But certainly it’s got tougher. One friend who works for a solicitor has agreed to a wage cut of 20% (while others in the practice were recently made redundant). And someone else who went for a clerical job heard nothing and when she enquired was told 300 people had applied. So it’s not just about seasonal employment.

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I’m not entirely sure why local Tories are reacting as they have, but perhaps it’s their automatic response to anything from the TUC!

To be fair to Andrew Turner, his reaction is more measured, and he quotes the “6.2% unemployment for people of working age” figure, which just shows how different things can appear according to the stats you read. There might not be so many people out of work, but if they’re all chasing a tiny number of vacancies, it still looks bad…

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Why do the senior figures on the island accuse the TUC of skewing figures? After all this implies disinformation? Surely this is a hysterical response by David Pugh and Andrew Turner. It is not that the TUC is going to lead the country out of the economic crisis (as most trades’ unionists would agree from experience). The point is that they have made some analysis out of existing figures provided by the National Statistics Office (ONS). Does anyone really think that the TUC wants to single out any specific area for the sake of it? Why would it want to? There is no implied axe to grind with the Isle of Wight. The fact that it appears at the top of the list is neither here nor there. For the MP to jump out of his chair at the mere mention of the Isle Wight shows how sensitive the issue is and that there is a need for something to be done.

Most of the time real information is limited and it is real information that is required for people to take democratic decisions on the objective basis of being informed. Turner readily quotes the figure of 2 million unemployed but we know that this is the government figure for those that sign on and is also misleading. There are many on the island we know that do not sign on. For Turner to use the terms “basket case” is misleading as this would imply the whole country, which has problems is also the same. Surely no-one would want to suggest this is the case. If the logic is that what is actually presented as an indicator of jobs available versus people unemployed then we know that this logic would apply right across the nation and the issue is that something needs to be done about it.

Pugh is sitting comfortably in his well paid job. To speak about jobs being available across the wider economy is dismissive of a real problem for solution. Many jobs have gone or are going from his Council staff. A number of small businesses have already gone to the wall in recent times, people on the island already know where these are, some due to the economic situation and underlying unemployment is increasing. For many years before the recession there have been difficulties both in employment and low paid work so what is Pugh trying to tell us, that everything is alright? This is the crux of the response by the senior figures, that the question is one of image and how others see their patch. Is everything fine when the tourist season starts or is this the real godsend for jobs every year? Does employment in agriculture zoom skyward with decent pay, as Pugh would imply with his wishful thinking? Surely the real situation has to be uncovered and who is in a better position to do it than him?

The cartel parties, Labour, Liberal and Tory are still presenting themselves as the only solution to the crisis and yet the main parties are the ones who have been the stewards of the economy that has led to these situations. What are the solutions put forward? Is it only to bail out the banks and pay the rich? What are Pugh and Turner saying are the issues and solutions on the Isle of Wight? They are saying nothing.

The TUC says that the claimant to vacancy ratio on the Isle of Wight represents the worst hit area. Is the logic based on the limited facts sound? If so, because facts are stubborn things, are their conclusions also sound? They say that, “The Government must now accept that unemployment is a national emergency and use all possible means to stem further job losses, create new jobs and provide greater financial help to people who have lost their jobs through no fault of the their own”.

To help limit further job losses, increase the number of vacancies and provide extra help for the unemployed, the TUC is calling on the Government to;

give short-term wage subsidies to viable firms who are struggling with credit subsidies, topping up workers’ wages and preventing unnecessary and costly job losses;
introduce major public investment programmes to create new jobs in growth areas of the economy such as high skilled manufacturing, creative and green industries; and,
increase Job Seekers Allowance from £60.50 a week to at least £75 a week to provide extra financial help for people who are struggling to get by.
It appears that while the powers that be fiddle while Rome burns, the people have to envisage and also endure the consequences as they arrive. The time has surely come for the intelligent to disseminate the issues on the basis of true facts. The conclusions arrived at by the TUC only suggest ways of alleviating some of the problems caused by the economic crisis they are not a total solution based on limited analysis caused by limited facts.

There are real facts to be uncovered, some positive work has been done by Ryde Trades Council and needs to be furthered by those interested. The conclusions arrived at is that more should be put into the island economy than is taken out, which they analyse as a problem that exists here. They also say that an island dissemination group should be set up whereby alternative politics can be developed based on analysis derived from facts and decision making can be made by ordinary people.

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Depends who’s doing the skewing, I think, Steve!

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The devil is in the detail, though. How many of those jobs go to Islanders and how many to temporary residents? My experience of horticultural jobs suggests that few locals are interested in that kind of work…

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How can we be worse off than Merthyr Tydfil?

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