Older workers suffer on Merseyside

RESEARCH by TAEN – The Age and Employment Network shows that, in most Parliamentary constituencies on Merseyside, the number of unemployed people over 50 is above the national average.  In total, 3,970 over-50s in the area have been out of work for more than 6 months and, in 14 of the 19 seats being contested in the area on 6 May, the figures are above the national average. The Liverpool, Walton and Bootle seats have some of the highest rates of over-50 unemployment in the UK.  Across the UK in 2009, there were up to 367,000 over-50s out of work and the number of 50+ men out of work for 6 months or more doubled (117.8%) in the course of the year.  Chris Ball, Chief Executive of TAEN, says:- “Older workers are the silent victims of this recession and for most people in their 50s and 60s, this is their last chance in the labour market. As life expectancy increases and older people face pressures on their savings and pensions, remaining in work for as long as they want or need to should be encouraged.  These figures only tell part of the story. Many more will have been forced into early retirement under the Default Retirement Age and others may simply have given up all hope of finding a new job and withdrawn from the labour market completely.  We all know the power of the so-called ‘grey vote’ in the election. Voters on Merseyside should be asking all candidates in the run up to 6 May what their parties will do to support 50 plus workers to ensure that jobs and opportunities are available for them.  Older people, including people of working age, are more likely to vote than younger people so we hope the candidates will be sharing with their electors their views on issues such as mandatory retirement and the need for policies to help older jobseekers get back into work as soon as possible.”

BOOTLEG BEATLES OPEN HAYDOCK PARK'S MUSIC NIGHTS

BEATLEMANIA is set to sweep Haydock Park Racecourse with a performance by the world-famous Beatles tribute band, the Bootleg Beatles, on Saturday, 24 April 2010.   Following in the original Fab Four's footsteps, the Bootleg Beatles continue to keep the spirit and magic of the world's greatest pop group alive with sell out performances of classic hits such as 'Love Me Do', 'A Hard Day's Night' and 'Let it Be'.  Launching this year's music night concert series at Haydock Park, the Bootleg Beatles will be followed later in the summer by JLS (19 June) and Simply Red (17 July).   Dickon White, Haydock Park Racecourse's managing director, said:- "Haydock Park's series of music nights after racing has got better year after year and the crowds keep returning in ever bigger numbers. We are extremely excited to be welcoming the Bootleg Beatles on Saturday 24 April as we launch the 2010 season of music nights." 

Tickets, which include both the evening's horse racing and concert, are on sale. Bookings can be made online,  by telephone on:- 0844 579 3006 or from Haydock Park Racecourse before or on the day. Tickets are priced at: Premier Enclosure £43; County Stand £28; Tattersalls £18; Newton Enclosure £10.   The opening race is due off at 5.30pm, with the finale at 8.05pm.

NURSES SIGN UP TO UNISON’S HARD-HITTING HEALTH MANIFESTO

NURSES will say “no” to job cuts that put patients lives at risk, as they sign up to UNISON’s five-point plan for nursing, launched at the union’s health conference.   ‘Safety before shortcuts’ is the message in the UK’s largest public sector union’s nursing manifesto, which highlights the challenge of future patient demand and the need for proper staff training.  Hundreds of nursing delegates from across the UK, who are gathered in Brighton to vote on key health issues, will be asked to sign up to the manifesto.  Gail Adams, UNISON’s Head of Nursing, said:- “This is a hard-hitting manifesto for hard-working nurses, who put people before profit and deserve to be valued for the amazing job they do.  We know that, despite assurances from all sides of the political divide, the NHS cannot escape from funding cuts in the very near future. I want to warn against job cuts that would hit patient care hard.  The lessons must be learnt from the harrowing details of the poor treatment received by patients at Mid Staffordshire - caused by a lack of staff, particularly nurses.  Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust were dazzled by the prospect of achieving foundation status and, instead of watching out for patients, they were watching the balance sheet. Staff were cut at the expense of patient care.  We need a well trained NHS workforce to cope with increasingly complex medical treatments, the demands of a growing ageing population and the switch from in-hospital to community based patient care.  Now is the time to heal the wounds caused by by putting shortcuts before safety and restore public confidence – it is not the time for ‘light touch regulation’ and job and training cuts.  Lets give nurses the means to keep patients safe and reward them for doing so.”

UNISON’s 5-point plan for nursing:-

► No compulsory redundancies.

► Planning to ensure there are enough qualified staff to meet future patient demand – based on patient need, not cost cutting measures.

► Education and training opportunities for the current workforce, to advance their own practice.

► Built-in training and support to ensure that nurse training is available to the widest range of people and that there is a well-developed career pathway and equality of opportunity for the whole nursing team to reflect all their talents.

► The entire NHS workforce to be valued and rewarded appropriately to reflect this.