Manufacturing, it has all disappeared !!
Its not just a Dawley problem or even just a Telford problem, its one that has effected large parts of the UK and in fact many parts of the "developed world", manufacturing is in decline and has moved to the third world or developing countries.
As living standards increased and prices went up, wages increased to compensate, and the prices of the manufactured goods then went up to pay for the increases in wages, its a visous circle.
We had it good for a long time, probaly to long and all at the expense of much of the rest of the world, when the good times arrived we grabbed it all and then some more, now the rest of the world wants its time at the top and it will be at our expense, we can't all be top dog.
Will they make the same mistakes as we did, profit driven with little or no investment in new technologies to make manufacturing cheaper, because the quick fix, dispensing with the "expendable" workforce to keep short term profits up was easier than looking to and planning for the future, short term gain ultimately looses you it all. Only history yet to come will reveal if they make the same mistakes.
The three pictures that follow are of the now empty site of Johnsons Pipe Works in Dawley, (currently being "redeveloped as a housing estate") once one of the four biggest employers in Dawley, which between them at their peak employed 2000 people out of a total population of just 8000. All four companies and the jobs they provided have now all gone, will the jobs ever come back in some form, so far they havn't and are unlikely to for some considerable time.
Along with the jobs the skills have also gone too. What will happen many generations down the line when or if the wheel turns full circle and it becomes cheaper to manufacture goods here once more, the skills have gone and all the old factories and the land they stood on have become housing estates!!
Empty, totally empty and so quiet 100's of jobs were once provided on this site.
.
As living standards increased and prices went up, wages increased to compensate, and the prices of the manufactured goods then went up to pay for the increases in wages, its a visous circle.
We had it good for a long time, probaly to long and all at the expense of much of the rest of the world, when the good times arrived we grabbed it all and then some more, now the rest of the world wants its time at the top and it will be at our expense, we can't all be top dog.
Will they make the same mistakes as we did, profit driven with little or no investment in new technologies to make manufacturing cheaper, because the quick fix, dispensing with the "expendable" workforce to keep short term profits up was easier than looking to and planning for the future, short term gain ultimately looses you it all. Only history yet to come will reveal if they make the same mistakes.
The three pictures that follow are of the now empty site of Johnsons Pipe Works in Dawley, (currently being "redeveloped as a housing estate") once one of the four biggest employers in Dawley, which between them at their peak employed 2000 people out of a total population of just 8000. All four companies and the jobs they provided have now all gone, will the jobs ever come back in some form, so far they havn't and are unlikely to for some considerable time.
Along with the jobs the skills have also gone too. What will happen many generations down the line when or if the wheel turns full circle and it becomes cheaper to manufacture goods here once more, the skills have gone and all the old factories and the land they stood on have become housing estates!!
Empty, totally empty and so quiet 100's of jobs were once provided on this site.
.
posted by Whitey in Telford at
14:23
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