Send George Osborne a message: it’s time to take action on jobs
25.11.11 - Helen
Last week, it was announced that unemployment has gone up again – with youth unemployment at a record high.
That day, we launched a new campaign – to tell the real stories behind the headlines, and try to make Osborne and Cameron realise how many people are suffering at a result of their failed economic gamble.
We were overwhelmed with the response. Hundreds of people got in touch to tell us about how they are being personally affected by this jobs crisis.
People like Lyn, whose husband’s job in the private sector is at risk because of this Government’s austerity drive. She said: “My husband designs electronic equipment bought by the NHS. His job is under threat because of cuts to the NHS.”
Next week, Chancellor George Osborne makes his Autumn Statement about the economic situation. We want to send him a message that it’s time to abandon his reckless gamble with the economy, and start taking action on jobs. Will you join us?
http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/jobscrisis-action
We’ve put some of your jobs crisis stories on a map, so you can see the effect that this Government’s economic policies are having on real people across the country.
People like Kenneth, who works in the construction industry, and wrote to tell us that this is the first time he’s been out of work. He said: “I’ve never seen so many in the industry laid off due to cancellation of major construction projects.”
And we heard from Eileen, a secondary school teacher, who worried about what the future will hold for her pupils if the government doesn’t act to help young people find jobs: “I grieve for the students leaving education/ training who will find themselves unemployed and without hope.”
To make matters worse, this week the Government announced a package of measures to make it easier to sack people. In the midst of an unemployment crisis, their response is to help employers put people out of work.
And although the extent of this jobs crisis has forced the government to announce their youth jobs subsidy this morning, their new scheme is worth just a fraction of the Future Jobs Fund they scrapped a year ago – and it won’t even come into force until the middle of next year. This token effort is too little, too late – and it’s looking increasingly likely that they’re going to squeeze family incomes to pay for it, by freezing payments like tax credits, which help low and middle income families make ends meet.
It’s time for Osborne and Cameron to realise that their austerity programme is just not working – it’s putting people out of work. The Tories like to talk tough about paying down the deficit, but by putting tens of thousands of people on the dole - claiming benefits instead of paying taxes - their sums simply don’t add up. They're making it harder to get the deficit down.
Join us today, and call on Osborne to stop his risky economic gamble, and start taking action to tackle this jobs crisis.
http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/jobscrisis-action
Thanks
Helen
PS. If you are affected by this jobs crisis, add your story here: http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/jobscrisis. Or if you know someone affected, why not forward them this email and ask them to share their story too.
