Canada is facing a problem in that its own workers are staying on unemployment insurance while close to 200,000 foreign workers are brought in to do jobs that Canadians won't do. Granted these jobs are tough and your hands get dirty. And a significant percentage of the population would consider the work below them.
And here we are, at the crux of it: I really don't know what's right for other people but I know what I would do for myself. I would take the job. I know this because a few times in my life I have taken the job or been willing to do the dirty work rather than sit at home being idle. So, I am left wondering. Why do these folks feel they are better than I? Also, I have to state that at my age and health, there are less and less hard labour jobs I could do -- I have done a bit of damage to my knees and back over my lifetime -- and I am not suggesting folks should do things that will hurt them. I am assuming that I am talking about folks who are able bodied, young, and healthy.
However, I am loath, as I assume most Canadians are, to tell people how to live their lives. I can only say that I feel a quiet resentment when I read this story. And I am left with a ton of questions.
- In harsh economic times, should people be forced to take work they don't want?
- Should people be forced to take work they don't want ever?
- I don't advocate cutting people off from unemployment benefits, but if they refuse to work, is this really fair to the rest of society?
- Would a reduction in benefits make sense?
Okay, okay. I hear you. But in provinces in which there are chronicly high levels of unemployment, I wonder why folks don't move to where they can find a job more to their liking. Yes, it's hard but isn't it better than staying idle? We only have one life. We want to make the best of it, no? So, I guess when it comes right down to it, my real question is why don't folks want to work?
Okay. Come and get me. :)
Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids. Two installments in 2012: The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125. Premium Full Day Summer Camp: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155. Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
Like what you read?
Encourage me by clicking on one of these ads in this blog.
Having been in that position, I took the job. And then I upgraded to a better, but still not at all what I wanted to do job. And then I got back into something that was in my actual field.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I can tell, most employers only want to hire employed people so having a job, any job, makes it easier to find a job than having time to look for a job because you don't have one. Yet another example of business "logic".
I did the same, preferring to keep active and out there. But I still had enough time to pursue jobs in my chosen field. So, so. I agree with you that folks who are working are more attractive to employers than folks who are not.
DeleteBusiness logical? hmmm that's a radical concept.
ReplyDeleteIn the same way they don't want to train people, they ask for lots of experience. It is provenly easier to get a job when you already have one, in just the same way as the bank only wants to lend you money when you don't need any. But surely, unemployment benefits, as paltry as they are, don't last long anyway! So I say, and I would, go get a job, any job, and then pull yourself back up to the top again.
i hear you and agree.
Delete