Diary Tuesday 8th December 2015
@arthurchappell (44941)
Preston, England
December 8, 2015 4:29pm CST
The 35th anniversary of the death of John Lennon which was in many ways my JFK day. I was only one year and ten months old when Kennedy died – my moment of shell shocked disbelief was waking to the news of Lennon’s assassination.
Today I got my paperwork ready for a particularly harrowing meeting with welfare tomorrow where they are transferring me to a fresh team with a reputation for aggressive tactics to make the unemployed feel pressured into more intense job-seeking. They might increase the number of checks on my job search records or even put me on a mandatory unpaid work placement. I feel like a crook on parole. I printed out my job search records at the library as usual but tomorrow the goal posts are likely to move. I’m dreading it. I’m so glad I can write on here to stop me dwelling on it too much though after tomorrow I could have less time free for such writing as a form of escapism.
Arthur Chappell
4 people like this
5 responses
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
8 Dec 15
It is all well and good for them to try to ask you to try harder to find work, but it would be a little more helpful if they could offer some employment instead. Increased effort will have no result unless there are some jobs around to find.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
8 Dec 15
many quit signing on under this stage of the regime and just starve or take to crime to gain money - the dole don't care as long as it gets their figures down
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
8 Dec 15
@arthurchappell The reality is that those figures are meaningless if crime increases.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
8 Dec 15
@Asylum crime would be a different department though - not work and pensions so they'd be happy to get rid of the dole-ites
@Plethos (13718)
• United States
9 Dec 15
you have john lennon, i have joey ramone and jeff hanneman . i find the unemployment services very flawed. they don nothing to help one find a job or training. you have to literally make them tired of hearing from you before you are helped. and why would i want to train in something i was laid off from? maybe i was laid off because the job is dying out! let me re-train for a career of my choice or one that is in demand ! yeah, ive been there. good luck !
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
9 Dec 15
they have had time to train me and others in proper new skills. All they do is revise our resumes, and do mock interviews over and over and send me to random job interviews I have choice but to turn up for with a threat to stop my benefits if I miss anything out - they change times and dates to try to get the unemployed to miss appointments just so they can impose sanctions and save money
1 person likes this
@Plethos (13718)
• United States
9 Dec 15
@arthurchappell - well, unlike california, you have jobs in your state
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@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
9 Dec 15
@Plethos mostly dreadful call centre rolls and marketing work, and some warehousing roles but they tend to have bad hours for non-drivers at least within my range of experience and semi-skilled range
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
9 Dec 15
Im sorry about the whole mess, I again want to urge you to compile your Haikus into a Ebook, I think you'd make a little extra there.
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@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
9 Dec 15
it would be just a little but at present every penny counts
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
10 Dec 15
@arthurchappell yep, income is income!
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
8 Dec 15
thanks - I'll know by tomorrow afternoon how things stand
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