to think a well designed workfare for benefits would have helped avoid the riots?

[TheRealTillyMinto]

By well designed i mean:

• is only for people fit enough to work and those without caring responsibilites
  
• is for e.g. 2/3 days per week to allow time for job hunting
  
• is used to perform extra jobs not make more people redundant
  

The looters seem to want something for nothing. I know that many of the looters are too young to work and I have no idea what percentage are employed/students/unemployed but think it would help change from a culture of 'my rights' to a culture of 'my rights and my responsbilities'.

AIBU?

[pointythings]

Yes, YABU. I've said thie before - if the work is real work that needs doing, it should be paid at minimum wage rates and not a penny less.

[LostInTheWoods]

If work needs doing, pay people the minimum wage to do it.

[GypsyMoth]

er,most of them so far charged are at school or in work!!!

why are you assuming that they will be on benefits??

[GypsyMoth]

i think the culture which needs changing is the one where everyone assumes 'if theres serious crime,then someone on benefits will have comitted it!!!'

[aliceliddell]

If they introduce that, I'll bloody riot. Are you mad? Have you seen these kids?

[breaktime73]

yeah yeah. Starvation would have solved it!! Starve the fucking poor and they won't have the ENERGY to riot....

[reallytired]

I think its reasonable for job seekers to do 10 hours a week for the minium wage. To expect anything more is slave labour.

[meditrina]

I think it's a bit early to be trying to ascribe causes, let alone prescribe remedies.

And anyhow many of the rioters (or at least those appearing in Court so far) have been in work. Unlikeliest occupation I've noticed so far - ballerina.

[LostInTheWoods]

Ten hours of what? Invented work? If it isn't invented, somebody should be paid to do it in the normal fashion.

[GypsyMoth]

classroom asisstant
2nd year law degree student
millionaires daughter

[TheRealTillyMinto]

If you think i assumed they were all on benefits/of working age, please reread the post.

[reallytired]

LostInTheWoods, ten hours a week in return for job seekers' allowance is about the same rate as the minimum wage. Someone who is actively jobseeking for full time work has time on their hands.

There is masses of work that could be done. For example cleaning out the local canal, removing fly tipping junk, cleaning graffiti in my area. Prehaps charties would have ideas what work they could do.

The jobseeker would have a source of reference and some pride. It shows that someone is capable of getting up on time and doing an honest days work.

It is the culture of expecting something for nothing that has caused the riots.

[breaktime73]

the only thing that will help inculcate a sense of responsibility, is a responsible culture. We live in a country morally and financially bankrupted by greed; and then we claim that this 'violent underclass' are somehow different. No, they have lived through decades of this; they are its ultimate products. That is what we have to deal with, and more 'common sense' punishment is probalby not the way. i don't know what is as for a lot of these young people it may be too late.

[lashingsofbingeinghere]

I think a guaranteed place of work after leaving school is the way to go. Mimimum wage for:

sweeping streets
park upkeep
painting and decorating council and public buildings
helping out at schools hospitals and care homes - serving meals, fetching and carrying etc

I know it can be called make-work, but these are jobs that need doing, are worth paying someone to do and would interrupt the vicious circular argument parroted by many school leavers with no or few qualifications - "there are no jobs for people like me, what's the point, I'm better of on benefits etc etc".

[LostInTheWoods]

We already have properly paid street cleaners, park wardens and ground workers, council maintence people, care workers and dinner ladies.

Do we sack some to make room for this?

[GypsyMoth]

lostinthewoods....thats what i thought! you are making these jobs (which are done everday by normal people anyway) seem unworthy,like its a job only a criminal should do

[reallytired]

"Do we sack some to make room for this?"

A lot of public sector workers who do these jobs have already been sacked. :(

Surely its makes more sense for our unemployed people to do these jobs than bring in a load of immigrants to do these jobs.

[LostInTheWoods]

Or we could re-hire the public sector workers? Thus bypassing all this pointless, psudeo-moralistic, stats driven bollox?

[creamola]

YABU working for benefits would make even bigger riots !!!!!!!!

that's just slave labour

[usualsuspect]

Yes ,sack the street cleaners etc and give their jobs to benefit scroungers

that will work

[tethersend]

"i think the culture which needs changing is the one where everyone assumes 'if theres serious crime,then someone on benefits will have comitted it!!!'"

[usualsuspect]

please make it stop ,tethers

[reelingintheyears]

Yes,sack the street cleaners who will then have to sign on and then they can sweep the bloody streets for nothing.

Well,they will get their benefits for it won't they.

Benefit scrounging gits.

[OpinionatedPlusSprogs]

Will people fuck the fuck off with "people on benefits should clean the streets!"

If a person on benefits takes the street cleaners job then the street cleaner will be unemployed!

I don't mean to be rude but i keep hearing this workfare=street cleaning thing. It's doing my head in.

[usualsuspect]

You can be rude.....