What the Dickens!

LAST week's Citizen front page paints a true picture of life in 'Cool Britannia' as we enter a new millennium. A big multi-national corporation takes on 100 local workers, makes them graft all hours to meet deadlines and then, four days before Christmas, summarily dismisses the lot. "But they were only on short term contracts" is no excuse, some had been working there since February and before that. Local people are hired and fired like slaves but local politicians are quick to line up to support "blue chip" companies and mutter something about it being unfortunate for the people involved. It's about time our elected leaders stood up for the rights of the people they are supposed to represent rather than forever pandering big to business whose drive for profit is often at the expense or ordinary people's family lives environment and sense of well being. I thought that's why we all voted Labour at the last election! We are often told that we have to face up to the harsh reality of a competitive world market but when huge companies can announce tens of millions in profit and in another breath lay off thousands of workers you know that argument is totally bogus. A hundred years on from Dickens and exploitation and social inequality is alive and well on the streets of Britain.