The Good, Bad and Difficult News for 2012

The best news of 2012 has been the knighthood given to Roger Gale.  Roger and Suzy Gale have been totally selfless in their dedication to the residents of North Thanet, and he has been relentless in his campaigning in Parliament for Thanet’s needs. We all know that he is very special – and I am just very pleased that the rest of the world knows that too!

 

But for the majority of us this year is likely to be quite difficult.  There is no question that this country has to go into survival mode.  Politicians will have to work even harder and take some difficult but responsible decisions both locally and nationally, and we have to be realistic that not every resident’s expectations might always be met.

 

But in these hard times, I was rather shocked when I heard that there were several jobs available in one of our leading supermarkets in Thanet that they had not been able to fill.  “What was wrong?”  I asked the manager.  “Well there seemed to be great reluctance about working in the evenings or even at weekends.  It sounds all like too much hard work.”   Over 40 people were interviewed but only a handful recruited. 

 

Another company that is taking on entry level jobs has found it difficult to get recruits because the day starts at 6.30 am. Oh dear! 

 

We cannot continue like this, with a sense of entitlement and a right not to work.

 

And this is even more unacceptable in Thanet because those that are not working are relying on a large number of very low income workers.  These are people who work extremely hard to support their families and never seem to get the credit that they deserve.  While we have been able to take 1 million low paid staff out of the tax system, they should not be asked to foot the bill for those who think that working over a weekend or doing some nights is just too hard!

We need to ensure that we get Thanet working – but for some that needs a change in attitude as much as access to new jobs!