It seems the US doesn’t have a lock on padding governmental payrolls with salaried positions that don’t really add a lot of value to the tax-paying public. The Telegraph reports that Britain’s Coalition government is going after local councils for cutting back on essential services like libraries and education while retaining such employees as “cheerleading development officer”, bouncy castle attendant & “future shape programme manager”.
(I have to say that of those three, the only one I can actually fathom in terms of duties is the bouncy castle attendant. I didn’t even know Britain had cheerleaders. Hmm. Maybe future shape program management involves a Magic 8 Ball? I could do that job!)
Local councils are the infrastructure of the UK’s government—there’s Her Majesty’s Government (Parliament, ministries & some central services like motorways, Metropolitan Police & the NHS) & then there are the borough councils, who are pretty much responsible for everything else. Including a lot of the policies affecting the NHS within their jurisdictions.
Apparently the existence of these, uh, jobs of questionable community value (unless you’re restricting “community” to those persons who hold them) is not news. The Times (London) reported on them two years ago, back when Labour were in power. Evidently Glasgow employs a “street mediator”, who “deals” with kids hanging out on street corners.
(My question is: only one street mediator? In Glasgow? S/he must be busier than a flea-infested hound dog's hind leg.)
Trade unions are of course rearing up on their hind legs to defend the jobs & I’m sure the Tories/Lib-Dems are pounding fists about the waste (but are probably silent about who’s on their own staff doing what jobs). & since the jobs have been around for a long time (in one case—a ceremonial mace-bearer for Newcastle-upon-Tyne—evidently since 1399. According to a Newcastle former Lord Mayor), I’m betting that the story will die down without much being actually, you know, done about it.
So enjoy it while you can.
& if you have any thoughts on what a future-shape program manager or cheerleading development officer might be, please share.
No comments:
Post a Comment