This is a subject very close to my heart, I have to say. Many people have asked me over the past few weeks why we called the blog pitsnpots, well it's very simple, when I was a pupil at the then Hanley High School (now Mitchell High) we had a career advisor who's favourite saying was "it pits 'n' pots for you useless lot!" That's what Stoke was all about to us naive school leavers. It was only the really clever pupils that went on to further education and fewer still went on to university. The vast majority of school leavers got an apprenticeship if they were lucky but for the most it was off to a "pot bank" or down the pit!
Well over the last 25 years the cities industries have gone into terminal decline. Very few pottery firms are left and there is no mining industry within the five towns. Big employers in our cities are changing beyond recognition and worse still are massively downsizing. Look at Doultons, Wedgewood, Creda, Michelin the loss completely of Shelton Bar and the Tile Manufacturers Wrists Wires & Cables, the list is endless. In our city we always had a proud engineering tradition, but very few of these small independent engineers have survived. To read that JCB are just coming to the end of their consultation period before making up to 700 employees redundant. I know many lads who working on the various JCB factories and these men are constantly worried for their future. This credit crunch has hit the housebuilding industry hard, building companies are discounting existing housing stock by up to 40%.The world markets along with it's banking industry is in turmoil.
JCB have been a mainstay employer in this area 60 years and pay a decent wage for a decent day's work. The companies employees have a enjoyed a fair standard of living.
Our skilled industries and workforce are being lost to storage, warehousing and distribution type businesses. The average weekly wage in this city is around £360 in comparison to the national average weekly wage of £450 a difference of £90.
With the loss of 700 jobs from JCB along with other redundancies across the area can only lead to the weekly wage average falling even lower.
What can be done to attract better jobs with higher than average wages? what do we expect our politicians to do? Is it not the job of the Elected Mayor to be the Cities ambassador and go out to sell our city to the blue chip companies from inside and outside the UK? If the city does end with the BNP running it would that effect investment coming in to our city and damage our reputation?
The Sentinel story can be view by clicking this link:
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Fears-job-losses-JCB/article-390451-detail/article.html
15 comments:
This is the biggest crime perpetrated on the people of this city by the Labour party. 60 years they held power here, and yet they watched our industries die and did nothing to stop the rot, or replace what was taken!
Coal, steel, potteries, all taken,
and what have they been replaced with? Warehousing jobs, storage jobs, jobs that pay minimum wage and
offer our youngsters no chance of
secure, future employment. Harriet Harman has said it's alright for employers to discriminate against white, working class males, in order to get immigrants in to jobs.
So the job market just got even tougher for the native potters!
This is what central government has to do. It has to stop wasting money on the EU, stop giving money away to corrupt, foreign dictatorships, and point its efforts on inward investment, rebuilding our manufacturing base,
and research and development in order to give us the products on which to rebuild manufacturing.
I don't think they will do it, you'll have to wait until the BNP form the government.
It's a crying shame, to see the City lose all it's industry over the years, and what is one offer now, as Brooneyes states, jobs in Warehousing, Storage.
Why have we lost some of these industries? It is because it was cheaper to move and operate them abroad. How is this right?
The pottery industry, is an example of this. It was cheaper to make the wares abroad.
You try and ring your local bank, and its a call centre abroad. You try and get them to put you through to your local branch, and its virtually impossible. We have lost that personal contact haven't we.
What job prospects do some of our youngsters really have. Worrying times. They may go to college, and university, and gain all the qualifications, but in reality, many will have to move out of the area, as decent jobs are hard to find.
Is this problem just in Stoke on Trent, or is it happening all across the Country?
The fact that we are standing on 500 years of coal, begs the question why aren't we digging it up?
The pottery industry was allowed (by our own "leaders") to be taken abroad for cheap labour, as Nita staed.
They used the excuse that they could not make a profit, so what did Steelyte do that they could not.
We still have smaller pottery firms in the area, that are trying to make a living,with no help, and if we don't support them they will go under.
We still have the skills and the manpower, but the Government don't want to help them get back up.
Call centres have become the nightmare of everybody, when half the time you cannot understand what is being said, or your private details are being banded about.
We are now exporting scrap metals, wheres the logic in that.
We need to conserve all our resorces, and block cheap imports, and build up our manufacturing base, which "our" Governments have systematically destroyed.
We have done it before.
Terry, I'd heard there were several hundred years worth of coal
left to mine, and with carbon capture technology, we could run coal fired power stations with an almost neutral carbon footprint. Do not know why Meredith hasn't taken a serious look into ressurecting a small part of the mining industry. Jobs, money, cheap power, which in turn could equate to lower council taxes through financial savings with the cheaper fuel..., it's one of those subjects you could "daisychain"; one link to another, to another, etc. Lots of potential there Terry,
might be an idea to sort out some basic policy proposals?
hi guys,
my hubby came home on tuesday to say he had been transfered to rocester from cheadle to help them out. he was met with any icy reception, i mean, jcb is jcb not individual factories, 1 employee stated " he was taking another mans job" he was Told not asked to go there'
he's been at compact products now for 15 yrs.
we are soo worried at this moment in time, if it's not the bloody schools to worry about it's hubby's job now.
i ask myself what is there in stoke to be cheery about, n yet i feel so guilty for thinkin it, as i am well aware there are many ppl out there more unfortunate than us.
Dnagermouse. Thanks to the greed and stupidity of the banking fraternity, everyone is going to
suffer to a certain extent, and there is no, one size fits all answer. All you can do for now is just keep plugging along, tightening your belt as you go.
Don't feel guilty, the blame for the state of this city lies fairly and squarely with Meredith and his cohorts.
Craig,
what a complete load of crap, you've spouted there! I'm no fan of the elected mayor but there is no way that he is at fault for the JCB situation. Yes, the fault lies with the banking sector and we must not forget that this problem originated in the USA. That's the problem with you lot in the BNP, everything has to be the fault of the opposition or the government or Mark Meredith. If this city was in the hands of the BNP, how would it be better? All you would be interested in is how to rid the city of people who's skin colour is anything but white! Would your party attract investment in our city that would bring much needed jobs? I don't think so! Which of your racist far right councilors would run for Mayor? Steve Batkin? a man who publicly denied the holocaust? He would be a great ambassador for our city wouldn't he? Would a multi national company who legally can not discriminate, set up in this city if it was run by racists who's sole aim is to discriminate against all non whites!
you need to take of those WHITE rose tinted glasses off Craig and see all the COLOURS that make up this world, i tell you this it's a more interesting and peaceful world than the world your lot want!
Tony, the only one talking crap round here is you!
The financial problems started in the States?!
The financial problems now ravaging this bloody country, started in this country with these stupid, pig greedy bankers selling
mortgages that people couldn't possibly afford! Do you really think that if Britains financial institutions had acted with restraint and commonsense, that we'd still be in this mess? Of course we wouldn't!
So Meredith and his pals aren't responsible for the local economy now? If, at any time, these shortsightes lefties had looked at the path down with our local manufacturing infrastructure was travelling, they would have seen that something needed to be done to replace the industries that we lost! What the bloody hell are they doing investing money in some
back street, Icelandic bank, when they should be investing it in rebuilding the infrastructure of the city they are supposed to be in charge of! More greed, that's what!
As for the rest of that colour
prejudiced b*llocks you've written,
that is your opinion! I don't want to live in a multi culti hellhole like we have now, and my problem is I haven't been given a choice!!
Let's bloody vote on whether or not we want a multiracial, multicultural hodge podge of a society, losers agreeing to live by the winners' choice.
As for that pathetic crap about
the holocaust, no-one denied the holocaust happened, what they did was question the numbers supposedly killed. But what the hell has that to do with politics in Stoke-on-Trent?
You know what I think, I think sad, lefty tossers like you have run out of arguments over policy,
and democracy, and all you're left with are these spiteful, childish outbursts because you know come the election, you're going to get a world class arse kicking! Now bugger off and don't come back until you have some adult, mature
comments to make!
Craig.
Let me give you a scenario.
A majority BNP Parlaiment.
A BNP Prime Minister.
A BNP Elected Mayor.
A Majority BNP Council.
You claim, at the moment you have no choice but to live in this 'Multi Culti Hellhole'.
The scenario above would reverse this policy of a muticultaral Britain, I presume, and everything would be ok.
You argue of 'no choice' and no one asked your permission (NOT TRUE, incidentally).
Craig, what about my choice to live in such a Society if you lot get your way?
The indigenous people of this country have not been offered the chance to say whether or not multiculturalism is what they want.
Most recently, this springs from Labours fascism in reneging on the deal to give them a referendum on the Lisbon treaty. Our sovereignty is now in the hands of foreign usurpers intent on building the world as they see it whether you want it or not.
The BNP say the native people of these lands have a fundamental right to decide on policies that will vastly alter their lives, prior to them being implemented!
Your choice as to how you wanted to live would be taken at the same time. We vote, the majority takes the keys to the kingdom, that's the fairest way to do it.
As part on the LabCon trick, they are trying to write out of our history,
The charter of liberties 1100,
The Magna Carta, 1215.
The Treason Act 1351.
The Declaration of Rights 1689.
The Bill of Rights 1689.
The Treason,and Felony Act 1848.
If anyone is is dought as to what they have done, by not giving a referendum look up your rights under these laws.
The question, Where has all our industry gone? should read where has all our money gone?
At the last Audit meeting, there was a discrepancy of £5 million, and fraud totaling £75,000, in the Executive, but no investigation?
How much more is filtered away in foreign bank accounts, and wil they tell the public?
This is money that could be invested in this city, but is not, WHY?
So you accept, Craig that the majority of people in this Country continue to accept that this Viking/Roman/Norman multi cultural Island (Welsh/Irish/Scots/a few English) is one and the same Country we live in today.
The BNP wish to alter a thousand years of history that made Britain GREAT!
Somehow, Craig, I think the BNP policy of racism is flawed.
Does the warden know you're out again Mr Elsby?
Here's a good old fashioned English saying. It refers to diminished mental capacity, and is particularly pertinent to your case.
"You are as nutty as squirrelsh*t"
Craig Pond.
I have read many of your comments on this site.
When others catch you out on your content, info, or policy discussions, you accuse others of being childish, and you respond in the most rude and offensive as well as childish manner, I have ever yet seen.
And you are supposedly a 'mature' adult !
If you cannot debate on a policy basis, without getting personal - you should stop your postings and blogging, until you can.
Anonymous,
at least I don't hide behind an alias. You poultry.
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