Monday, July 22, 2013

The London Olympic Spin

Next time someone recruits temps and denies them redundancy and a pension, think about the executives of the London Olympics. Well aware that this event was transitory, 144 officials were given permanent contracts. This, of course, meant golden handshakes.

Being on a “permanent” contract, Chief executive Dennis Hone, made redundant in March, was entitled to receive statutory redundancy pay and a terminal bonus equivalent to 60% of his salary -  paid £80,000 and an "immediate pension" of £373,000. He was hired shortly after his previous redundancy as chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation.

Others on the gravy train were Wendy Cartwright £36,000, Hugh Sumner £73,000, Simon Wright £72,000.

For the rest of us,  the promised bonanza of the London Olympics failed to materialise. London’s mayor, Boris Johnson  pledged to get nearly 6,500 long-term unemployed Londoners back into work, concentrating on those who had been economically inactive for at least two years. So far fewer than 3,000 have got jobs - and only a fraction have held on to those jobs for six months or a year. He shelved one initiative, the 2012 Employment Legacy Project, at the beginning of the year. It was originally intended to get 1,400 "hard-to-reach" Londoners back into work. But only 86 people got jobs. Just 12 of them were in work six months later. But not one black or ethnic minority, disabled or female employee held on to their job for more than six months.

Many of the highly publicised job creation figures would likely to have existed irrespective of the games.

Of the much touted 10 billion pound boost to the economy,  according to sports economist Stefan Szymanski,  it is impossible to tell how much of the economic activity could be put down to the Games. "It's almost like a bit of creative accounting. There's no way of testing whether what they're saying is really true."

Jonathan Portes, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and a former chief economist at the Cabinet Office, said attributing the economic benefits to the Olympics was "a little far-fetched to say the least".

For businesses outside London, The Federation of Small Businesses said the impact of the Games had been a disappointment. "The contracts we were expecting really didn't materialise," said national policy chairman Mike Cherry.

The Games supposed legacy of encouraging participation in sport is also in question with the BBC sports editor David Bond pointing out in the last year participation is sport has actually dropped by 200,000.

But SOYMB should not be totally negative and accepts that once again the co-operative nature of ordinary  people was once more illustrated by the large numbers volunteering to assist in the smooth running of the London Olympics for the minimum of rewards. Unlike those at the top.

From here , here , and here

No comments: