On the Dole

I went to register as unemployed today. I've tried to avoid it, but if nothing else I need to keep my contribution record up to date and there's a small amount of money as well.

I arrived just before nine and there was already a large crowd waiting to 'sign on', that is to register their continuing unemployment. Those, like me, who were there to register for the first time went upstairs and sat in a waiting area. Nothing much happened for half an hour. The staff sat around chatting and there was no sense of urgency.

The man I was sitting next to had just been released from prison as the top document of the heap he was holding made clear. He was very agitated, angry and clearly annoyed about the wait. Several of the youngsters registering looked quite lost. It's a sad place.

First off I was seen by an efficient and polite lady who checked my form then asked me to sign it. She also copied my passport, last payslip and a bank statement to prove my identity and address. Quite how a foreigner can defraud the system, as the popular press alleges, is a mystery.

Another half an hour wait and the ex-prisoner is really angry. He makes the valid point that even if he hasn't a job to go to, there are better things to do than sit around in a Government office.

I'm directed to another desk where a smart young man explains to me in broken English that I have to sign on on Friday, then every two weeks after that. I also have to sign an undertaking that I will try to find a job.

The clerk was obviously a recent immigrant, probably from the Baltic and I don't have any problem with that. My attitude to immigration/ emigration is one of almost total indifference. What worries me about a jobcentre clerk with poor English is that some people, who are likely to be in difficult circumstances, may feel aggrieved that he has a job while they don't. They are also people who often need very clear and explicit instructions. I don't begrudge the young man his job, but interviewing unemployed people seems innappropriate, somehow.

The staff were polite and friendly, but even with an appointment, it took nearly one and a half hours to transact maybe ten minutes of business. Forms already filled in writing had to be transferred to computer when there's no obvious reason why I couldn't have filled in an on line form and saved someone the trouble.

I hope I don't have to go back too many times.