This is from another forum i go on, heres the link if you cant be arsed to read all below :wink: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/cannotpay/ Hi, Firstly before telling you what I need help with I will ask you to please, before being prejudiced towards those that need help or jumping on the bandwagon of others being prejudiced to please stop and think about the people behind the image we all see when a particular job is mentioned. At the end of the day there are many of us out there that are fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, wives and husbands all doing our best to earn some money and make it home from work safe, and more importantly, alive. Due to the nature of the work and a dodgy history that has caused a stereotype to stick to our job not many of us are what you think of when you think of us. Right, with that thought in your minds I have to confess to you all that my part time job is the sort of job that due to a stereotype makes people hate me and believe me to be a thug, drug dealer, contract killer or even worse. For my sins, I am a Door supervisor, or more commonly known as a 'Bouncer' which is a name I hate because of the image it gives off. Anyway, in 2001 a government act decided that a department would be set up to regulate us thugs and drug dealers despite us having been regulated by the local councils for many years beforehand. Their aim was to clean up the industry, however the industry, other than being nationally regulated, was already regulated and by a far better scheme than the government came out with. I don't want to bore you with the ins and outs but over the last ten years the thugs and crims had been driven out due to the fact we had to visit a police station, have an interview, do a lot of training and receive a badge on completion. The new government system from 2001 is similar with the police check but the first aid and physical intervention training has been removed leaving us, well those new to the industry, less capable of doing the job. The new authority, the SIA, decided that the cost for us to obtain this licence would be £190 for three years compared to the local licence which was only £50-£75. Even one of the white papers we have managed to find on the internet says that the suggested licence should cost no more than £35. The SIA don't do anything other than regulate the licences, so for the £190, plus the £250+ money we have had to spend on the training to get qualified to 'Bounce' we get a shiny little blue badge with our names and photos on. (We dislike having our names on the badge if anyone that's read this far cares due to the ease of finding our addresses and family) Despite this extortionate price the SIA didn't take into account the many doorstaff that would leave the industry or that they were knocking back due to the really strict criminality checks. So, now the three years has nearly ended and we need to renew our licences the SIA have told us that due to THEIR incorrect information and decisions they have met a short fall and are not able to be self funding so they are increasing the price of the licence by 29%. Most of us that work the doors, work part time. To pay for the new £245 licence will take many weeks of working to pay for the licence if all of the cash we earn goes to the price of the licence. The increase doesnt' give us any extra advantages. We will get a licence and that is it. We don't get any legal assistance, we don't get any protective equipment supplied, we don't even get the first aid training and physical intervention training we have been missing. So, I am asking any of the people on here who know me from the boards, and know that I'm a nice guy to help me and my colleagues by signing the petition we have set up. If any of you have been helped by doorstaff, have children, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands that have had enjoyable nights because these great big, burly, knuckle dragging, thugs have kept all of the trouble makers and scum bags out of the bars and clubs then please also sign the petition. http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/cannotpay/ We only have 6 more days left to hit the target of a thousand signatures. I feel the steretype has hindered our ability to gain the target so far so this is why I am asking the people on this forum to help me out. Thanks for your time.
