Public service… or public hell?
As I mentioned earlier, I am for the time being on un-employment insurance and as such I am at the mercy of the people in charge of finding me a job. The funny thing about these people is that I have paid them to do this job – through the money that I pay every month (even while I’m on their ‘payroll’). And do they consider it this way? No… I’m more of a nuisance… an inconvenience. If I try to contact them – there is no end to their excuses as to why it should be later… “Might be that you find a job soon – so, let’s just wait this one out…” If I am to contact them… well, then it’s another story – it’s a specific date, a specific time – there’s no room for practicality.
If I for some reason or other need to get into contact with them – they have office hours from 9-10 on specific weekdays… Denmark pride itself on the digital public service – where the hell did that go when it comes to the un-employment system? Try contacting them by e-mail, sms or through their homepage… just be sure to contact them by snail-mail as well, if it is something vital… the odds of them answering electronic communication is slim to none – and if they don’t receive it – you can be sure that it is your fault (this despite whatever documentation you have sent – receipts you have received that they have opened your mail…).
My fianc?e is on well-fare – she is in the process of moving in with me – and hasn’t checked her snail-mail regurlarly – now, after three months of absolute silence from this office – out of the blue, comes a message that she needs to be at a meeting a few days later. She does not arrive since she failed to get the letter. Now, they realize this quickly enough and sends another letter that arrives the day after – this asking for her to meet up the next day again or her well-fare will not be paid. Again, she can contact this person in his office-hours … from 9-10 on Fridays…
Now, there is no doubt that she should have of course emptied her mail-box. Everything is probably according to the rules… but… where the hell did the ‘service’ part of public service go? She has listed 3 different means of communication – and they choose the a) slowest and b) the one she is least likely to respond to (since she hasn’t responded the first time they tried…). I’m not particularly intelligent, but I can figure out how to operate a telephone… I can even write a mail! *gasp* They have nothing to win by her not getting her well-fare – they get no provision from the amounts of money they fail to give out.
No, what happens is that a) my girlfriend is mad and b) they have created a lot of paperwork for themselves… I think, that was is wrong is that they completely lost themselves in regulations and rules – sit behind their desk and making checkmarks instead of doing what they are supposed to: HELP PEOPLE! They fail to realize that the best way for her to get a job, is if they concentrate on a) finding her a job and b) helping her in any way that they can to make it easier for her to concentrate on getting a job.
3 months before they even contact her? It’s frigging slow. Everyone knows that the longer that you are un-employed – the harder it is for you to get a job. Instead of doing something while the metal is hot, is soo much easier than re-heating it when it’s cold again. So much energy, time and money could be saved if they moved just a little faster than a snail with a plow attached to it’s rear. If you ask any employer – they’ll tell you that they’d rather take someone that has only been un-employed for a month or two. Oh, and I forgot… the three months is not how long it’s been since she entered the system… nono, before that has been 6 months of shifting her case between hands and offices… 9 months for her to get the right case-worker! I think it’s so far out that I have to get a long stick to just touch it.
And the people they harass, are the people that have trouble managing the everyday life. If I missed a deadline – I get a polite call asking if I forgot. I then go “Oh yeah, sorry about that” – they go: “Oh, okay – well, I’ll just make a note here and we’ll see you on another day.”
I think it’s an outrage!