Workfare UK -The Work Programme

TBG Learning have been shorlisted to run a Workfare trial in Manchester and East Anglia in 2010/2011. I believe the sort of work the government envisage the unemployed doing on The Work Programme such as enviromental clean-ups, removing graffiti is in breach of Article 4 of The 1998 Human Rights Act because this is the sort of work already being undertaken by criminals sentenced to the Community Payback program. And so far being unemployed is not a criminal offence in the UK.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• workfare
• community task force
• enviromental
• unemployed
• rime
• criminal
• dole
• jobcentre
• flexible new deal
• tbg learning
• labour
• uk
• work programme

[Silkie341]

A friend of mine has had the call to attend an interview to start this so the programme in the UK is rolling out now. So I can confirm that it's starting in the West Midlands right now. My theory is this is their contingency plan for the strikes to replace strikes with people on the dole without paying them the full wage.

[edinburghrr]

@Silkie341: Thanks, it's nice to know what is going on in other parts of the country. I don't think the trade unions, are doing nearly enough to speak out about what is going on.

[chastuk]

Why do they call it "Community Payback" when what they really mean is "Go earn your dole money, you lazy b*stards". Fine in theory but when they run out of jobs for all of the jobless then what. All I see this as is a stop gap to placate the wining minority.

I remember similar attempts at this type of slave labour and they all died a death.

[edinburghrr]

@chastuk: It used to called Community Service, an alternative to prison. You must be thinking of the old Extra Tenner (ET) work program of the 1980s? Although the way the unemployed have almost been criminalised it's hard to tell the difference the two

[pullthewool]

A4e calls the people forced to be there "Customers". How would you like to be bundled off the pavement into a store and told you are now it's customers. But I don't want to be your customer you might say. And then you're told you have no choice. What's more you must be our customer for a whole year. But I don't want to be your customer for a whole year you might say. And they'd say you don't have a choice. Strange times indeed ma ma.

[edinburghrr]

@stoogepenguin: Thanks for your comment. The unemployed should not be forced to carry out the same tasks/work as someone sentenced to Community Payback in return for getting benefit. So far being unemployed is not a crime. How would you feel about working for less than £2 an hour?

[dashwood123]

The simple solution is, if they send people to work for no wages, cause as many accidents as possible, be a real liability, damage everything so the slavery scam becomes unprofitable.

[taitoimpact]

@kristifercolumnbus well said.

[taitoimpact]

@edinburghrr There are jobs out there not worth having (when the bills are calculated let alone this).

[someguy6481]

isn't the job of the Job Centre to help you to be put into paid work with at least the minimum wage? Looks like the Job Centre are pandering to middle Britain, Daily Mail reading scum, if the Job centre, a4e or ingenus etc can put you into forced labour to work for her benefits (which is less than the minimum wage) surely they can put anyone in a retail job that pays the minimum wage, this is the government's crafty way to scrap minimum wage.

[someguy6481]

The DWP wants to make "work pay" how does working for your benefits (when it's less than the minimum wage) pay? A4e, Ingenus etc they are basically slave labour agencies and this work programme is a basically a scheme created by retail companies, "providers" and the Job Centre to exploit the unemployed. If the providers can put me in a retail job with the minimum I'll take it, if not I'll boycott "the placement" and I'll sue the government as well as it is illegal what they are doing.

[CraigRidley1]

if theres lots of free work there why is there no paid? here is a more fair equasion JSA / minimum wage = hours needed to ear JSA, also why only big businesses why not small ones?

This is slavery and it is discracfull. people want power back stop shopping in anything that participates in this scam. the big businesses in comunitys should help the people who made it what it is not destroy the comunity, If you work a low paid job you can sure you will be layed off for one of these new slaves.

[dark1ankh]

@snowstorm80 That sounds just like something Seetec would do the wankers !

[ChrisGS1982]

Im with intraining and they are worse than A4e, today I was issued with a 'money saving card' called an NCG plus card and the silly woman who issued it to me was making out it was a good deal, yet it is to save money on things that i wouldnt buy anyway, id have to spend money on stuff that I cant afford to get savings, I thought it might help me to save on food, travel etc but its on stuff that I cant afford on £65 per week!