A civil service union has proved that Iain Duncan Smith was talking rubbish when he told the BBC that jobless workers in the South Wales valleys could easily find work if they caught the bus to Cardiff.
Figures released tonight by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) - which represents JobCentre staff - show that there are already nine times as many unemployed people in the Welsh capital as there are jobs.
The combined number out of work in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent - two of the areas a bus ride from Cardiff - is more than the total number of job vacancies for the whole of Wales.
Read the PCS press release.
Red Pepper magazine
only he did not say "easily find work if they caught the bus to Cardiff."
ReplyDeleteNo Nony they weren't his exact words - which is why they are not in quote marks in the blog post.
ReplyDeleteWhat he said was: "The truth is there are jobs. They may not be absolutely in the town you are living in. They may be in a neighbouring town."
He said the South Wales valleys was an example of a place where people had become "static" and "didn't know if they got on the bus an hour's journey they'd be in Cardiff and they could look for the job there".
He went on: "We need to recognise the jobs often don't come to you. Sometimes you need to go to the jobs."
If you click on where it says "told the BBC" in the post above you can watch the video.