From Barrie Bertram.
THE saintly Helier Clement must surely be congratulated on sprinkling his latest confection of Calvados fuelled confusion like confetti to camouflage the circumstances regarding Woolworth’s closure, coupling it with the Jersey TA’s contribution to the defence of the realm (JEP, 5 January).
Like Mr Clement, I regret the passing of Woolworths in Jersey and I strongly believe that the staff should enjoy redundancy payments. Like Mr Clement I do not pretend to know the detailed arrangements of Jersey’s Woolworths operation. However, and possibly unlike Mr Clement, I do not believe that it is appropriate for the British government to be involved in ensuring that those laid off in Jersey, or indeed Guernsey, do get compensated.
It may be naïve to hold the view that all companies operating in Jersey should do so in accordance with the provisions of laws set out by the States, and that it is for the States to see that due protection exists for the work-force in circumstances such as these. In this instance, it appears not to, and the question should be asked of Mr Clement’s past and present chums in the Big House, and their expensive hired help (Mr Clement’s words!) as to the reasons why not! Perhaps they have been too engrossed in caring for the very well off at the expense of the less so.
Mr Clement reminds the reader that the British government expects Jersey to maintain a TA unit as its contribution to the defence of the realm, and that the British government has got its money’s worth with personnel serving in Iraq. What is the problem with that? What relevance does it have with regards to Woolworths?
For some 600 plus years before Woolworths, Jersey was obliged to maintain a Militia and for much of that time service, although compulsory, was on the Island.
With the evolving nature of warfare, that obligation was reduced in the 1920s and eliminated in the late 1940s, and yet the realm, and that includes Jersey, still has to be defended. Islanders should be proud that there are many, such as those who join the Regular Forces and the TA, who see that the realm, for all its faults, is worth defending.
Finally, if and when Mr Clement tries to make a financial case against the Island’s TA contribution, he might like to remember next time when one of those nice ships, painted in an attractive shade of admiralty grey, moors up at the Albert Pier that Jersey makes a per capita per annum contribution of £12-15 to the UK defence budget compared to a £550-600 per capita per annum sum by the British taxpayer. There is a very thin line between being a crown dependant and a parasite.
22 Hornby Road,
Caton,
Lancs.
