Unemployment

[SarzWix]

Well, smoking outside and then coming in afterwards - you'd (as in the general you here) still smell of smoke and give off a bit of smoke I guess?

I certainly don't like it when people in the same building as me get in the lift with me after just coming in from a smoking break. I try to hold my breath in a pointless attempt to not breath it in.. I presume that's what HW may have meant by the a-Pong comment?

For the way I'd fix the country? Most of it would be too drastic to mention here

And people who drink alcohol, or eat curry, or garlic usually stink of it the next day, never mind 5 minutes later. I HATE the smell of stale alcohol, but I try not to comment on it - because I don't drink it smells really strong to me.

Anyway, that's by the by, and I didn't mean to be having a go at anyone. Like lindyloo said, it's all too easy to turn on each other instead of the real culprits...

[lindyloo]

i have to say ie my posts; i am not against rich people at all, i like a lot of them . just the unfairness and judgementality of the system i am going on about. i will answer caro's question, even tho' it was not addressed to me. i think that a person should have the right to turn down a job if it is not suitable for them and thier circumstances, and still be able to claim benefit, ie if that job makes them worse off. to be honest, i can't really see much moral differance in expecting someone to work for a wage that wont sustain them, and a sweat shop such as you would find in a third world country. if the wage isn't sufficient to live clear of benefit ( which the minumum wage is not) then it is slave labour.

and i am sorry- i really don't mean to preach or write a speech, i just feel very passionate that the blame lays at management/gov. leval, not with anyone who is trapped in it, working or not.

another thing, i know someone, (who i like) who goes on and on about her taxes going to support people who don't work. ( she read it in a paper) i suggest to her that she thinks of it as supporting her less fortunate relatives, as she has 2 children, with 6 children between them, both claiming various benefits, again through no fault of thier own. i can remember when her and her husband didn't work for a spell, no fault of thier own. what i am saying is that we all have friends or family connections who are claiming something or another. and others have a greater call on the nhs., say from someone like me, who is healthy.( up to this point, when i have had an op.) my point is; there for the grace of god, goes any one of us.

and thing that really worries me, is that when i lived in europe, many of the older nieghbors talked to me of thier experiences of the 2nd ww, and i can remember asking how hitler ever came to be so powerful, only to be told that working people were struggling on the wages, no jobs due to imported labour, in equality between the classes, and newspaper propoganda and polititians touring the country stirring up divide and hate amongst the people. and those working people who were struggling, were easily led to focusing thier frustrations and worry, onto a people who couldn't fight back .

i am not saying we have reached that sort of extreme situation here, but i am saying that it leaves a very nasty taste in my mouth, and a feeling of uneasiness overall.

[Cosmo and Dibs]

Another thing that annoys me is when people say about unemployed people 'oh, but they can afford a TV, or sportswear', etc. Pfft!

I know that some take it over the top and have flat screen tvs, big cars, etc, but perhaps these items were purchased when they benefit receiver was in work and paid for out f their earnings? Should those on JSA immediately sell all their worldly goods just so they don't offend Dodgepot MacDougall at the Daily Mail?

[Cosmo and Dibs]

i think that a person should have the right to turn down a job if it is not suitable for them and thier circumstances, and still be able to claim benefit

Of course they should! My mate is on JSA as we speak. He has a small disability which means he can't lift heaby items, yet the Jobcentre keeps recommending him to apply for jobs stacking shelves or other such unsuitable jobs he wouldn't cope with.

Should his benefit be cut if he refuses a shelf stacking job in Asda? Or, should he be applauded for not saying that he can't work and actually saying 'this is what I CAN do'?

[jackie j]

Its now been announced that single parents with chidren under the age of seven will have to work. I would like to know how. Yes while the children are at school one can work, so between 9 ish and 3 ish depending on the time getting from school to work and back, what about the 13 weeks school holidays, the weekends, who will look after the kids then ( been there done it, not easy ). Child care will cost, after school clubs usually cost. How many jobs are there where any parent can fit in with school hours. Not many and the ones that are get snapped up. Not every one has parents or family living nearby to help.

[Bramble_killer]

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?

I'm not a high income earner but OH is and he pays more tax proportionally than someone on a low income.

Also, those on higher incomes also tend to support lifestyles which pay for those on lower incomes. Friends on 60-70k a year eat out a few times a week, use domestic cleaners, have coffee at the shops.

Those who use benefits the most (ie those who are on lower incomes), feel the cuts more when there are cuts to benefits, but the current level of benefits is unsustainable.

[chris]

And people who drink alcohol, or eat curry, or garlic usually stink of it the next day, never mind 5 minutes later. I HATE the smell of stale alcohol, but I try not to comment on it - because I don't drink it smells really strong to me.

Anyway, that's by the by, and I didn't mean to be having a go at anyone. Like lindyloo said, it's all too easy to turn on each other instead of the real culprits...

Indeed I can't stand the smell of booze on a person after they've been drinking the night before - I won't have anything to do with my wife if I can smell booze on her --- going back a few years mind when we used go out, we're boring gits now

Never experienced the curry smell in all honesty hehe

[chris]

Its now been announced that single parents with chidren under the age of seven will have to work. I would like to know how. Yes while the children are at school one can work, so between 9 ish and 3 ish depending on the time getting from school to work and back, what about the 13 weeks school holidays, the weekends, who will look after the kids then ( been there done it, not easy ). Child care will cost, after school clubs usually cost. How many jobs are there where any parent can fit in with school hours. Not many and the ones that are get snapped up. Not every one has parents or family living nearby to help.

Indeed, our child care is £40/day - and I know in London it's more so around £50/day. Cheapest here we've found is £38/day - but it's miles in the wrong direction for work (the nursery I take my daughter to is in the same building I work in, which is good that wise, but I can completely understand the squeeze it puts on you!) I just wish maybe a few years ago, I'd not have blown money on needless junk like I used to!

ETA: I've even thought about dropping a day in work to lessen the cost of childcare, or seeing if I can work 8-6 for 4days of the week and have one of them off.

[jackyspratty]

Its now been announced that single parents with chidren under the age of seven will have to work. I would like to know how. Yes while the children are at school one can work, so between 9 ish and 3 ish depending on the time getting from school to work and back, what about the 13 weeks school holidays, the weekends, who will look after the kids then ( been there done it, not easy ). Child care will cost, after school clubs usually cost. How many jobs are there where any parent can fit in with school hours. Not many and the ones that are get snapped up. Not every one has parents or family living nearby to help.

Totally agree jackie, I'm not a single parent, but was hoping to try and return to work sometime in january. like everyone else we are strapped. However, my OH leaves at 8am, gets home at 6, and then carries in working 8pm onwards, plus most of the day sunday (hes a teacher so has huge marking, evenings weekends and holidays). I have no family in Leeds either. Trying to find a job that fits in with school time is impossible. I keep looking though, and my situation is better than a single parent, I can only imagine how hard that must be.

[jackie j]

My grandson's mum is a single parent, eldest son's son. If it wasnt for her mum, me , my son, and other family members she wouldnt be able to work full time. The cost of child care is way too high. ( thats just for one child ) Is it fair on the child / children to have to be looked after by so many different people all with different ways of bringing a child up. When he was little he also went to a chid career, nursery, then after school club and any one else she could get to look after him. What about when they are 11 + , they still need looking after or should everyone just leave them on their own. I dont think so.
I am glad I am not in that posistion now.

[FionaH]

I was in that position Jackie, and it was really tough.If it wasnt for my parents I could not have managed to go back to college and eventually work. Jobs that fit in around the school day are as rare as hens teeth

[buzzingtalk]

Minimum wage in London is a joke. Anyone I know living on minimum wage in London has a bloody hard time doing so! In Norwich however the cost of living is much less, and it seems much more like you could exist on minimum wage here, rather than scrape a living like people do in London.

As for unemployment, it is a very scary position to be in. I graduated from uni just before the recession, practically walked into a well paid and respectable teaching job, then found out that I lost my job before it bagan due to the recession slashing council investment in youth projects. I then spent a year frantically sending out applications, to which I rarely got replies, not even one to say 'sorry, not interested.' I eventually moved city and house and found work in another county but it is shocking to think that people have to do this and I was only able to do so by living with freinds rent free until I got back on my feet.

As for all the people on the dole and incapacity benefit, they have a very hard time ahead. The government is cutting lots of benefits without thinking of how to create jobs - I know hard working, but generally unskilled/not confident people who would be great workers but no one will give them a chance, what will happen to people like these? They will slip under the radar and find it ever more difficult to gain work experience in a time where government does not care for the unemployed.

It will be like Victorian britain - people on the street, lack of oppurtunity and support, and the disabled will slowly fade away into the background instead of being supported to live life like the rest of us. I work in social care and I worry for the cuts my clients will face - and of course, the cuts my job sector will face. It is hard enough getting benefits sorted for clients who cannot speak or communicate in conventional ways - and I can imagine this process being even harder in the future. Well, if this happens, Cameron and freinds can have my 3 most challanging autistic clients to work in their office, then they will understand why some people simply cannot, for reasons beyond their own help, work.

I see a return of squatting, and will glady do so myself if the government do actually carry out all of these cuts and I find myself unemployed. After all, I won't be able to get help, or be able to afford social housing - I guess there finally will be a use for all the abandoned houses on the A406 in London after all (and not a widening of the road as they have been telling us since the late 80's)

[binley100]

My youngest (20) has a part-time job , but the work isn't there all the time very erratic. She's that desperate for a regular income that she's applied for a apprenticeship at the wonderful rate of £2.50 an hour.....obviously minimum wage does not apply on apprenticeships. Is this what she gets for twp years at college and the equivalent of 5 Alevels.....

[Caro]

My grandson's mum is a single parent, eldest son's son. If it wasnt for her mum, me , my son, and other family members she wouldnt be able to work full time. The cost of child care is way too high. ( thats just for one child ) Is it fair on the child / children to have to be looked after by so many different people all with different ways of bringing a child up. When he was little he also went to a chid career, nursery, then after school club and any one else she could get to look after him. What about when they are 11 + , they still need looking after or should everyone just leave them on their own. I dont think so.
I am glad I am not in that posistion now.

Jackie, surely the ideal position is when family can all rally together and help out? That's the way it was in the old days. Don't you think your grandson will benefit from developing stronger relationships with his family, rather than paid help? or do you mean you're all contributing to the cost of childcare, rather than undertaking the childcare yourselves?

[Jeanied]

The trouble is that people are told to get 'on your bike' or more recently 'on the bus' to go off and find work. This all too often removes them from the family support network entirely.