The day the Kaiser Chiefs were proven right!

Dear Britain

Over the past week we have some some absolutely horrific scenes as thousands of people, primarily youths, engaged in scenes that would make the Next sale queues look like a walk in the park.Shops and businesses throughout the country were looted and set alight, peoples lives were turned upside down and homes were destroyed. It became quickly apparent that one thing that was seriously lacking in society was 'Respect'. Respect for authority, respect for property and a massive lack of respect for each other in general. In fact the only thing that there doesn't seem to have been a lack of is 'excuses'. Let's take a look at some of my personal favourites.

'The riots occurred because a man with a gun got shot'

It is widely understood that it was the 'unprovoked' shooting of Mark Duggan (father of 4... I think it is law that the media have to point this fact out every time he is mentioned) that was the catalyst for these riots. And rightly so. I mean lets ignore the fact he had a gun for a second (I am sure he had a self loading handgun for a completely innocent reason), a dad was shot. Everyone knows dad's don't cause trouble, even ones with self loading handguns. He could have been a farmer...in Tottenham. Perfect reason for the rioting...no?

'Young people have nothing to do'

This is very true... Call of Duty MW3 isn't going to be released until November and everyone has finished COD: Black Ops. These kids COULD have spent their time doing what young people did when I was a kid, (building go carts, climbing trees, playing football, flicking through a discarded 'adult' magazine in the park... innocent stuff like that) but nothing can compare to nicking some Reeboks!

'The coalition government caused it'

Everyone knows that cutting EMA is a perfect excuse for a massive group of 9 to 30 year old's to go out and steal stuff. It doesn't matter that most of these people wouldn't be able to claim EMA anyway...what with them choosing not to go to college. I suppose it could have been a lack of employment prospects caused by lib/con economic policy (and not a thing to do with Labour letting banks do what they want for 12years of course!) but I'm not sure there are enough paper rounds to go around, especially not with the News of the World gone.

So there you have it. Perfect excuses for what has happened over the past 5 days. Indeed we haven't even touched on the 'coming from a single parent family' or 'living in a council house' yet. Oh wait... both of those applied to me growing up! better go grab myself a free telly!

love and hugs

Kev Walsh

xxxxx

How Cooperative are the Co-Op?

Dear Sir,

On Thursday 9th June 2011 I was invited to the CFS building on Miller Street, Manchester to be interviewed for the position of Information Analyst in the IT department of Co-operative Financial Services. Before I continue I must say that the interviewers where fantastic and made me feel extremely welcome, it was one of the most enjoyable interviews I have had in my lifetime.

You can understand my disappointment when, on Tuesday 14th June 2011, I was contacted by the CFS to be informed that they would not be taking my application any further due to "an adverse credit rating". I was immediately taken aback by this. Whilst I have, as many people in the UK have, defaulted a few times on various payments I have always strived to keep on top of my finances. A particularly difficult task given the current economic climate. 

After a few minutes i called the CFS representative who had contacted me to ask for clarification on a few things. Namely why a poor credit rating, due to defaults and NOT CCJ's or bankruptcy, would prevent me from being able to carry out the role of Internal Communications Analyst. I was informed that this was because I would be "unable to open a Staff Bank Account". 

Now I hope you do not mind sir but I was hoping for clarification on a number of things that your colleague was unable to provide.

1) Why is it a requirement that all employees hold a CFS Staff Bank Account?

2) Would it be possible for a CFS Staff member to carry out their role to full effect without holding a CFS Staff Account?

3) The CFS Values clearly state that the CFS:

• We put our members and customers first in all we do
• Together we create a great place to work, grow and develop
• We are open & fair and are committed to excellent communication
• We strive relentlessly to be faster, better more successful
• We take personal and social responsibility

Would it not be right to say then that by adopting a policy that ensures over 25% of the UK population are unable to pursue a career with the CFS (1 in 4 people are currently affected by poor credit history due to defaults) then the CFS are failing somewhat to uphold their values of taking personal and social responsibility; creating a great place to work grow and develop; and being open and fair and committed to excellent communication?

4) Will the CFS be able to reimburse my travel costs, totalling £8.05p, that i incurred whilst travelling to an interview for a job that, due to CFS policy, I had no chance of getting?

I do hope you can take the time to answer these queries. I am a great admirer of the CFS and the Co-Op Group and I would have been tremendously proud to have worked for an organisation that holds the very same values that I myself am so passionate about. It is just a shame that due to policy decisions in the organisation I shall, along with 15.5 million other people within the UK, be considered unemployable by the Co-op Financial Services.

Kindest regards

Les Miserables