Unemployment

[pjh75]

Well our useless council come up with a plan they the got the assessors in to see if the plan would work, they then went to another company of assessors to see if the assessment by the first assessors was alright after being given the all clears they then went to a third company of assessors to assess the assessors assessing the assessors, if they had employed someone on the council that knew what they were doing in the first place there wouldn't have been so much assing about.

So you can't answer the question. I'll stop asking.

[Hilary B]

There ARE council jobs created (apparently) for the sake of it. There are also a lot of people working for the council doing real proper jobs.
That someone cannot comment on the existence of the former without being accused of being down on the latter, is unfortunate.
Haven't we all heard of advisory/supervisory jobs being created that sound like "why does that need someone paid to do it, surely it's common sense?" Even though I can't remember exactly what such jobs they were, I DO recall several instances of having that reaction to news of a 'new position' in council employment. Of course you need someone in the office to see that the bin men, teachers etc get paid, but just how many 'equality co-ordinators' (or equally weird sounding jobs) are any actual USE?

[zazen999]

Local council the last refuge of the unemployable.

That someone cannot comment on the existence of the former without being accused of being down on the latter, is unfortunate.

Whatever the comments on the existence of the former; the blanket statement above seems to sum it up. It's not unfortunate, it's a little rude and shortsighted.

[di]

Fi, I know where you're coming from: my own father never paid my mum nor me a penny.

Hopefully those vulnerable groups won't be turning on each other, while the Philip Greens, Lewis Hamiltons etc get away with paying no tax at all

I think what I'm getting at is there isn't enough money to go round, so someone has to lose out. The rich won't pay more tax, so the poor have to lose money. Which groups are the most deserving of the state handouts?

If children are a right, do the feckless & reckless deserve the same choice? ie to have as many children as they like because the state will pay?

Di, I'm not disagreeing with you friend, I'm just thinking out loud here: there are already 2.5 million people without work. How are these extra babies to find work in the future?

And isn't it shocking that many, many people in this country cannot earn enough salary to support themselves and their families?

Sorry...it's a touchy subject for me...being part of one of those families that really do rely on govt top ups to be able to live...and often finding myself having to defend why I don't work
I know you weren't having a dig but too often I find I have to justify why I'm not out there working instead of expecting handouts....to be better off I'd need to work fulltime(and I'm not prepared to put the kiddies into after school clubs and childcare in holidays...which apparently the govt would help to pay for,yet I feel guilty accepting far less from them for doing the job myself)
It's not only disgusting but also incredibly frustrating that Andi leaves for work at 7:30 every morning and gets home at 5:30...works out in all weathers yet we still don't have enough to get by.

I don't know the answer,so long as the filthy rich are allowed to carry on getting ever more filthy without paying much higher taxes I imagine more jobs will be cut....just imagine if just 50% of Gary Rooney's extra £100,00 a week managed to find it's way back to the public sector pot.

[selfraising]

I was thinking the same about Rooney, nothing like rubbing salt in the wound! As to the earlier mention of job centres and job seekers allowance, it is an absolute shambles down here. My daughter, who has just completed her masters degree, thinking it would help with finding a job, has applied so far for over 50 jobs but has only recieved 2 replies.
She now has a temporary post up until Christmas and has tried to apply for job seekers allowance. She did the first form online. The Job Centre phoned her and arranged an appointment time for her to see them. All good and well so far. She went to the appointment and was told that there was no trace of her and that she would have to fill the form out again. So she comes home and fills the form out for a second time. The job centre ring her and say they cannot process the second form as there is already a form active (presumably the original one!), so she needs to ring back a different number to arrange an appointment again. She does this and guess what? No trace again!! So now on the third attempt.

Beats me how some people seem to get these things so easily. We have never claimed any benefits until my OH became ill and now it's a struggle to even get the application form to be recognised!!!

[Two_Sheds]

Oh dear...the slippery slope begins towards jobs for the' lads' and women staying at home again to look after the kids.

Hmmmm, maybe some men will become house-husbands so the wives can go out to have business lunches, sorry, to work

Sorry...it's a touchy subject for me.. often finding myself having to defend why I don't work

Me too, me too. My disability is invisible, but stops me from working more than a couple of hours a day, a couple of days a week. People look at me and think there's nothing wrong

just imagine if just 50% of Gary Rooney's extra £100,00 a week managed to find it's way back to the public sector pot.

I'd have more respect for the Shrek if he did something philanthropic with his squillions (apart from his enthusiastic monetary support for working girls, that is)

[FionaH]

i'd have more respect for the shrek if he did something philanthropic with his squillions (apart from his enthusiastic monetary support for working girls, that is)

rofl!

[bearded bloke]

Oh people lets not be too harsh regarding this statement

Local council the last refuge of the unemployable.

As it seems that the poster includes himself in the number

when I worked for the council

[Two_Sheds]

Regarding useless council workers, yes there are some who are just awful (all the Jobcentre staff I've ever met) and some posts probably wouldn't need to exist if the public would do a few things for itself.

I was once the Complaints Officer for a large council, and some of the calls we received were just ridiculous (school children stepping on my lawn - he rang up at least once a week that one). Each call had to be received and dealt with by making a written note of the call; file all notes; send another note to the appropriate dept; post out an acknowledgement letter (waste of paper & stamps); chase up said complaint a few days later; draft a letter of answer, etc.

There were hundreds of calls like this, each generating a huge amount of time, paper & meetings, usually because a member of the public wanted to moan about something to those "in charge", instead of dealing with it themselves (my old Nan would've been out to those lads with a stick "get off my lawn!")

Having said that, would we rather have people in some kind of employment, however pointless, or have them drawing dole watching Jeremey Kyle all day?
Council workers pay the wages of other workers: sandwich makers, baristas, bus drivers, cleaners, newspaper shops, off licenses etc etc

Cut public sector jobs and you also cut other industries that rely on those workers

[petal]

wow, just read all this and points of view seem to reflect where you stand in society. My friend has incapacity carers allowance and her boy gets dla, he is in a wheelchair with md. She would give anything to work but obviously can't as she is a carer. She says there are many people out there with pretend 'illnesses' that are spoiling/ruining the welfare system. Interesting. I don't feel i have the experience to comment on that one.
As for the 'poor' footing most the bill, don't you mean the middle class earners?They have always been easy pickings.
As for teachers being blamed for illiteracy, does that not stem from the home? some children do not attend school regularly enough to be taught!Which children are illiterate? Do they come from homes where the mother got pregnant at 15 (whats the point in working?!)and has 5 kids by different dads that have scarpered and she can't even read herself??!
Also, my husband cannot find any night workers for his store - the only people who apply are polish by the way..............

[Two_Sheds]

my husband cannot find any night workers for his store - the only people who apply are polish

From Poland? (capital P please, I work in the teaching profession )

Is your husband paying wages enough to cover a person's rent/food/utilies etc? Or is he only able to pay enough for 4 immigrants living in one room?

[petal]

good point! imagine mr. muscle polish cans applying for jobs!

[FROSTYFRECKLE]

If we are honest the average person in the UK is going to suffer. Mr Frosty used to attend Headway Ayrshire (who are brilliant). Headway Ayrshire lost over £500,000 of funding when the credit crisis struck, heaven help them now. Charities are going to lose a massive amount of funding from Local and Central Government.We thought we would be okay when it was announced that people earning less than £10,000 would cease paying tax next year. Mr Frosty falls into that category. Now I've become unwell and I'm desperately trying to transfer as much work as possible to being home-based to try and maintain our income. Our situation will improve in about a year or so once I get better. But what about people who are long term sick and disabled? Typical bleeping Tories. We are all up pooh creek without a paddle.

[Cosmo and Dibs]

Another problem is that the media seem intent on calling anyone on benefits a 'scrounger'. Literally anyone and everyone who is receipt of benefits is made to feel like a low down piece of scum!

Of course, when you hear discussions about benefits they are always prefaced by a comment along the lines of 'not all benefit claimants are scroungers', but by allowing the right-wing mob to use words like 'scroungers' they are propagating the myth that they are all scroungers!

Is someone a scrounger for claiming pension, even though they have paid for it? Or a free tv licence? Or the winter fuel payment? Or someone on JSA after being made redundant at 50? If you read the Daily Mail the answer is yes!

[zazen999]

Is someone a scrounger for claiming pension, even though they have paid for it? Or a free tv licence? Or the winter fuel payment? Or someone on JSA after being made redundant at 50? If you read the Daily Mail the answer is yes!

Well, if you will read the Daily Mail....what do you expect?