My unemployed story

Ajsoprano

I see a lot of dole bashing and if I get let go Id work in McDonald’s type posts. A lot of “they are always in the bookies” threads. So this is how the government of today has sorted out the “dole scrounger”.

I was a plumber in my early 30s making more money than doctors and accountants. All the overtime I wanted. Then things got bad and I was getting a few weeks on a few weeks off a few weeks up north then pretty much nothing.
Employers started only offering into the hand work where you had to get social welfare to make up your wage. I refused to avail of this.
I remember them changing how long your stamps lasted you until they started to harass you.
One day I was called to a meeting with a woman in the welfare office I brought my son in a buggy I thought it was just to drop in forms and the like. She moaned at me for bringing children to a meeting them tore shreds off me when I tried explain work was tight. She sent me to a private company under the jobbridge umbrella because I wasn’t getting the finger out.
First I had to do a course called steps which was a psychology type motivation course which I enjoyed and gave me a bit of confidence back.

I applied for all sorts of jobs but was told I was over qualified or I’d be back plumbing as soon as they trained me.
I went to intreo (New fas) and asked about the gas course for working on boilers. I was told I was the private companies now and intreo couldn’t deal with me.
The private company found me a placement in a car park in Dublin with an Astro and a dancing class beside a really rough flat complex. All these parents used the dancing school. There was no markings in the car park , my job was to be a yellow line. When a car parked where there was an imaginary yellow line on that day I had to tell them to move. I got non stop abuse nearly every day for a year. I also had to turn on and off the lights for the Astro in winter. I’m not one that worries too much about my mental health but looking back now I dreaded going to it and struggled sleeping on work nights. I asked for a safe pass and was told they were sorting one.
I complained about it and was told they have another opening for me in an even worse part of Dublin cleaning a green space and putting out chairs for meetings in a community centre. As far as I remember there was 3 months left on my placement and they wanted me to start this new one all over again so I stuck out the car park.
As soon as the car park job finished I emailed about the safe pass but they didn’t reply anymore.
I got s letter a week later to go to skillsteam another jobbridge type private company.
I had two meetings with them where they told me they’d only pay for my safe pass if I had a letter saying I had a job if I have a safe pass. The gas course was laughed out the door again. In meetings they kept pushing that they had retail jobs but I think this was a threat I don’t think they really had them.
Building of hotels picked up and I got a job. I got my own safe pass that Saturday and started on the Monday. I got a number of phone calls from skillsteam trying to find out my new job details so they could claim a few quid of taxpayers money for getting me off the register I never gave them to them but I’m sure they have ways around that.

I’m back working and paying between 1-200 euro a week tax no thanks to these kick the unemployed schemes.

There are people in my area that have never worked a day in their life that these schemes don’t bother. Who they will bother is you if you lose your job or your kids if they come out of school jobless.

Private companies shouldn’t be anywhere near the social welfare system and it sickens me that my tax goes to private companies to kick jobless people when they are down, humiliate them by standing them in a car park in front of friends and neighbours and parents from my kids activities.

Most people end up out of work at some stage in their life.

ilovesmecounty

Thanks for posting. For everyone 'milking' the system there are hundreds like you. Keep trucking.

Roger Hassenforder

Ajsoprano wrote: »

Private companies shouldn’t be anywhere near the social welfare system and it sickens me that my tax goes to private companies to kick jobless people when they are down, humiliate them by standing them in a car park in front of friends and neighbours and parents from my kids activities.

Were you not looking to privatise social welfare the other day?

Ajsoprano

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

Were you not looking to privatise social welfare the other day?

There was a reason for that thread it was to show the rediculousness of the privatisation of a social welfare system which is what is happening.

Roger Hassenforder

Ajsoprano wrote: »

There was a reason for that thread it was to show the rediculousness of the privatisation of a social welfare system which is what is happening.

Ah.
A parody thread.

DontThankMe

Ajsoprano wrote: »

Private companies shouldn’t be anywhere near the social welfare system and it sickens me that my tax goes to private companies to kick jobless people when they are down, humiliate them by standing them in a car park in front of friends and neighbours and parents from my kids activities.

Most people end up out of work at some stage in their life.

Hang on a minute OP were you not calling for the social welfare system to be privatised in a different thread you started the other day?

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057844098/1/#post106218012

You can't have your cake and eat it, make up your mind and stick to it!

Jack Kanoff

Unfortunately Aj... your story is the norm...not the dole scroungers....
every so often I would advertise a job, 3 day week...and the amount of people who would apply..you'd get the scroungers...come prepared with their piece of paper Id have to sign saying they tried... but that was 3-4 people...
There would be approx 150-200 others applying for the post...and you can see how desperate some are to get back working, I've had people more or less beg me for the position..
It's soul destroying for these people and they've been abandoned by all these agencies....
Glad you're back on your feet, keep it up.

Roger Hassenforder

DontThankMe wrote: »

Hang on a minute OP were you not calling for the social welfare system to be privatised in a different thread you started the other day?

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057844098/1/#post106218012

You can't have you cake and eat it, make up your mind and stick to it!

Apparentky that was a parody...
Not that you'd think it.

NIMAN

I seen this line in your OP

I was a plumber in my early 30s making more money than doctors and accountants. All the overtime I wanted

Can we assume you were very wealthy then by the time you were made unemployed?
Did that affect your dole or how you were treated? Did they ask about savings?

Ajsoprano

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

Apparentky that was a parody...
Not that you'd think it.

If you read the thread you will see at the end of it I used every arguement against privatising the social welfare in a jobbridge thread. I linked this post at the end of the thread but I think by that stage people were too angry because it affected them and not some tracksuit head that they wouldn’t click the link.

Avatar MIA

So, you were motivated to not stay in the Private Social Welfare run scheme and got a job ASAP.

Sounds like things are working just fine.

Ajsoprano

NIMAN wrote: »

I seen this line in your OP

I was a plumber in my early 30s making more money than doctors and accountants. All the overtime I wanted

Can we assume you were very wealthy then by the time you were made unemployed?
Did that affect your dole or how you were treated? Did they ask about savings?

I’d very little savings. No debts but no savings. You could say it was stupid of me but I came out of college at a time when jobs were everywhere I didn’t know it could get that bad.

Ajsoprano

Avatar MIA wrote: »

So, you were motivated to not stay in the Private Social Welfare run scheme and got a job ASAP.

Sounds like things are working just fine.

I’d have got a job at any time I was unemployed there just wasn’t any until then. I didn’t just one day say feck this I’m not working anymore.

Avatar MIA

Ajsoprano wrote: »

I didn’t just one day say feck this I’m not working anymore.

No, because the private company didn't allow you.

Roger Hassenforder

Ajsoprano wrote: »

If you read the thread you will see at the end of it I used every arguement against privatising the social welfare in a jobbridge thread. I linked this post at the end of the thread but I think by that stage people were too angry because it affected them and not some tracksuit head that they wouldn’t click the link.

I unfollowed that thread, you were getting an absolute shellacking. It was difficult reading.


Anyway, good to hear you're back on your feet

Ajsoprano

Avatar MIA wrote: »

No, because the private company didn't allow you.

I worked before the private company and will be working after it’s gone.

purplepanda

ilovesmecounty wrote: »

Thanks for posting. For everyone 'milking' the system there are hundreds like you. Keep trucking.

The "ones" really "milking" the system are those private companies getting government contracts to fleece the taxpayer & providing bogus "help" & "training" for those that lose their jobs.

Great to see Ireland as usual adopting the best ideas from England! :pac:

Grand. Those big bad people trying to get other people off the dole and contributing to their own upkeep. Down with that sort of thing.

Ajsoprano

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Grand. Those big bad people trying to get other people off the dole and contributing to their own upkeep. Down with that sort of thing.

I read one of them was paid 58.5 million last year.

Avatar MIA

Ajsoprano wrote: »

I read one of them was paid 58.5 million last year.

And? How much were the civil servants costing and were they as efficient?

Ajsoprano

Avatar MIA wrote: »

And? How much were the civil servants costing and were they as efficient?

Fas were operating at a time we had full employment.

Ajsoprano

Ajsoprano wrote: »

I read one of them was paid 58.5 million last year.

If they’re getting people back to work and off the dole, then it’s money well spent. If they keep it up, they’ll soon not be needed any more.

Many of us have found ourselves out of work at some stage in our lives. Some of us too advantage of government retraining schemes and things like JobBridge to get ourselves employable again. Even doing CE Schemes. It’s not our fault we lost our jobs. Nor is it the fault of the people whose job it is to help us back to work.

punisher5112

I'm a little lost here... Are you qualified in plumbing¿

They are crying out for plumbers and it could net you a nice sum out on your own also.

Would you not go back at it???

TheAnalyst_

You had a very uncomfortable experience which might not be a bad thing. It certainly drove you to find work asap rather than feeling comfortable on the dole.

wes

Thanks for raising this OP. Very important to highlight the treatment unemployed people suffer at the hands of the obscene privatisation going on with social welfare.

Also, nice to see a thread that isn't started for the express purpose of people to vent there irrational hatred of those on social welfare.

Avatar MIA

Ajsoprano wrote: »

Fas were operating at a time we had full employment.

And where are they now? Poooof!

And full employment is an economic term, there are still people out there at full employment happy not to work. Roughly 5%.

Ajsoprano

Avatar MIA wrote: »

And where are they now? Poooof!

And full employment is an economic term, there are still people out there at full employment happy not to work. Roughly 5%.

You seem to be just rambling.

koumi

at least we know what Leo Veradkars spin machine money is being spent on op, well done on getting yourself back on dry land. (shills abound)

Hector Bellend

Durker Dur tuk ur jobs durrrrrrrrrr

Berserker

purplepanda wrote: »

Great to see Ireland as usual adopting the best ideas from England! :pac:

Is this the same England that has to provide Irish people with jobs every time the economy here falls apart?

um7y1h83ge06nx

Well at least the boom times are back again so that's good. I'm struggling to find a plumber to install a solar system and this is just outside Limerick which was badly hit by the recession.

This time though make sure you're more conservative and think about the rainy days.

Ajsoprano

Kameron Raspy Archivist wrote: »

Well at least the boom times are back again so that's good. I'm struggling to find a plumber to install a solar system and this is just outside Limerick which was badly hit by the recession.

This time though make sure you're more conservative and think about the rainy days.

You’d need more than a plumber to install a solar system into limerick. It’s at least twice as big as limerick. Haha

Guy:Incognito

I'm a plumber and was unemployed a couple of times during the recession. I got on to a crowd and got work in Norway first . They were screaming out for lads all during the recession. There were loads of lads over there from all over Ireland. Money was good but I only did one stint, wasn't for me . Over the next couple of years I started serving my time as a mechanic (turned out they were just after someone to do various jobs for first year wages. Then i worked in a couple of parts jobs, a couple of motor factors (both closed down) and a couriers.

When I was on the dole for a few weeks at one stage I looked at springboard courses and started the gas course in the it in blanchardstown. Didn't finish it because I got offered a job so went with that.

I probably fall in to the "I'd work in x" category so.

Ajsoprano

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

I'm a plumber and was unemployed a couple of times during the recession. I got on to a crowd and got work in Norway first . They were screaming out for lads all during the recession. There were loads of lads over there from all over Ireland. Money was good but I only did one stint, wasn't for me . Over the next couple of years I started serving my time as a mechanic (turned out they were just after someone to do various jobs for first year wages. Then i worked in a couple of parts jobs, a couple of motor factors (both closed down) and a couriers.

When I was on the dole for a few weeks at one stage I looked at springboard courses and started the gas course in the it in blanchardstown. Didn't finish it because I got offered a job so went with that.

I probably fall in to the "I'd work in x" category so.

Maybe you are just the one guy that interviewed better out of the hundreds that applied for the five jobs you got. But good on you for being one of the people with jobs.

um7y1h83ge06nx

Maybe you could emigrate, probably the easiest way to avoid the Government and these private companies. Still pretty happening in Canada, Australia etc.

Ajsoprano

Kameron Raspy Archivist wrote: »

Maybe you could emigrate, probably the easiest way to avoid the Government and these private companies. Still pretty happening in Canada, Australia etc.

I have a job now.

Avatar MIA

Ajsoprano wrote: »

You seem to be just rambling.

Sanity may sound like ramblings to the insane :P

But, shur, it's all good - can't wait to see what your next attention seeking thread will be. 2.5/5 for this one. It's been done before.

AllForIt

Everyone is out for themselves and if they don't succeed at it they give out about ppl who do.

Yours are back working now so why to dwell on it, my husband went to London for work during the downturn, lived in a windowless room that was barely bigger than a double bed, that's life sometimes you just have to get on with. He doesn't think he is a hero he doesn't think anything much about it except that's life.

Hitman3000

Ajsoprano wrote:

If you read the thread you will see at the end of it I used every arguement against privatising the social welfare in a jobbridge thread. I linked this post at the end of the thread but I think by that stage people were too angry because it affected them and not some tracksuit head that they wouldn’t click the link.

You wanted to make the SW staff redundant and hire new workers on minimum wage.

Ajsoprano

Hitman3000 wrote: »

You wanted to make the SW staff redundant and hire new workers on minimum wage.

Read the thread the read the link I posted at the end of it. It’ll all make sense. If you only read a half a thread don’t bother engaging about it.

Ajsoprano

mariaalice wrote: »

Yours are back working now so why to dwell on it, my husband went to London for work during the downturn, lived in a windowless room that was barely bigger than a double bed, that's life sometimes you just have to get on with. He doesn't think he is a hero he doesn't think anything much about it except that's life.

What’s that got to do with jobbridge? Who thinks they are a hero?

koumi

Ajsoprano wrote: »

What’s that got to do with jobbridge? Who thinks they are a hero?

JobBridge was a pretty nasty experiment, especially for those who ended up propping up the public sector, which is what I believed it was designed for and got little but abuse in return for their effort and even more when they attempted to highlight the nature of it. It was a special kind of abuse. Thankfully it was binned however for anyone who hasn't experienced it I doubt there will be much they can relate to so best leave it in a safe place and march onward. (I'm also aware of the absolute mental and psychological affects of schemes like Turas Nua which I suspect will also go the way of JobBridge in due time) Don't take the lack of understanding to heart.

Ajsoprano

koumi wrote: »

JobBridge was a pretty nasty experiment, especially for those who ended up propping up the public sector, which is what I believed it was designed for and got little but abuse in return for their effort and even more when they attempted to highlight the nature of it. It was a special kind of abuse. Thankfully it was binned however for anyone who hasn't experienced it I doubt there will be much they can relate to so best leave it in a safe place and march onward. (I'm also aware of the absolute mental and psychological affects of schemes like Turas Nua which I suspect will also go the way of JobBridge in due time) Don't take the lack of understanding to heart.

Thanks for that I think some people here just go onto threads to say mean things to anyone no matter what their views. I think it’s a self esteem thing.
When I say jobbridge I mean all schemes jobbridges with name changes really. Community service type jobs. But not in a serving the community way more in the court service sort of way.

Ajsoprano

Ajsoprano wrote: »

What’s that got to do with jobbridge? Who thinks they are a hero?

Jobbridge has been discontinued has it not, it wasn't a good idea for someone like the op. Going to college and upskilling would have been a better idea. I am not being rude to you but why are you dwelling on it now.

koumi

Ajsoprano wrote: »

Thanks for that I think some people here just go onto threads to say mean things to anyone no matter what their views. I think it’s a self esteem thing.
When I say jobbridge I mean all schemes jobbridges with name changes really. Community service type jobs. But not in a serving the community way more in the court service sort of way.

Ce schemes were fine back in the day, when they paid you a wage and also provided access to qualification in your area of work. They just stopped paying people for the work they were doing and instead used the money to prop up private companies who did little to help the clients they were being payed to find work for, but continuing to use it as a way to construct false unemployment stats. Nobody benefited other than the employers and private agencies.

Ajsoprano

mariaalice wrote: »

Jobbridge has been discontinued has it not, it wasn't a good idea for someone like the op. Going to college and upskilling would have been a better idea. I am not being rude to you but why are you dwelling on it now.

Because other people are in that boat now. Any of us could be in it in the next few years. Our children will all have to do a years free training in any job they take by the time they finish school. We are heading down the crapper. That’s why I dwell on it.
They are hoovering up tax money to themselves. Tax money we pay for our stamps goes to them to kick us when we are out of work.

Did you just read the title and come in rambling that your husband had a job in London before and didn’t get a medal?

I’m not including you but there seems to be a few people here that spend their whole time defending these kick the unemployed schemes.

Hitman3000

Ajsoprano wrote:

Read the thread the read the link I posted at the end of it. It’ll all make sense. If you only read a half a thread don’t bother engaging about it.

I bowed out after reading what I found to be nonsense.

MouseTail

Ajsoprano wrote: »

Did you just read the title and come in rambling that your husband had a job in London before and didn’t get a medal? .

Thats harsh, the poster was empathising that lots of people had to make sacrifices during the crash, emigrating, working in jobs unrelated to their qualifications and skills, returning to education, participating in schemes etc. It was necessary to keep the head above water. But whats the point in dwelling on it? Learn from it, prepare for the next rainy day and move forward.

Ajsoprano

MouseTail wrote: »

Thats harsh, the poster was empathising that lots of people had to make sacrifices during the crash, emigrating, working in jobs unrelated to their qualifications and skills, returning to education, participating in schemes etc. It was necessary to keep the head above water. But whats the point in dwelling on it? Learn from it, prepare for the next rainy day and move forward.

The schemes is what I have a problem with not the recession. They happen every few decades. Will I have to do security in a car park during the next one in my 60s where the parents wear pyjamas and think I’m trying to be a garda because I ask them to move from an invisible yellow line?

Ajsoprano

Ajsoprano wrote: »

Because other people are in that boat now. Any of us could be in it in the next few years. Our children will all have to do a years free training in any job they take by the time they finish school. We are heading down the crapper. That’s why I dwell on it.
They are hoovering up tax money to themselves. Tax money we pay for our stamps goes to them to kick us when we are out of work.

Did you just read the title and come in rambling that your husband had a job in London before and didn’t get a medal?

I’m not including you but there seems to be a few people here that spend their whole time defending these kick the unemployed schemes.

I support the welfare state and supporting individual is a complex area, despite getting exasperated with some of the silly anecdotes and welfare basing that goes on here I do understand that some people do feel aggrieved about long-term welfare and those who won't help themselves. That might be the reason you are getting some of the responces that appear here.