A petition cannot create jobs. It can, however, be very effective where a hiring process has been announced and then stalled, or where people have worked and not been paid.
What can actually be acted on
- Recruitment advertised, tested for, and then left with no result announced
- Merit lists not published
- Appointment letters issued and not honoured
- Wages unpaid by a public body or a contractor working for one
- Vacancies left unfilled in a facility that cannot function without them
Who is answerable
Where a recruitment was run by a public service commission or a specific department, that body is the addressee, and the advertisement reference is the single most useful thing you can quote.
Where wages are owed by a contractor working on a public contract, the department that awarded the contract can reasonably be asked to account for it.
What makes it work
Quote the advertisement number and date, and say how long it has been. Candidates from the same process signing together makes it plainly a systemic delay rather than one person's complaint.
Common questions
Can I petition a private employer?
You can raise an issue publicly, but a private company is under no obligation to respond and employment disputes have their own legal routes. Petitions work best where a public body is answerable.
Raise this issue
If this affects you or your area, put it in front of the body that can act on it.
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