Letter: Real workers

Your article "The future of work revealed" (Review, 28 September) was out of touch with the experiences of ordinary people.

I have worked with the unemployed for six years and what most of my clients need are secure, full-time jobs so they can afford to keep their families. The people in your article were the fortunate few with highly sought-after skills who are highly rewarded for their work. They are in the enviable position of being able to make choices about their working lives. The majority of us are not. We are forced to work ever longer hours and often forgo privileges simply to keep our jobs. The even less fortunate are trapped in a benefits system which discourages them from taking low-paid or part-time work in order to help themselves.

It is not that people are resistant to change but when change offers a worse alternative, management gurus cannot expect the working (or non- working) class to welcome it. Part-time and freelance work are all very well for those who can command pounds 50 per hour. When your job pays less than pounds 5 per hour it is a luxury you cannot afford.

C Taylor

Wembley, Middlesex