Two years have passed since a dozen local residents fell
victim to a conman who had managed to infiltrate Universal Jobmatch, the
website set up by the Government to help people look for work.
Since then, thankfully, the Government has tightened up the
security on the website. I’ve not received any further reports of fraudulent
activity.
But there are still too many dodgy vacancies being posted on
the website. Over the past couple of weeks, in particular, Birkenhead residents
have been in touch with concerns about some of the jobs they’re being asked to
apply for.
Last week, when looking at the jobs being advertised within
20 miles of Birkenhead, people were being advised to apply for jobs in Oxford,
Bristol and even Dubai. I don’t think even Concorde could get them to work on
time each day, let alone home again!
Other jobs were being advertised at £5 an hour – below the
minimum wage – while another vacancy posted just two weeks ago was offering
Christmas temping work.
There is of course the danger, if people looking for work
become so demoralised by this experience, that genuine local businesses might
then struggle to recruit the workers they need to grow their operations.
An utmost priority must be to ensure Universal Jobmatch
works both for local businesses and those people who are desperately looking
for a job. I am planning to make a submission to the Government with a series
of proposals to achieve this objective.
Might I therefore make
a plea for jobseekers and small businesses in Birkenhead, who have used
Universal Jobmatch, to contact me with details of their experience and any
reforms they would like to see enacted to the website? You can contact me via
email on
[email protected], or by
writing to me at the House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
