What labour and conservative means for retail jobs

[Mellijelli]

So iv been a bit, ok a lot out of touch with wots going on with the news as far a work in the UK goes, infact iv become a bit bored with it all as the news is mostly negative then it gets a bit positive and so it continues and im like all blug!! on the subject already.

Well anyway i went to check up on my google news link just to see wots going for what and came across an article posted by Retail Moves (http://www.retailmoves.com/news/article424.aspx) .

The BRC's director general has analysed what the labour and conservative election manifestoes mean to retail jobs (http://www.careersandjobsuk.com/retail-jobs).

So labour has proposed a 1 penny national insurance increase and the conservatives say they will stop the most damaging part of the policy :p

This policy is going to add 220 million pounds to retiler's costs making it so much more difficult and expensive for them to employ more people, hectic right? Labour also says they intend to make 400 000 green jobs available in the next 5 years though.

[Dark Phoenyx]

But we need more jobs available tho. how can they hike it that much? any ideas?

[Mellijelli]

Well cost to company vs employing staff, you can take a guess as to what is going to happen here, this whole national insurance increase they are proposing from April is pathetic, they want to receive more money to pay off the countries debt is what i think and who looses out?? the public, as if unemployment is not already a huge problem they are adding to it.

I think yes price of consumables are bound to now go up so retailers can cover their stock prices and if it gets hectic enough more people will be layed off because of it, basically we all gna suffer some more because of this, one of these days we going to be paying 10 pounds for a loaf of bread :(.

This is not only a UK problem its a global problem, we not going to be able to survive one of these fine days..

[Dark Phoenyx]

mmmmm you have a point. maybe one of these days well go back to the way we were before it all mattered. Farming etc, bartering instead of buying. i can fancy myself paying ten pounds for a loaf of bread.

[Mellijelli]

Ok hypothetically how would that work, a world without any monetary system, although thats a daft idea and probably would never happen in my life time i think it would be great.

So one would firstly need something to trade with, this would mean you would need some sort of stock to do this, farming is one thing i can think of, i trade my veg for your cow and i trade my home made clothes for your furniture and so on :). I wonder if schools were free back in the 16th, 17th and 18th century?

Mind you girls were not allowed to be educated the same as men back then they were taught things like etiquette, elocution, languages, music and needle point, unless you were lower class then you just existed doing household chores and waited for someone to come along you could marry.

I dont know it has its pros and cons, in one way we would be going backwards but in another a lot of nonsense would be sorted out as far as money is concerned, and there would be NO bills to pay, well this might happen if you cant pay your side of the trade goods hehehe.

Ah well life is what it is and we as humans can all contribute to making life so much more simple and wholesome if we really wanted to.

[Dark Phoenyx]

aaaah it was just an interesting thought. :D schools werent free then either tho. as it is now, depending on the "class" of the school and the people it catered for, you paid accordingly.

hahahahahaha can i pay my electricity bills in chickens?

[Mellijelli]

:D how many cows would you need to buy a house with???

Im sure you could pay in chickens Dark Phoenyx hee hee maybe even some home made cheese and bread or something like that, maybe we would not even have electricity just lanterns and candles ;)

[Dark Phoenyx]

:( no..... no electricity? how will i be able to juice my pc..... wot abt my artwork? aaaaaaw. its not so funny anymore.....

[shopowner]

As a small family shop I don't think I'll be creating any jobs in the near future, but in my opinion neither party will change the situation a great deal. Competition is getting greater and profit margins being squeezed,with most of our goods coming from China. Online retailing is increasing, and so shopping streets are slowly losing their retail shops to be replaced by charity shops and discount retailers.Eventually people will only use their empty local high street for emergency purchases or as a novelty activity ?
The fact that it seems to be easy for young people (And older ?) to stay on the dole and be supported by family and the government has led to an increase in foreign workers doing more and more jobs. Where I live the hotel and some other industries are full of mostly Eastern European staff who cannot always speak good English, but there are more than enough local unemployed people (Not all have university degrees,so are not over-qualified!) to do the work.When asked in casual conversation, they say they are better off on benefits,whilst of course the foreign workers can send money home from their low salaries. This money goes out of our country and so leads to lower income for shops etc.
This is what I see in a small community where it's easy to get to know what's happening. I feel that if it was made more difficult to claim benefit when people are healthy enough and are of a low skills level, then local people could do these low paid jobs and spend the money in the local community, thereby helping to create a bit more wealth locally.
That's what any political party could do to help job creation as a start.

[Mellijelli]

Hi Shopowner, I think, and as far as i know the UK is the only country that has something like the dole, iv always wondered why though as iv heard since i was younger that people on the dole are lazy people not willing to work for their keep and want the government to just keep giving them support while they do nothing to help themselves.

I cant say for a fact that is true and im not even British, but i do think government should put a project into place that reviews how long someone has been on the dole and they should put in some limitations as to who applies and who does'nt who should be taken off and who is applicable to receive funds indefinitely such as the pensioner who is unable to work again, or the disabled and so on, it would at least make people who are abusing it go out and fend for themselves if they are well capable of doing it, dont you agree?

[retailworld]

...I do think government should put a project into place that reviews how long someone has been on the dole and they should put in some limitations as to who applies and who does'nt who should be taken off and who is applicable to receive funds indefinitely such as the pensioner who is unable to work again, or the disabled and so on, it would at least make people who are abusing it go out and fend for themselves if they are well capable of doing it, dont you agree?

Its' far too early for me to have a rant... but I agree :D

[Mellijelli]

lol Retailworld was i ranting ?? :eek: oops sorry, just trying to get a point across glad you agree, in this world you have to help yourself is what iv been taught, i just think the government could use all those funds to better a lot of things British, love Britain think its a really cool country and its sad to see it in such a mess at the mo.

[shopowner]

I have spent time in parts of Eastern Europe, and even in those so called poorer less developed countries there is something like 'the dole' where unemployed people get money. It is not as high as here and could lead to starvation unless family or friends help.Old age pensioners get around £80 a month which is the same as a shop asssistant in a small town or village. Although home ownership is high, life is still tough which explains how some can come here and happily work for 'a pittance' while still able to send a useful amount of money home (But out of Britain).
Perhaps this topic is worthy of a new thread ?

[m8internet]

There are already measures in place to monitor how unemployed people are entitled to and qualify for benefits, bear in mind we are talking about people claiming benefits and not simply unemployed (as there are some people that are unemployed and do not claim benefits)

In the first month the claimant is required to attend three times in two weeks
This includes a review of what type of jobs they are seeking
After about two weeks they must provide evidence and proof that they are actively seeking such work
After three months there is a further review, for which the purpose is to expand the type of work to other types which the claimant may be suitable for
After a further three months and every three months thereafter the claimant is encouraged to consider any and all types of work
They are also encouraged to attend training courses, many of which are free and some qualify for additional benefits

Clearly if a claimant is not actively seeking employment or restricting the type of work they are looking for then benefits may be terminated, and in many cases even the threat is enough

The main issue is that many long-term unemployment have never worked or been in a work environment
This is a very difficult issue to overcome

I also agree that many people are near the cusp between unemployment, retirement, and being unable to work
This is an issue that is going to increase, and as far as I am aware there is no solution for this either
As an example if someone retires at 55 they are not entitled to any benefits for the first six months, after which they are entitled to unemployment benefit (if they are prepared to work) for the next six months and then income support thereafter
When their retirement fund applies then their pension payments apply, typically at 65
I now know several people that have fallen into this "black hole", who thought their pension would apply on early retirement but then find this is not the case!

We then have the immigrants who realise our state benefits are higher than those in their own country, obviously this is assume they are accepted into the UK

[Dark Phoenyx]

Wot do they do between 55 and 65 then? can they still work tho? I mean its ten years that they wont see any money at all?

[shopowner]

Not being in that situation myself, and having lived out of the UK for some years, I am out of touch with exactly what I could scrounge off the state, but last time I was aware, there was a payment to help anyone with a low income to get basic food etc.Not sure of the name of the payment,and I believe the system has changed a lot, but I cannot imagine our governments interpretation of EU law would stop those without work from getting food.
I read recently of Polish and others who were forced to use something like a soup kitchen, but for Brits there surely has to be some safety net for any age group ?