Are non-UK workers costing UK workers jobs?

                                                    Here is a quick thought for you to get your brains engaged!

Are all the foreign (non-native UK) workers having a detrimental effect on the quality of workers in the UK?

I have been traveling around the UK & Ireland for the last month, interviewing staff working for my client. All the staff concerned are in a customer facing role. How many nationalities do you think I have come across working for this company? Well I was amazed, because it is 28 - outside of UK nationalities - different foreign nationalities that are currently working there (that I have found so far anyway!).

Many of them are hard working, good English speakers, and many put their UK compatriots to shame with their level of work. But there are many complaints from the local workers, and it is primarily down to language, and the way that the foreign nationals communicate and engage with customers. Allegedly the non-English staff don't understand the customers -  whatever they mean by that!!

But aren't we living in a multi-cultural society? Shouldn't we just accept this and let them 'learn' at our expense? Are we wrong to even be raising these questions?

While listening the the radio on Saturday evening, after the thrashingSouth Africa gave the England rugby team, I heard a well known ex-player raise the same issue! They claimed that the England defeat was down to the number of foreign players in the premier rugby division taking the places of English players - and there was me thinking they were just crap and were totally outplayed!!

I have no issue at all with non-UK workers getting jobs, so long as they are judged to be as equally as skilled for the job and that they can converse as well as UK workers (maybe we should exclude Geordies and Brummies from this??). I do have a problem however, with organisations such as left wing councils, giving jobs to immigrants who don't speak English, for jobs that shouldn't exist in the first place. They seem to create stupidly titled jobs that have no meaning in life and then give them to immigrants (with work permits of course!) just because they can!!

What do you reckon? Am I being a bit harsh or do you agree?