fade away

horsemouth (the fictitious character remember) would like to make it clear that he is literally the employee of beachside donkey rides - a firm offering children or larger adults a ride up and down the beech on the back of a genuine donkey (or mule) in the pissing wind and rain. he is not attempting any kind of satirical dialectical montage here.

ok horsemouth (cold, runny nose, grumpy) goes to be a performing monkey for the cameras in a room marginally larger than the average armpit - it will either be stifflingly hot or freezing cold. he is being photographed to prove that the institution is caring sharing organisation that complies with the provisions of the equality act (an umbrella piece of legislation covering the disability discrimination act - because you wouldn't want to give the disabled their own act - that would be special treatment). seeing as these are statutory requirements it is the equivalent of photographing a fire extinguisher and saying 'look how good we are to the cients of our institution, we generously provide equipment to stop them being burned to death'.

interestingly enough a while ago (in south london somewhere) some muppet judge in a housing benefit case destroyed the basis on which horsemouth is hired to do beachside donkeyrides work - no institutions do not have to make a 'reasonable adjustment' people (and small children) are required to walk up and down the beach on their own - but seeing as horsemouth and his colleagues are of the middle class and some of them even have salaries their jobs have not been immediately destroyed but merely allowed to continue on in a sort of ghost existence.

in fact the real attack comes from budget cutters - dyslexics in education seem to be the first target to have their support cut, next the deaf and disabled in work (yeah they're clearly uneconomic- let the state feed them - hey there are always food banks say the tory MPs). the business-trained managers of health, education and other services (always with their hand out) insist that each sector (at least) must pay its way.


there is annecdotal evidence that many of the better trained (sign language interpreters etc.) are leaving the sector as the agencies attempt to drive down pay and conditions - admittedly these were pretty fucking featherbedded but the people with mortgages (based on this feather bedding) believe they will do better elsewhere. horsemouth recently overheard a conversation where one was seriously considering becoming the manager of an aldi. on the beach by the waterfront where horsemouth works (beachside donkey rides - trolling up and down the beach in the pissing wind and rain) several donkeys have already been made redundant or redeployed to work down the mines.

the big temp agencies (ranstad etc.) are moving into the donkeyrides sector paying lower wages and providing unqualified staff (and some of them are not even donkeys) - by the time travel costs have been taken off we are pretty much looking at them being paid if not minimum wage than at least less than the seaside towns living wage (and anyway this is all on zero-hours contracts). as the song has it - there may be trouble ahead.

horsemouth (the working stiff) at least must concede that photographing him they are paying lipservice to a misty ideal of support. it creates the pleasant illusion that this may indeed be a right.