Travel bug hits Housing again
Monday 8th February 2010, 2:59PM GMT.
Senator Le Main and Deputy Power together in the States Chamber
THEY may be Housing ministers but it would seem they are rarely at home this year.
Just weeks after Housing Minister Terry Le Main missed the first States session of 2010 to spend a holiday in Tenerife, his assistant minister is now jetting off across the globe.
After a short visit to Northern Ireland, Deputy Sean Power is travelling to South Africa and Botswana on a three-week trip, which may explain why he was quick to jump to the defence of his minister last month.
The St Brelade Deputy said that the trip to Ireland was for family reasons, to deal with his late mother-in-law’s estate, and that the trip to Africa was the first holiday that he had been on since 2006.
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Try having a small business Mr Power,haven’t had a holiday in 7 years!!! & not guarenteed a wage either especially one like yours.
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Erm….so what? Let them have a holiday and leave them alone.
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I believe you can buy a community newspaper for less than 5 pence in Botswana.
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Eeeeerr?? Have you not just had a long winter break Mr Power? Could this not all have been done then?
And I really feel for you as I know what it is like not to have had a proper holiday for a long time, but some of us just can’t afford to.
Two new ministers required for Housing methinks. Ones that will stay here and do the job they are paid to do when they are supposed to do it!
Nuff said..
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”Give us a kiss” would be a good caption competition
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I would love a job in the states. Plenty of holidays, crazy amounts of pay for the work I put in and I could mess things up as much as I like and not get sacked. Fantastic.
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My father works very hard for this Island and deserves a lot more than three weeks in SA. You would need a break too if you put in the hours he does. He is very passionate about what he does.
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I am sure some one will correct me if I am wrong but surely If Sean Power wants a holiday he should take it when the states break for blems our ISummer/Christmas/Easter surely there are enough breaks to fit there holidays in they should be attendig States sitting at all other times they are paid a large sum of money to do just that add to that all the pro with all th!
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7 l
your father gets enough paid holidays without taking time off during states time . if he wants longer holidays then he should get another job. or hand back some of his salery and take them unpaid like they do in the real world
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7. —- He can’t be that busy as, I seem to recall, while a State’s Member, he was able to offer his services to Harcourt.
Bit of a conflict of interest there as well – he being the Deputy Housing Minister.
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I do not really want to work,i want to travel,eat out,sunbathe on the beach,visit my family in hospital,drive vintage cars,change my phone number to ex dir,i know I can be A states member,12.5 hrs a week,yes,I know it will be hard,but i will try,,,After all its only £45,000 a year.
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7 L
Poor daddy, i really fell sorry for him. Maybe he should get another job, what do you think L ?! I also work hard for this island but i cant afford to go anywere for 3 weeks. Do you think that he will take me next time ?
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For goodness sake. As long as he hasn’t taken more holidays than entitled what’s the problem? Would you be happy if someone hounded you about your precious time off work?
It’s not like he’s jetted off every Christmas for the last decade. Grow up.
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L no7
Small business are passionate & work long hours but as I said without ANY guarentees of pay or holidays, so get real L
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Leave them alone – they are entitled to personal time and holidays !! Would you like some one scrutanizing every move you made just because of your career choice.
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This is getting pathetic – does it really matter
I think they should take the holiday they are entitled to without having to worry about silly articles implying that they’re not doing their job properly
why not report more about those that literally arent doing their job – like Syvret who has been off the Island for months and not attended the States Assembly – slightly worse I think
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What a load of useless individuals – none of the ‘ crew’ would last five minutes in the real world. Almost without exception, the current politicians are a waste of tax payers’ money. Time they were all voted out. This is what happens in a no party system – inexperienced, chancers’ make decisions that affect thousands of peoples’ lives.Time for people power to take over. Wake up people of Jersey do something before it is too late.
A & D
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@ flighty #15
“…Would you like some one scrutanizing every move you made just because of your career choice.”
It’s not a question of whether I like it or not, if my employer expected me to be at work doing the job he was paying me for, of course I’d expect to be scrutinized.
He was employed to fulfill a role representing his electorate, I’ve no problem with him being absent through illness, valid business or dealing with personal matters, but to book a three week holiday at this time isn’t any of those things.
I would say the same about a teacher taking holiday in term time, Santa going skiing at Christmas or the Pope spending Easter at Disney.
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& rumour has it he’s going to stand for SS seat in by election,where will he find the time? proxy vote from SA !!
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I think if SP or TleM were unable to take holiday during the usual allocated time due to heavy workloads then I don’t personally have a problem with them taking a break now. If I had booked time off but was unable to take it due to work commitments then I’d hope my employer might allow me to take it at some other time.
On the other hand if this is not the case and they were sitting with their feet up over xmas then the frustrated comments above are entirely justified.
RB
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L (#7) told us:
“My father works very hard for this Island and deserves a lot more than three weeks in SA. You would need a break too if you put in the hours he does. He is very passionate about what he does”.
L, for all the perceived good that Sean Power is seen to be doing by raising two fingers to the electorate, as he is doing by buzzing off on holiday while the States Assembly is in session, he might as well stay in South Africa for good.
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Just what is it with the Minister for Housing, Senator Terry le Main, and his deputy, Sean Power?
Have they no senior civil servants along the lines of Sir Humphrey Appleby, late of “Yes Minister”, to advise them on their responsibilities to their Chief Minister who appointed them, to the States Assembly to which they report and to the people of Jersey who pay their salaries and their very generous expenses?
Are they so lacking in political nous and personal intellect that they do not realise the bad feeling they are causing among the island’s population by taking their holidays in “term time”, so to speak? It is not that they do not have ample time to take their vacations when the States Assembly is in recess?
And as for putting up Sean Power’s “daughter” to fight her daddy’s corner in a newspaper: how pathetic can they get? It makes me puke.
There is enough political unrest and economic dissatisfaction without this pair adding to it.
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#18 J Lamborrari
…but to book a three week holiday at this time isn’t any of those things.
I would say the same about a teacher taking holiday in term time, Santa going skiing at Christmas or the Pope spending Easter at Disney.
Why is booking hi holiday ‘at this time’ not acceptable …. is any acceptable ?
I hate to tell you that Santa isn’t likely to be going Skiing as he doesn’t exsist and quite frankly if the Pope wanted to spend Easter in Disney … fair play… !!! lol
I can’t keep but asking myself – Why do we care ??
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@ flighty # 23
“…Why is booking hi holiday ‘at this time’ not acceptable…”
Becasue they took on the responsibility of representing the electorate in the States chamber during sittings, and by holidaying when sittings are being held they’re failing their electorate at a most basic level. Can you really not see that?
I note you make comment on Santa & the Pope (neither of whom matter, or have specific role in Jersey), but you didn’t bother, or avoided, making any comment on teachers; is this because, I wonder, in doing so you’d weaken your argument?
“…is any acceptable ?…”
Of course it is, not only that but I think it’s a right that people should be able to take holiday’s from their employment; but more specifically than that in relation to this issue it would be acceptable for a politician to book holidays between:
10th December ’09 – 19th January ’10
22nd July – 14th September
9th December – 18th January ’11
Or of course for shorter breaks they could use any of the breaks between sittings, most of which he could use to get away for 10days, some longer.
A member is asked to be available in the Assembly on 60days out of 365, do you really think it’s unacceptable to expect he arranges his time to achieve that?
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Part of me doesn’t care and doesn’t really consider it newspaper worthy, but that’s on the assumption that other States Members are taking action over the issue and I guess they may not be.
When you take a job (even in politics) you have core hours/days that are critical to enable you to carry out your job to the best of your abilities. I understand the cries of ‘they work long hours’ but plenty of us do! We don’t all get to go into the office at 9, take an hour for lunch, leave at 5 and forget about work till the next day. Many of us work weekends, evenings and sometimes have to put in all-nighters.
I can fully understand if someone has genuine reason to be away that they simply do not wish to make public (sensitive family issues etc), but we must know that they have disclosed this reason to a ‘superior’ and, therefore, it shouldn’t be publicised as holiday but rather as some greatly needed personal time.
And since when were holidays a ‘right’, just because you haven’t been on holiday since 2006 doesn’t mean you have a right to a holiday now!
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Well we know who not to vote for, and to earn enough money to jet off to Ireland and South Afrca is one thing, but to earn a fantastic wage, and not attend State Sittings, is unbelievable.
SA seems to be a popular venue for States members.
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Erm…………So WHAT if they are having a holiday, ive never heard so many people moan and groan as what i do hear. Get a life, everyone is entitled to a holiday!!!
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@ Alice #27
“…Get a life, everyone is entitled to a holiday!!!…”
Do you not think an employer is entitled to have the job they are paying for to be done?
Nobody is moaning that holiday is being taken, this issue is why he has chosen to take holiday at a time when he’s expected, quite reasonably, to be doing the job he is being paid to do.
Let’s assume that this 3week holiday means the Dep. will miss two sittings (I’ve no idea of the dates, so assumption will have to suffice for this example
If you’re employed Alice,would you take 10% of the time you’re expected to be a work, over and above all your holiday entitlement AND expect to get paid? What do you think you boss would say? and if your boss was so unreasonable to ‘moan’ about it, would you reply ‘so WHAT, get a life, I’m entitled!’?
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I think all this criticism of Deputy Power is unwarranted. As far as I understand it, he saw a bandwagon that was passing, his instinct took over and he jumped on it, and by the time he realised where it was going it was too late to get off.
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*28- Yeah i probably would say that, and yes i am employed!
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#27 “everyone is entitled to a holiday”
Not true, there are qualifications needed for that statement. Everyone in employment is entitled to the holidays specified within their contract. Usually the contract will specify not only the number of days holiday but also the fact that there will be some restrictions as to when they can be taken (not during times critical to the running of the business, not too many people off at the one time etc.)
Employers normally only give holidays to those actually doing their jobs and anyone not falling into that category gets fired!
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@ Alice #30
Okay Alice, suppose you were an employer, and your employee took the same attitude you do; as an employer how would you react?
It’ll be interesting to see just how selfish you are.
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