Olympic jobs could help East End fight child poverty

Dear Ed, THE agenda of Tower Hamlets cabinet’s January meeting included the final draft of its employment strategy, seeking to join our neighbouring Olympic host’ boroughs to tackle high unemployment and child poverty. Only three per cent of workers on the Olympics site are from Tower Hamlets

Dear Ed,

THE agenda of Tower Hamlets cabinet’s January meeting included the final draft of its employment strategy Getting Neighbourhoods Working, seeking to join our neighbouring Olympic host’ boroughs to tackle high unemployment and child poverty.

Tower Hamlets, it stated, will “use this opportunity to raise the engagement, aspiration, skills and employment for workless residents to benefit from the jobs created by the 2012 regeneration legacy.” It mentions being mindful of how we missed out when Canary Wharf was being built and wanted to make sure the Olympics was not another missed opportunity.

Then I read in last week’s East London Advertiser that only three per cent of workers on the Olympics site are from Tower Hamlets, with the fewest number of the five host’ boroughs (Advertiser, February 12, and website).

The cost of the Olympics increases by the week, so the pressure to reduce costs also rises—which may explain why there are so few on the workforce from the East End. It echoes the dispute last month at the Lindsey refinery where an oil company brought in its own Italian workforce as they were cheaper than local workers.

But those in well paid jobs on Tower Hamlets council have failed to fight for workers to get jobs on the Olympics site.

Terry McGrenera

Devans-road, Bow Common