Like a politician on the evening news, I do not have those figures immediately to hand - and I can't really be bothered to google it. These contracts are not mythical though, and neither is the increasing casualisation of large sections of the workforce. A friend of my son's has been working for the local council for nearly three years, via an agency, and while they keep dangling the promise of a full time contract in front of him, it never materialises. Consequently he has no job security, could effectively be dismissed without notice or reason, and gets paid less than his workmates directly employed by the council. His experience is not uncommon. A lot of the new jobs the government boasts about are on terms like this or worse. Its called, in simple terms, employers taking the piss. They do it because they can get away with it, just as some employers pay £6.50 an hour because they can get away with it. There are plenty of decent employers out there, but they are being undercut by the many bad ones, and in the end we all as a society bear the cost.
Why doesnt he get another job? Nobody stays with the same employer. If hes got 3 years experience he must be of worth to someone! I wish him all the best. Now im not encouraging him to quit just to explore opportunities. If he doesnt explore then its himself he looks at in the mirror. If hes not able to work elsewhere then he needs new/more skills. Its as hard or as easy as you want it to be.
I'm not trying to wade into an argument but you make it sound so simple, just quit and go get another job. It just doesn't work like that in the real world changing jobs just isn't that easy
Smokey - im clear I didnt say quit. So the argument doesnt exist it is as simple or as hard as you make it.
You didn't say quit fair enough but it's not that black and white. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who don't like their jobs but it's not just a matter of going and getting another job if you choose to do so its not really as simple or as hard as 'you' make it. It's as simple or as hard as enployers make it. Personally I'd clean the **** off people's shoes for 12 hours a day if it meant I had guaranteed income I don't buy into this job satisfaction bollocks it's all about the money. No one would work if they had enough money not to. We work to live not live to work
Indeed smokey. However wheres the ambition? How long can you sit and blame the zero hour contract, the poor wages, the exploitation before you do something? FFS Jimmy nail left newcastle for germany;-). Is it tough? Yes. But what isnt? Other than sitting blaming someone else?
I don't normally get involved in political debates but here goes This Tory led coalition has done jack sh#t for this country nothing but broken promises. We're still in a financial mess, and if you think Dave is gonna take us out of Europe, forget it. He's pro euro,no renegotiation, nothing. Blame,blame, blame labour. Ok labour bankrupted the country, but they had no choice. They had to bail out the banks otherwise you'd have no job or house if you've got a mortgage. They also had to pay for two wars, rightly or wrongly and they don't come cheap.
I agree with you on the point that if people are that unhappy then they should at least try do something but the point I'm trying to get across is that it's not that easy to do something about it. My sister hates her job and is applying for literally every job that's available whether she's qualified, got experience or if it's a job she wants to do is irrelevant she's just trying to move on and is getting nowhere and this has been going on for about 6 months. So for every person who stays in a job bitching and moaning and doing **** all about it there's another person out there like my sister trying everything to move on. It's just not that easy or straightforward
Spot on. The other thing is, if people moan about their jobs or lives and are not specifically demanding that the Government sort it out for them, what does it matter? Surely we should all be allowed to moan about stuff.
Smokey - wish her all the best. Feedback from those who decline her and getting someone to check her cv professionally. At least shes trying!
Exactly, its human nature for us to moan about certain aspects of our lives, there are always going to be people worse off than you and there are always going to be people better off than you (unless Bill Gates is reading this then, not you pal).
I'm not a fan of the Tories by any stretch of the imagination, but its unfair to blame anyone one party for all the problems there are. Thats the thing about politics though isn't it, everyone has an opinion and everyone sees things in their own way
I actually agree with you here. Its exactly this kind of thinking that gave birth to the Trade Union movement two centuries ago. Working people in this country have forgotten that if they act collectively, they can resist injustice and secure a fairer deal. Or is that not what you meant by doing something?
Oh dear here comes the union argument. No I didnt mean that. Unions cripple business. Winter of discontent as an example.
Archer - shame mr scargill didnt have the unions backing when he tried to buy their london flat under the right to buy scheme introduced by Mrs Thatcher. Union leaders eh?
The Tories are not interested in helping working people, only their rich mates so they can exploit the so called underclass. I think they call them chavs these days.daves never done a days work in his privileged bullingdon club life. Likewise most of the other politicians . I'm in the none of the above club
Scargill was a wrong'un. Go and research Tom Mann or Ben Tillett if you want to learn about the early days of a truly progressive movement.
I agree - but then I think that using the argument "everyone just blames the tories" is equally pathetic. Some do yes but the way you're going on you'd think that anyone with a gripe was blaming the tories and that's just not true.
