:57:35 | |
'It's so sad' | 0:57:35 | 0:57:36 | |
and I thought it was just in my industry and I see | 0:57:36 | 0:57:40 | |
that it's everywhere. | 0:57:40 | 0:57:42 | |
And in Sheffield, Sabrina has found herself an admin job | 0:57:43 | 0:57:47 | |
at a law firm and at night, she's studying for her law degree. | 0:57:47 | 0:57:51 | |
It's going to take me about four years, | 0:57:51 | 0:57:53 | |
four or five years to be fully qualified. | 0:57:53 | 0:57:57 | |
Because I want Ali to go to university, | 0:57:57 | 0:57:59 | |
I want him to be the best. | 0:57:59 | 0:58:01 | |
I don't want him settling for this sort of lifestyle, | 0:58:01 | 0:58:04 | |
I don't want that for him. | 0:58:04 | 0:58:05 | |
Next time... | 0:58:06 | 0:58:08 | |
Now this evening, | 0:58:08 | 0:58:09 | |
we're going to be working all through the night picking | 0:58:09 | 0:58:11 | |
and packing some of the world's finest quality fruit and vegetables. | 0:58:11 | 0:58:15 | |
..stress levels rise. | 0:58:15 | 0:58:16 | |
Where's my trolley? What have they done with it? | 0:58:16 | 0:58:18 | |
It's a big mistake. | 0:58:18 | 0:58:20 | |
As the workers endure the pressure... | 0:58:20 | 0:58:22 | |
I'm going for a five-minute break, thank you. ..and pain... | 0:58:22 | 0:58:26 | |
I'm feeling like a BLEEP! | 0:58:26 | 0:58:27 | |
..of night work... | 0:58:27 | 0:58:28 | |
A very good cross going on now. | 0:58:28 | 0:58:30 | |
..in a bid to become the last worker standing. | 0:58:30 | 0:58:33 | |
HORN BLARES | 0:58:33 | 0:58:35 |