Unemployed used as unpaid staff at Jubilee event and expected to sleep outside

[HRHEightiesChick]

This story about unpaid workers doing the security at the flotilla event yesterday is bad. They were misled about not being paid, and had to sleep out in tents or actually outside 'under London bridge' was suggested to them. This is Workfare in action again, I believe.

disgrace.

Vile exploitation of the unemployed, it makes me feel sick.

The article says it was work experience towards a qualification. Why would they think they would get paid for that? I dont think we know anywhere near the full story.

It's very bad that their accommodation wasn't sorted. Surely cheap accommodation somewhere around London can't be that hard to find.

WTAF...

No I think it was actually workfare as the people interviewed did not want to be identified in fear of losing their benefits

Really bad, fair enough offer them work experience but be upfront about and give them suitable sleeping and sanitary arrangements :-(

when you do apprenticeship, you get paid £2 an hour? not work for free

:( Doubt Queen would approve.

good grief,has this been corroborated?

Disgusting. If they are good enough to work they are good enough to pay. The treatment as described - if accurate - is shameful. What a disgrace

I think even setting aside arguments about the worth/acceptability of unpaid work experience, it is pretty shocking not to find people doing this work a proper place to sleep, and to suggest that in weather like that it was OK for them to sleep outdoors.

And I am not in favour of workfare. But even for those who are not of that view, this shows the slippery slope it sets people on.

The Guardian is hardly the most reputable of news sources when it comes to workfare.

Work experience doesnt always get paid, quite often it doesn't.

Something has clearly gone wrong if these people are saying they were told they would get paid but the company thinks they are doing volunrty work experience towards an NVQ. Hopefully that will name the person that told them that and there will be a proper investigation in to that, and into why accommodation wasn't sorted for them.

This doesn't sound like work experience. I cannot see much evidence of supervision and no coaching or development.

It will be interesting to see what further investigation reveals. I really hope it wasn't as bad as described.

We can't see much of any of the story from one little article.

Yes. That's why I wrote the last two sentences in my very short post.

Josephine care to expand on that with any examples?

They clearly have an agenda, and would prefer people to be able to choose not to work and recieve benefits without having to do anything. This is unsustainable.

Oh OK JosephineCD so people should be exploited for their £60 odd per week? Even though many of of them have paid tax all their lives ok...

Work'fair' exploits the unemployed and gives multi billion£ companies free labour, these companies do not employ the people on workfair they just wait for the next lot, and yes I do know this because I work for one of the companies who used workfair. Thankfully they no longer use workfair.

Go back to reading the Daily Fail there's a love.

"Go back to reading the Daily Fail there's a love"

at such a shitty new low of obvious patronising posting. MRA (though this wouldn't be the sort of thread one would expect to be invaded)?

Daily Fail comment was patronising but what ffc said in previous sentence was spot on. imho

ffc=frowniefuckingface

Wow Frownie, the only time I suggested that I got my first deletion.

If true, this story is another reason that proves Gids right. We are in this together. By we I mean us ordinary types, not the useless wankpieces that are in 'power'.

I couldn't believe this when I saw it. This company will have charged a premium for providing security in London over a Bank Holiday. Providing free work experience for people is one thing exploiting them for huge profits is another. Workfare seems to be about exploitation rather than experience. If they worked 14 hours (as it says in the article) the firm is in direct contravention of the Working Time Directive, god knows what other laws have been broken by this.