Catherine Lynch’s assessment of the London riots (1-14 September) was fair and balanced. What is happening is that the days of gainful employment in Europe are coming to an end. As I said in a previous letter, it was overtime and secure jobs which lifted the working man out of poverty during the 1970s.
We have moved too far away from that culture to a new Europeanism, which is creating social injustice. This new Europeanism is opposed to the concept of overtime and secure jobs. Europeanism dictates that you should be off social welfare and working for €2 an hour.
In the 1970s there was an unwritten law that a manual worker could do any amount of overtime. This allowed workers to move up the social ladder. It is no wonder now that so many are emigrating to countries like Australia and Canada, where they have retained a culture of fairness. Social justice enriches society.
Patrick Confrey
Rathfarnham, Dublin 14
