Seasonal work jjust doesn’t work for many

UNEMPLOYED not wanting to be employed? The situation is surely more complicated than it seems.

Seasonal workers that came to this country were often from low economy countries, and coming here was attractive in comparison.

They would work like crazy for a few months, often putting up with crowded housing and bad conditions, but able to send money home, then return home.

This does not work for British people who may have a home and children.

A seasonal job is not enough and is often out of area. If your partner works too, then who looks after the children?

Into the mix goes cost of travelling every day and childcare. It’s just not cost effective.

Consider if you are in your twenties and want to be an HGV driver. I understand that the cost of training and the test is around £4.000. Not many can afford that.

The hours are long and you sleep in your cab, all part of the job.

But as detailed in the press, facilities at the night stops are often shocking. (Apparently a truck stop in Britain, unlike most other countries, is often a sea of mud and with freezing open showers.) Not a great incentive to face that daily.

Moving area to find work sounds simple, but the high cost of housing and rentals prevents people moving to find employment, particularly in the expensive south.

So don’t label people as unmotivated.

Don’t think people don’t want the same as you: decent job, decent wages and decent housing.

Of course they do.

Sue Nicholas By email

Jane Murphy Breast Cancer Now Clinical Nurse Specialist