The picture above is of a small demonstration in New York by those who had recently lost their jobs in the current financial crisis.The unemployment situation in Thanet, the South East and in this country as a whole is getting worse despite the BSF funding that is being poured into Thanet schools in particular at the moment. The ugly side of hard times has started to rear its head with protests against 'foreign' workers 'taking jobs' that has been fuelled by Brown's silly statement 'British jobs, for British workers'.
I believe that we will have disorder on the streets of London on April 2nd and elsewhere in the country through the summer. I am not entirely convinced that the civil disorder in Lurgan, Northern Ireland was purely a result of police arrests following the murder by terrorists of two soldiers and a policeman last week; unemployment in deprived areas in N. Ireland has shot up.
Back in Thanet, a regular reader has sent me an interesting tale of our jobless in Thanet.
"Dear Bertie,
The Polish road-sweeper who has done such a fantastic job keeping Beacon and St Peter's Wards clean following Jenny Matterface's complaint about the state of the roads, is sadly moving on. As a fully qualified motor-mechanic he has decided to return to that area of work. He will be missed.
He says that when he was at the Job Centre and was offered the road-sweeper's job he was happy to have any work and accepted it. Disturbed by comments from other Thanet's finest about 'these foreigners taking our jobs', the Job Centre staff told them that 'We've offered all of YOU this job and you all refused. This gentleman is willing to do the job that you've all turned down, so keep quiet and let us do our job'.
I suspect that some of the hostile comments were coming from our 'long-term' unemployed in Thanet. It is my experience that those who are 'hungry enough' will willingly take work on offer to them.
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9 comments:
As much as I strongly believe in a welfare system I think ours has got out of hand.
We have now created a whole breed of people who think every job on offer is beneath them, or doesn't pay as much as their combined benefits.
Doesn't matter tho... they have rights, no responsibilities, but plenty of rights.
Simply not true which you would know if you were one Bertie of those hundreds who go into Margate jobcenter and find nothing on offer.
I've been into the jobcenter frequently and told the staff I would accept jobs at minimum wage and been offered nothing.
Clearly your middle class background reinforces your prejudice, I've worked with the "polish" roadsweeper plumber and cobbler etc and they work no harder than the those born and bred in this country and if you'd seen the then numbers in standing line to get jobs at Thanet Earth.
You and your reader are clearly putting forward right-wing propaganda.
I've not had one job vacancy offered to me in my last 4 visits
I am not prejudiced 21.36, and having suffered 'redundancy' in the last recession and the pain and anguish of losing a job I loved and valued, I fully understand the 'hurt' of rejection after rejection as one's redundancy cash dwindles.
I was apalled at this Government's crass decision to not put limits on worker migration from new accession countries to the EU (unlike other more sensible EU countries) a few years ago. The projections of 40,000 workers coming to the UK were hopelessly wrong as we had over 600,000 from Poland alone.
Those who suffer from uncontrolled migration that has allowed millions to enter this country in the past 12 years are the less well off in our society. They are the one's competing for doctors, dentists,school places, affordable housing and most importantly, jobs.
That said,it is not the migrant workers who are responsible for this but our Government. We must not be prejudiced against our migrant workers, now that times are hard. The story of our local Polish street-sweeper prepared to work at minimum wages, whilst locals decline the work is not exceptional. You know, and I know, that the effect has been to keep wages depressed, even in the good times, and is that not what our Labour Government wanted, as it kept inflation low?
I sincerely hope you will get a job soon, as you are clearly not one of the 1,500+ unemployed in Thanet in the good times when we had over 1,200 legally registered foreign workers working in Thanet let alone those unregistered.
What rubbish 21.36, there are loads of jobs on offer, just look in the papers. It is just possible you may have to walk a few hundred yards though; or catch a bus!
As for Bertie being middle class, so what. They are unemployed as well!!
Most of the 'job seekers' in Thanet are not unemployed, they are unemployable! They don't want to work and are now a second generation of welfare scroungers.
I wonder what the response would be if all the teenage new mums were put into a work house instead of a nice council flat!
'Right wing propaganda'? No way just telling it as is it. The Polish man in question has now moved on so there is, I assume, a vacancy so 'unemployed thanet resident' get to the jobcentre quickly and ask about this job. My own experience, having worked in jobcentres, is you need to call in every single day to see what's on offer not just when you sign on.
It's always been true that those in work, however menial, tend to get work as an employer is impressed by those prepared to do anything to keep a roof over their heads.
"From each according to their ability, to each according to their need"
That is not right wing propaganda, it is the basis of a socialist society. All members of the community are expected to use their talents for the common good and can expect to be educated and cared for by the community if, through age, infirmity or misfortune, they are unable to contribute to the common good. There is no room for parasites at either end of the social spectrum.
The present economic conditions mean that many cannot use the full range of their talents and need to, and should, take on work that they otherwise would not, but that is not an excuse for employers to exploit the situation to their own advantage. Nor is it a reason to call those who try to find work and cannot scroungers, and as a native of Thanet I am all too aware of the lack of employment opportunities in this island.
Perhaps the old Thanet Union Workhouse (latterly Minster hospital) should have been left standing as a reminder and condemnation of what happens when small minded Scrooge mentalities run public affairs.
It's not the welfare system that is at fault so much as the education system or what's left of it. Ask any of the staff at the job centre. Many unemployed are not capable of filling a form in unaided.
@ 15:38
So the blame is not on the people that didn't study at school? No responsibility at all, just more rights?
lol, if education is failing then it should fail across the board for all students.. but it doesn't, every school has those that succeed and those that don't, the only difference is that some want to learn and others don't.
Stop trying to blame the education system, they are doing the best they can with what they are given. If you wish to lay blame then look at the parents who "raise" these workshy slobs...
I taught for many years and saw a gradual decline in attitude during the Thatcher Years. So many had seen unskilled jobs disappear and hadn't the family background to realise they needed more than the most basic skills.
Don't blame the schools as too many teachers ended up physically and mentally exhausted trying to instil anything into some of these youngsters who just wanted to be 'dole bums', an easier option than trying to get an education.
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