Workfare scheme for loan parents of children as young as 3, as of next month.

[WaterLoadaCack]

kept that quiet didnt they

Most people do not need to grovel at the feet of the taxpayer for their JSA because chances are, that benefit claimant has been a tax payer him or herself! Not rocket science is it?

And why is all of a sudden a job when you are looking after someone else's child ie childminders and foster carers. xxx

Exactly They are valued jobs SO FUCKING PAY THEM ACCORDINGLY!!

Do watch it when you can wiggly!

Sorry, thread derail. As you were.

I wonder how many people will end up loosing their jobs because of this? And then end up having to do the same type of work for free

Why should any parent expect to be paid for staying at home? If you can afford to do it without relying entirely on benefits then great but I don't see why it should be a lifestyle choice.

As for a pp saying that the sah lone parents spend their time playing with their children don't you think that all parents would like to be given the chance to do that? I hate the fact I miss out on things with my dd because I work but I don't see that as being a goid enough reason to give up my job and rely on IS.

"Re education, surely if the person was interested in extending their education they do it before having children? After, they will just have the same excuses re dont like using or paying for childcare etc. There are still thousands of courses available at colleges or online. Not everything in life is handed to you for free."

Prehaps qualificiations go out of date. For example IT changes all the time. Even a degree from ten years ago is useless. There are far fewer college courses than the past because very few people can afford them. This is having a negative impact on lots of people other than mothers. Lots of people need to retrain to gain employment. Vocational courses often need hands on workshops. For example you can't learn to be hairdresser over the internet. It would make sense for the govement to subside people who have been unemployed for more than two years to do an apprenticeship rather than workfare.

If some posters are to be believed being on benefit is 100% the women's fault. After she must have done something wrong if she left a violent man, or her partner walked out on her in your naive la la land. Gawd help you if you ever experience bad luck and find you need the benefits system. (Incidently I am not a single mother or on benefits.)

Workfare seems to be a total crock to me. The main reason people can't get jobs is a lack of jobs. Improving your CV only increases the chance that it is some other poor git that ends up on benefits rather than you. Not actually a win from the government perspective because it doesn't change the level of employment over all.

Workfare must reduce the net employment level by preventing poundland etc. from needing to hire cleaners....

Although the same bullshit logic was reeled out over getting SAHP back into work by reducing childcare costs...once again THERE AREN'T enough JOBS to GO AROUND. If you allow some section of the work force back in to the game all they will do is knock another section back out.

Watch the birth rate go up. The attitude of some will be it's easier to have another baby rather than have the job centre on their backs. I know someone who got pregnant to get the job centre off their back and I don't blame them to be perfectly honest. xxx

Why should any parent expect to be paid for staying at home?

Why should nursery workers be paid to look after kids and not parents?

Are kids the future resource this country will be depending on or not?

It is in all of our interests that children be brought up by people who care about them preferably not in poverty.

In practice if you have half a dozen workfare people cleaning the school they will cut down on the paid workers to save money.

The way to avoid that is to make the workfare completely pointless. Have them all line up and dig holes and then fill them in again or collect litter and at the end of the shift tip it back on the ground.

But then you'd have to admit that it's not about experience at all, but about punishment. If people are seeing it as a 'deterrent' then we're already admitting that it's not really about getting work experience.

Owl, I don't know where to start in response to your post, the level of ignorance should shock me but sadly it doesn't. I sincerely hope you are never in a less than ideal situation through no fault of your own. Even the most rich and successful amongst us are only ever 3 steps from the gutter.

What would it take for you - a sudden illness, unexpected redundancy, marriage breakdown. Maybe a combination of all three but don't ever be so completely sure it couldn't happen.

There but for the grace of God and all that.

Wow. This is all a capitalist's dream isn't it. Free slave labour hence reducing the number of actual paid staff they need, meaning that the paid staff they do have are kept on their toes and don't rock the boat in any way in case they get replaced.

This all beggars belief when as was said up thread, funding for further education has been completely abolished for the over 24s. This has made it virtually impossible for anyone over this age to get a qualification, unless they have financial support from a partner etc. I should know, I am a single parent doing an access course during the first year of these changes and I have never been so poor in my life.

Oh whoop de doo more free fucking labour for Tesco and the pound shop!!!

If there's work available then give out actual, you know, real jobs???

Ffs

Reading back, I shouldn't have singled Owl out, there's an awful lot of posters on here who could equally benefit from a good dose of humility.

So, to all those who think it's a great idea - what should I do?
I can't use childcare, free or otherwise. What's your solution?

"What if you already do voluntary work? Anybody know where id stand with that?"

You would probably have to quit your voluntary work to do the workfare job.

There was a woman recently who had to quit her vuntary job (working in a museum, IIRC something she was qualified for and which enhanced her CV, to go stack shelves. She had retail experience anyway. It was a total farce.

The prime purpose of this (as most Tory policies) is to make money for big business and win votes from people too narrowminded to want to take the time to understand what kind of effect workfare will have on society.

The purpose is not to give people skills or get more people into paying jobs, workfare doesn't do that.

Ok then IceBeing if it is in our best interests to have parents looking after their own children shouldn't all parents be paid to stay at home? As soon as you fall pregnant give up work as you are now growing a member of the future generation and then not return until they are 18. Some parents will never have to return to work as they will be able to produce more and more children with a perfectly timed age gap.

Or, parents could return to work as not everyone enjoys the day to day work involved with bringing up small children so maybe it is best left to those who have chosen to do so as their career.

"Improving your CV only increases the chance that it is some other poor git that ends up on benefits rather than you. "

No, not necessarily. We need to encourage self employment. Enterpeniers make jobs and expand the ecomony. We need money to fund improvement and grants to help new businesses. At the moment banks are very tight with loans and its makes it hard for the ecomony to expand.

Imagine a single mother learns a new skill like the berated balloon art that the govement has stopped subsidies for. She then sets up a business as a children's party entertainer. She needs an accountant and has to buy supplies. She is generating jobs.

Another mum might use her catering skills to set up her own cafe with a grant, creating a job for herself and others.

If it's a real job, it should pay minimum wage.

If it's designed to give people genuine training & opportunities, it should be voluntary - absolutely no shortage of people in 2014 desperate to work who'd be signing up for real training.

If it's supposed to create jobs, the evidence shows that it doesn't.

If it's designed to punish people for being poor & workless, it shouldn't do so by taking other people's jobs away & thereby creating more poor, workless people.

I don't particularly want to make anyone do pointless fake work stuff for the crime of being a parent, single & skint, unlike some on this thread it would seem - but even if one does think like that, it's just...dumb. Doesn't benefit anyone but the CEOs of Tesco, Poundland etc. At the not inconsiderable expense of the rest of us.

I get that people who want kids often have to work to support them, but I don't really understand this hypothetical group of people who say "I don't like kids, they are too much work. I'd much rather get on with my career, but I'd better have a few anyway".

Perfectly put Raven.

Very well put raven.

"There are NO jobs In 1984 we knew this would happen"

www.feministtimes.com/anne-scargill-theres-no-jobs-theres-nothing-in-1984-we-knew-this-would-happen/