Nigel Thornton: Job fair was unfair
Job fair was unfair on decent people There is nothing like a good scrounger story to get the Great British public hot under the collar, be it the one-woman baby factories, breakdancers who can't lift boxes or the feckless wasters who just don't want to work.
Job fair was unfair on decent people
There is nothing like a good scrounger story to get the Great British public hot under the collar, be it the one-woman baby factories, breakdancers who can't lift boxes or the feckless wasters who just don't want to work.A report this week revealed that three-quarters of incapacity benefit claimants are getting away with faking their illnesses.
That?s costing you and me a staggering 11billion a year.
Those who abuse the benefits system should be exposed and humiliated while the rest of us cheer.
However, there are an awful lot of decent, hard-working people who are facing tough times. There is a recession, as you may have noticed.
There are hundreds and thousands of people, who want to work, but have lost their job and who can?'t find another one.
These people are deserving of our sympathy and our support, which is why I was shocked and saddened at the sight I witnessed in the centre of Peterborough on Friday.
A huge queue snaked outside the Town Hall as unemployed people waited to get in to a jobs fair organised by the Jobcentre and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Several of the people the ET spoke to in the queue thought it was compulsory after they received a letter ?inviting?? them to attend. The letter from the DWP added that they should inform their local Jobcentre if they couldn?t attend.
The result was hundreds of decent city folk felt obliged to stand outside for up to an hour on an autumn day.
What would have happened if it had poured with rain?
I wonder what whoever hatched this scheme would have thought as they sat in their nice warm offices?
And was it all worth it? What happened when these people finally got to the front of the queue and into the jobs fair?
One former Perkins engineer told the ET how he was desperate to get back to work. He added: "All these people here want jobs but there are none and especially none for skilled workers like myself."
Still no doubt he will have been reassured by the faceless bureaucrat who mouthed platitudes, before adding: ?As expected this event was very popular.??
Well, it would have been wouldn't it? Still, no doubt it will all look good in the monthly report sent to the boss.
The bureaucrats are lucky enough to have a job, but they could do it better.
For starters they should spend more time weeding out the real scroungers and stop humiliating decent people who are desperate to get back in employment.
Can we bank on them?
On last week's page, I talked about the sad tale of an elderly city couple who?d been swindled out of thousands of pounds by a care worker. There was, I pointed out, a happy end to the story after it was revealed in court that the bank had refunded the couple.
That gesture, from the unnamed bank, had earned it praise from the judge. And rightly so.
However, this week a relative of the couple phoned the ET and revealed that in fact the bank was quibbling over refunding the cash. Not surprisingly, as discussions are ongoing,the relative didn't want to name the bank. But we know who you are...
Sculptures shouldn't be consigned to the bin
It's understandable that city artist Richard Gibson is sad that his earth sculptures in Ferry Meadows are being dismantled.
I remember the furore they caused when they were first put in place. The ET didn't help when it ran a picture of one of the sculptures alongside a photograph of one of the distinctive Ferry Meadows waste bins that bore a resemblance to Mr Gibson's work.
Helpfully, I've included a picture of one of the waste bins (right)!
The story sparked a rousing public debate with some outraged at the 'waste' of 5,000 of lottery funding while others jumped to the artist's defence. If my memory serves me right, even some of the national newspapers joined in the fun.
I was never very fond of the sculptures but anything that gets people interested in their surroundings has some worth in my book.
I'm sure funnywoman Jo Brand has topped the bill at many big events but when she came to Waterstone?'s to sign copies of her new book she was not even the biggest attraction on Bridge Street.
That honour went to a loaf of bread the promotion team handing out free loaves of 'Britain's softest bread' was generating more of a stir than poor old Jo.
Hampton mum-of-one Susie Hutson is hoping to win a 50,000 contract to become the face of lingerie firm Wickedelic.
The winner will be decided by a public vote on the internet. Judging by this picture of her I reckon the opposition is all washed up and Susie is home and dry.
I'm glad to see Peterborough has been chosen to take part in a national campaign to reduce the amount of chewing gum deposited on the streets. But I'm sad to say I don't think it'll help stop this modern day plague. The new paving in Cathedral Square, which has been opened up to the public near HMV and Norwich & Peterborough, is already bearing the scars of the gum scum.
I'd love to see one of these vandals caught and given an appropriate punishment.
I suggest they are made to lick their offending deposit off the pavement.
I am neither against nor for the decision by former Tory councillors Graham Murphy and Stephen Goldspink to switch their political allegiance to the English Democrats party.
However, I have never understood why any politician, local or national, who changes party is not forced to contest an immediate by-election under their new political colours.
I had to laugh at yet another story in the tabloids about Jordan and her cross-dressing cage-fighting lover. A new picture would, said the red top, further embarrass the couple. The only time you could imagine those two being red-faced would be if she was struggling to help him into a dress two sizes too small.
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Thursday 09 September 2010
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