Business Media Roundup

Recently there had been something of a kerfuffle  over job advertisements that ask for workers who speak tongues other than that of this pearl, this realm, this England, or who are of another nationality.

Jobs board Jobsite got into hot water with the thought police at the Equality and Human Rights Commission for running a job ad for an IT worker “preferably of Indian origin”. A sp0kesman for recruitment agency McGregor Boyall (MB) issued a groveling apology but I expect they were only obeying orders from their client, Torry Harris.

MB said the advert should not have been put up and “was cut and pasted from material sent to us by a client in India.” Eh? The Torry Harris post is in Bristol so how does that add up?

MB spokesman Farhaan Majid let the chapati out of the bag when he said: “Some companies prefer to employ people of Indian origin because they are immediately available and don’t mind moving.” Really? Are Britons of Indian origin more immediately available than say those of  Irish extraction?

Would it possibly be because they come cheaper and the workplaces seeking to hire them are largely Asian? No doubt the thought police will get to the bottom of it before you can say Bombay – oops thought crime, Mumbai.

While they’re about it they can look into another case at Forza AW. This an East Anglian meat producer which supplies Asda.

It emailed out an advert for factory work on its production line via employment agency OSR Recruitment which read: “Applicants must speak Polish. Please call asap!!!!!!”

Apart from wondering if Poles are more partial to exclamation marks than the rest of us, you have to wonder if anyone with any common sense signs off these adverts. They must be aware that the UK has been run by the most politically correct regime since, well since ever.

But at least these advertisers are honest. Polish speaking workers would be working with other Poles as the unemployed English are either too lazy or get too much in benefits to be bothered to work in meat processing. And for Asda – Waitrose maybe but Asda? This is not the stuff of career dreams that UK schools ladle out to their hopeless legions.

My view is that such adverts are fine because they tell the truth about what employers are after. They stop time wasting.

Ironically I was approached by a recruitment head hunter last week who asked if I was interested – don’t all laugh – in a position. I told him my age and he said it was not quite in the “client’s zone”. I said no problem mate, I’d rather not waste anyone’s time on a wild goose chase and would not sue for age discrimination.

Anyway, adverts that exclude English speakers may result in the advertiser and the recruitment agency being charged with indirect race discrimination.

Or a an invite to a night out with Harriet Harman and Trevor Philips at a meat factory of their choice.