Dealing with The Man

'Signing on' doesn't come easily to me, it is like an acceptance of failure- less so now after it sinks in that I paid taxes during my working time to secure me against times when I am not. The last time I was made redundant I had problems with the Job Shop operative who told me that a £18,000 minimum salary was "unrealistic" because it was more than she was earning. Luckily, she threatened me with her manager so I insisted on speaking with them and she became my contact. Luckily; I wasn't signing on for long, but I nearly lost my house!

The Tories have been in power since I was last 'on the dole' and I made sure I was over-prepared for my encounters. The online service is a nightmare that doesn't properly work and the verification process they use doesn't recognise my bank- which is hardly a 'local' concern but a national company which meant having to attend the Job Shop for a Verification Interview in addition to the online bollocks. Yesterday I had the first official interview. I dressed as if for work. I printed out job applications, job search targets, the EOI I submitted last week along with financial projections and smiled. The guy assigned to me had a sort of non-handshake- his hand seemed to die in mine. He was very polite- totally unlike the "security" around the building whose bad attitude towards everyone coming into the building was palpable. I've not yet seen 'I, Daniel Blake' but wondered if it has had an effect on the way the workers operate- the film is set in Newcastle after all. He asked me what sort of work I was seeking and I rattled off a stream of possibles and handed him my CV. He said I was much more experienced than he was (I've probably been working all his life so that's no surprise). The "commitment" I made with them included that I was going to spend 35hours per week looking for work. When he said that to him I gave him an incredulous look before playing the game, adopting the role and saying, "yes, of course I will spend every waking moment looking for work!" It was important for me to take charge of the situation. In the end both operatives I met said that mine had been their most straightforward interviews all day. I still don't know how much I'll recieve from them. I found it ominous that there was no discussion about my actual liabilities. Then I discovered that the first payment I will receive from them will be in 35 days! ALSO: if I am to work 35 hours per week 'looking for work' because that it the activity for which the government is 'paying' me, and minimum wage is £7.29hr, does that mean I should receive at least £255.15 per week from them? 

I applied for a job I don't want yesterday and have another one to submit today that is marginally better. I HAVE come across a couple of things that do sound interesting, but my hopes are with raising money for CHN to support the Eurotrash Upcycled and poultry projects. I have to get the gardener from Cowgate to design the Food Wall for which we got most of the funding. I won't hear anything about the EOI until after December 9th. If I do get a job offer before then (SO unlikely!) I'll have zero qualms about leaving it to do my own thing.