Day 68: Is the government running an unemployment scam

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 68: Is the government running an unemployment scam

Every now and then, the Canadian and United States government alike likes to boast that the unemployment rate is down by 3%, 6% or even 10%. This is not strictly true. It’s not that a certain percentage of people have found jobs, the truth is that a certain percentage of the unemployed have lost their benefits or were rejected for benefits.

Personally, I work exclusively for Adecco Scarborough and they keep me rather busy. Over the years I’ve become a regular with clients who request my services again and again.

Earlier this year, after having completed a temp assignment I applied for unemployment benefits and received the response that my application was rejected due to lack of hours worked. I had roughly 300 hours and I needed 450.

Later on in the year I applied again for benefits and was again rejected. I had 500 hours and I needed 700.

This week, after having completed more temp assignments, I applied yet again and again my application was rejected. I had 862 hours and I needed 950 hours.

I have two assignments coming up which will give me more than the required 950 hours. My guess is, once I have the 950 hours they will state that I need 1050 hours. And so on and so on. So basically, I will never qualify for unemployment benefits.

The strange thing is though, when I went to the unemployment office, the place was packed with Middle Eastern men and women. All there to collect their money.

Am I being discriminated against because I’m Caucasian? Maybe I should apply for refugee status. Not only will I not need a job, because I will receive ample welfare, but I will get free housing and a bunch of other benefits.

  

Day 47: Temp assignments

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 47: Temp assignments

Yesterday I mentioned that I’m ready to jump out the window because of the awful temp assignment I’m currently doing.

While some people give preference to a full-time job, others think temping is rather cool. By going from one organization to another, one gets to meet a lot of people, the work never gets boring, new things are learned, hours are more or less flexible, and at any time the temp can take time off. It sounds ideal.

Unfortunately, it isn’t. True, temping has a lot of perks, but it also has some down points. There are lots of new beginnings, and new beginnings are usually difficult. 

https://underthetorontosun.blogspot.com/2019/08/day-44-new-assignment.html

Some people temps meet are friendly and helpful, others are rather arrogant. And not all jobs are nice, there have been one or two where I walked out never to return.

Still, the majority of temp assignments are nice and the people are welcoming. Of course, they are welcoming, the temp is there to help out, to make their lives a little easier, to do a job nobody else wants to do.

I remember my very first assignment ever. It was for Flink bakery in Benoni, South Africa. Oh boy, and what an assignment that was.

Every morning the office staff was presented with freshly baked bread with real butter, two types of jam and honey. With it came coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Not in mugs mind you, but in three silver pots along with dainty cups and saucers.

At 10:30 more coffee and tea, along with a selection of muffins, bagels, and tiny pancakes.

At lunchtime, a trolley was pushed in the office holding again warm bread, and a variety of cold cuts and cheeses. 

Coffee and tea to wash it all down.

At 3:00 once again coffee and tea, this time with a huge plate with slices of cake.

I just loved working there and was more than a little sorry when after three weeks the person I was standing in for returned.

My most interesting assignment was working for Ermetek, a military company where I was responsible for typing manuals for tanks. How to take them apart in case of a problem, and how to put them back together again.

Before starting with the company, I had to take the oath of silence. I couldn’t talk about my job to anyone, not my husband, not any member of my family, not with friends, nobody. Not only that, I had to keep this code of silence for 7 years after leaving the company.

Yet another wonderful assignment was working for Lever Brothers. 

Beautiful offices, wonderful people, interesting work, and the benefits … Every month I received a bag with 3 boxes of washing powder, 3 bottles of fabric softener, 3 bottles of detergent, 5 bars of soap, plus some other little goodies. The bag was so heavy, one of the men had to hoist the bag into my car. The day I left, after my 18-month assignment, my department took me out for dinner, and presented me with a dozen long-stemmed roses.

The bottom line is, with temp work you never know where you’ll end up or what is expected of you. When it’s good, you're sorry having to leave, when it’s bad, you know it’s only for a limited time and then you can wave goodbye.

 

Charity vs. people

Anyone see this article in the Huffington Post? 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/warren-buffett-giving-pledge-new-members_n_1896882.html?utm_hp_ref=impact&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

While these businessmen probably have the right idea, it’s not a good idea.  For one, it’s a non-binding agreement, so who is to say that they actually give half of their wealth away?

Wouldn’t it be far better to encourage businessmen to expand their businesses and as such create jobs for those who need them?  That would give people money, not charities.

I don’t like charities.  Never have.  What do they do with the money they receive?  Do they put it to good use, or does it stick to a number of people’s fingers?

And why is some of the text written in pink?  Does that mean that part of that money will go to the Breast Cancer Society?  Gosh I hope not.  Just exactly how much money has been donated to the Breast Cancer Society?  Millions and millions, and women are still dying every day.  I say STOP DONATING, and a cure will be revealed.

Fortunately, I’m not the only one who thinks this way.  I’ve spoken to a number of people who wholeheartedly agree with me.  There is a cure, but it’s more profitable for the Cancer Society to keep people in the dark.  When a cure is revealed, donations will dry up.  Can’t let that happen.

As one person said … “Years of research and millions of dollars and they can’t even come up with a drug that doesn’t cause hair to fall out.”

And why always the Breast Cancer Society?  Why about other types of cancers?  Not good enough for publicity?

This charity giving should stop.  Why not give the money to ordinary people who need it?  People who, for one reason or another, don’t qualify for welfare and work “day and night” for pittance to support themselves.  They exist, I assure you, I know quite a few of them personally. 

Give money to those in need of medical help, but who have to do without because they don’t have benefits. 

When you start looking, you’ll see 101 opportunities that are all better than these damn charities.  I worked for both the Cancer Society and a Help the Children of Africa foundation and I know first-hand of mismanagement of funds. 

Let me put it this way, I wouldn’t give one penny to charity.  I am willing to give to an individual, but an organization … NEVER!

Unemployment

I received a CNN message recently stating:

Economists say at least 150,000 jobs must be created each month simply to keep pace with the growing population.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 8.1% from 8.3%.

Even though this is American news, I think Canada feels much the same.  They talk about job creation and a decrease in unemployment.

Let’s tackle one issues at a time.

Just because the unemployment rate fell from 8.3% to 8.1% doesn’t mean that a number of unemployed people got jobs.  It means that a number of the unemployed lost their benefits. 

I don’t know how it is in the States, but here in Canada when an employee gets laid off, he or she is allocated a certain amount of weeks of unemployment benefits depending on the time he or she worked.  Obviously, the longer a person worked, the more weeks of unemployment he receives.  From what I hear, 42 weeks is the maximum.

Once the allocated weeks are up, the person loses his benefits, in many cases without warning.  Which is why it makes me bloody mad when the government issues proud statements that the unemployment has gone down, it hasn’t, some people are just cut off and left without income.

As for creating jobs ... I can’t quite picture how that works.  Are these jobs created out of thin air?  How does one exactly create a job?  And not just one job mind you, but 150,000 jobs a month.  Please, who do they think they’re fooling?

If an office can run its day to day business with 100 people, they’re not going to employ 110 people.  If a construction site can build a building with 30 people, they’re not going to hire an extra 5.  What are those extra hands going to do?  If extra help is needed, fine, extra people are hired, but businesses are not expanding at such a rate that 150,000 jobs a month can be created.

If anything, lay offs have increased and more and more people are looking for work.  As a temp, I’m feeling the pinch more than ever.

Companies used to call on temps to stand in for absent workers.  That service has decreased.  These days, when an employee is absent, sick or on vacation, his or her duties are divided among other employees.  They are cross trained and over for each other.  Bringing in temps is in many companies a thing of the past. 

It’s all good and well for a politician to stand on a podium and promise to create jobs, but I wonder how that actually works in reality.  Businesses probably think “We don’t need extra help”, while the unemployed shrug their shoulders, roll their eyes and think “Yeah, right”.