Tesco's secret workfare slaves / DWP

www.guardian.co.uk...

It focused on two things: so-called mandatory work activity (MWA), whereby people are forced – via the threat of their jobseeker's allowance being suspended – to put in 30 hours a week doing work "of benefit to the community"; and other "work experience" schemes, in which people do up to eight weeks of unpaid labour, with one proviso: they can refuse to take part or pull out during the first seven days, but thereafter the work becomes compulsory, under pain of their benefit being withdrawn.

johnnyvoid.wordpress.com...

Furious shoppers are threatening to boycott Tesco after their use of forced labour schemes came to light yesterday.

An advert on the Jobcentre Plus website is calling for night-shift workers who will be expected to work for just Jobseekers Allowance (paid by the Government, not Tesco, at a rate of £53.45 per week for under 25s) plus expenses. The position is advertised as permanent.

Just another example of the government treating the unemployed as worthless people here in the UK, trying to force unemployed workers into mundane positions for minimal pay and next to no rights as temporary staff.

Tesco are basically arm in arm with the local government, taking unemployed people away from the job centre, to work for free until hired under the guise of 'work training schemes' and such. This isn't just limited to Tesco, but since Tesco are a notorious profit-chasing company with little regard for ethics and a high regard for profit.

This isn't an isolated case, more and more we are hearing about how our wretched government are treating the working classes with disdain, forced voluntary work for benefits in mundane, corporate driven environments.

If Tesco had 300 positions available for young people then why didn’t they recruit through the usual channels, without forcing them to work for free first. And despite the firms promise of a ‘guaranteed interview’ (big f****** deal), Tesco have forcibly recruited 1,400 people onto workfare since they started using the scheme. So barely 1 in five of them was finally offered a no doubt minimum wage job at the end of it. Are these the only young people Tesco have recruited in that time? Perhaps they’d like to tell us.

This has led to thousands of young people being forced to sit around for 30 hours in the office’s of poverty pimps like A4e, or face losing all benefits. With Tesco finally getting involved (along with other major employers including McDonalds and ASDA), it is possible that economy of scale may have finally resulted in corporate sharks working out how to make a profit from it.

johnnyvoid.wordpress.com...

Another way to look at it, our tax payers are paying the wages of Tesco staff, Tesco gets free labour and increased profits and the people on benefits get .... Nothing but forced labour in a terrible working environment with little or no benefits or reward, for what otherwise would at least be a minimum wage job.

Now the DWP claim only that they "expect that every placement will offer people the opportunity to gain fundamental work disciplines, as well as being of benefit to local communities".

Which again is total BS - as Tesco and other stores actively drain local communities of money by eliminating small business with monopolising prices and cuts to produce costs.

Disgusting.

its about time the papers took notice of this, this abuse has been going on for years!

Been there done that... also did 6 months worth of work being promised a job at the end and nada... I'm now with A4E, that is a different story in itself, they are worthless and completely useless. Oh well, I'm some day, someone will be willing to give me a chance.

I have the qualifications, just not the experience

reply to post by mr-lizard


How dare you suggest that this is some sort of scam!, They are trying to help the poor jobseekers of this country find out what a real job is all about.

No actually i agree with you completely, the whole thing along with some of the training stuff is pure scam just to make more money for those that already have i.e owners of said courses or businesses.

It is all BS.

sounds more like a deterrant to the unemployed and lazy who have gottern too used to being paid to sit on ass watching jeremy kyle on tv all day.

Been unemployed? I have and it sucks, its boring. Then again i was not on 30k a year in benifits to waste on 'stuff'....


Its hard to be too harsh on those that dont work, weather they cant because they dont want to, or there are no jobs. Having somthing to do while earning your right to eat up tax money, sounds good tbh.

reply to post by Biigs


The thing is, These companies are exploiting the unemployed on Job Seekers and the DWP are letting them get away with it. People on JSA get told they can go and work at so and so company, and after so and so time they will be given full time or part time employment from said company. But this never happens, the company just lets the people go, then brings in another bunch of free workers from the Job Centre, Rinse - Cycle - Repeat.

The big companies get a free work force and the unemployed stay jobless.

reply to post by Biigs


30k a year? where did you get those figures from? 54 pound a week.

Edit: which might I add, I am very grateful for. I have worked, studied and done voluntary work in my spare time and still do, I'm hardly lazy. I just can't find work, even being signed up on agencies etc. Part tim work here and there, but nothing permanent.

If it was 30k a year, I don't think anyone would want to work ....

There are so many people here in the UK who are unemployed as a lifestyle choice rather than it being something they're trying to get away from as quickly as possible. This is just another way to utilise the time of those lazy bar-stewards that would usually just sit about the house all day.

This kind of work has been forced on British citizens in one form or another since I left school (over 20 years ago) and it didn't work then, so I find it unlikely that it'll work now as most of the unemployed people I know have tried to get on to sick benefits to "protect" their income...which is just offensive to those of us who are really sick.

Personally, I wish I was well enough to go back to work because I get offered at least a couple of interviews every week (based solely on my CV) at the moment. I usually work as an I.T. Contractor and it's so frustrating trying to live on £65 per week (not including housing and council tax benefits) when I could be earning £1000 per week doing my old job. *grrr*

Rev

Originally posted by David291
reply to post by Biigs

 

30k a year? where did you get those figures from? 54 pound a week.

Straight out of the daily fail, that's where the poster got them.

For the record, there are less than 500 familes getting large amounts of benefits (30k+ ) and they ALL live in central london, which means that the majority of that money is made up of housing benefit.

If they are serious about getting those amounts down, they should try tackling the landlords who charge top money for 2nd rate lettings.

Originally posted by revmoofoo
There are so many people here in the UK who are unemployed as a lifestyle choice rather than it being something they're trying to get away from as quickly as possible. This is just another way to utilise the time of those lazy bar-stewards that would usually just sit about the house all day.

Another one who has bought into the government sponsored propaganda spewed out by the s*n and the daily fail.

Here's the thing, WE ARE IN A RECESSION, THERE ARE VERY FEW JOBS AROUND.

Get it?

reply to post by budski


Wow, really? 30k a year, that's terrible. I feel bad sometimes just being on the JSA...

Originally posted by budski

Originally posted by revmoofoo
There are so many people here in the UK who are unemployed as a lifestyle choice rather than it being something they're trying to get away from as quickly as possible. This is just another way to utilise the time of those lazy bar-stewards that would usually just sit about the house all day.

Another one who has bought into the government sponsored propaganda spewed out by the s*n and the daily fail.

Here's the thing, WE ARE IN A RECESSION, THERE ARE VERY FEW JOBS AROUND.

Get it?

No, they don't get it. There are jobs everywhere, we're just too lazy to go get them!

/end sarcasm.

reply to post by revmoofoo


There is definitely a lifestyle choice to stay on JSA for some, but don't lump the majority into the same catergory.

I have had friends who have been sent on these work schemes and told they would get employment out of it, worked hard to impress only to find themselves kicked to the curb after a few months. Feeling used and even more worthless then they have been already.

These companies are exploiting them because it is free, they don't have to pay them a wage. Ergo, more profits for them. It's totally wrong to give someone hope of employment, then kick them in the proverbial balls, just so they don't have to pay them a wage and make a tidy profit out if it.

Originally posted by revmoofoo
There are so many people here in the UK who are unemployed as a lifestyle choice rather than it being something they're trying to get away from as quickly as possible. This is just another way to utilise the time of those lazy bar-stewards that would usually just sit about the house all day.

I disagree with people wanting the unemployed lifestyles. This is a notion used by right wing media to criticise those who are suffering with unemployment as opposed to criticising those who cause it. It's a manner of class-war.

www.bbc.co.uk...

The human resources industry body warns the private sector will fail to offset the 120,000 job losses in the public sector in 2012, but it sees no sign of widespread private sector redundancies.

The jobless rate is expected to hit 8.8% in 2012, from 8.3% most recently.

You think these people are all spongers?

money.aol.co.uk...

The UK's unemployment rate increased to a 16-year high after another rise in the jobless total.

Unemployment jumped by 48,000 in the quarter to December to 2.67 million, a jobless rate of 8.4%, the worst figure since the end of 1995.

These people do NOT want to be unemployed. Besides even the benefit fraud equates less to the bonuses paid to corrupt bankers who have crashed the system.

blogs.thisismoney.co.uk...

While David Cameron seethes over the £5.2bn being claimed unlawfully, the Citizens Advice Bureau reckons there may be as much as £16bn in benefits that goes unclaimed by those entitled to it.

Citing the work of disability, age, poverty and children’s charities the CAB earlier this year claimed that as many as four out of five low paid workers without children (1.2m households) miss out on tax credits worth at least £38 per week - a total of £1.9bn. And as many as half of all working households entitled to housing benefit (worth an average £37.60 per week) do not claim it – that’s up to half a million households.

Don't believe the propaganda - most people do NOT want to be unemployed, they want jobs.

reply to post by skitzspiricy


Tbh, the jobcentre itself is degrading, just walking in there makes me feel worthless with the way they talk to everyone and all.

Originally posted by skitzspiricy
reply to post by revmoofoo

 

There is definitely a lifestyle choice to stay on JSA for some, but don't lump the majority into the same catergory.

Lifestyle choice?
Or let down by the education system, including vocational training courses?

Originally posted by budski

Originally posted by skitzspiricy
reply to post by revmoofoo

 

There is definitely a lifestyle choice to stay on JSA for some, but don't lump the majority into the same catergory.

Lifestyle choice?
Or let down by the education system, including vocational training courses?

I can remember when I was leaving school and I was told, "go to college, it's the best thing you could ever do" 6 years down the line, it didn't help me one bit.

reply to post by mr-lizard


They all want jobs?

That is simply not the case.

I know of many dole office dwelling people who activly avoid work, untill somthing in their words "peachy" turns up. Thats a pure fact.

No one is saying thats ALL of the people, but it sure does make up for more than a few percent, fact.

Benifit fruaders are totally the worst case for unemployed and the main bleed for the tax payers.

reply to post by Biigs


I wouldn't say they are the main bleed, I would say that's the goverment but I'll save that for another time and place.

Second thoughts scratch that: The company I'm with get money for me just talking through the door, then there is the money they get over a period of 2 years IF they get me into work. Which is a huge sum of money I've heard. This is A4E btw.

Originally posted by Biigs
reply to post by mr-lizard

 

They all want jobs?

That is simply not the case.

I know of many dole office dwelling people who activly avoid work, untill somthing in their words "peachy" turns up. Thats a pure fact.

No one is saying thats ALL of the people, but it sure does make up for more than a few percent, fact.

Benifit fruaders are totally the worst case for unemployed and the main bleed for the tax payers.

That's actually wrong.

The Billions given to bankers from the tax payer equates to much more than false benefit claims.

www.guardian.co.uk...