Sir, – In relation to JobBridge, Gregor Kerr (August 25th) gets to the nub of the matter with the simple question, "How is it possible to reconcile an ethos of respect, equality and fairness with the use of a scheme that pays people €4.30 per hour?" The answer is of course it can't, not least because the intention may well be to do the complete opposite.
Many now find the attention paid to schemes such as JobBridge a distraction. Right across this country, egged on by State-sponsored agencies, volunteerism grows apace. As with JobBridge, it is becoming very apparent that many of these volunteers are unwittingly undertaking tasks that heretofore were done by people working for a wage. This is particularly the case with local authority work.
While JobBridge is clearly an exploitative scheme being used to manipulate the jobless figures, it must also be seen as part and parcel of what is an obvious deliberate campaign to devalue work to maintain downward pressure on wages and conditions. – Yours, etc,
JIM O’SULLIVAN,
Rathedmond,
Sligo.