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.

www.avaaz.org/en/petition/End_the_disgrace_of_slave_labour_at_the_Queens_jubilee/?fyLFqbb&pv=7

Britain never ever ever shall be slaves???

Interesting...

www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/1022158/Charity-Commission-raps-Tomorrows-People-supporting-Conservatives/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH

"The company, which is based in Wigan, said it paid for meals for all the Jubilee volunteers, accommodation on the night after the event as well as supplying their clothing, equipment and licences to undertake the work."

The accommodation on the night after was apparently a very soggy camp site in Theydon Bois (Essex), which they traveled to by tube. Some of them had to put their tents up in the dark.

Just in case anyone had the idea that they were put up in a warm, dry London B&B or hostel even.

Sorry, should have said the quote from the company comes from the BBC article

The campsite bit comes from the original Guardian article.

Someone made this comment on Twitter......Britannia waives the rules.

the lovely Samuel West is tweeting about this too.
If the Tories think this is going to go away any time soon i think they are going to be disappointed.

If lefties think the problem of long-term unemployed people is going away anytime soon, they are mistaken. I notice no-one on this thread has come up with better ideas of how to do it, only criticism of the government, which is at least trying something, rather than ignoring it as Labour did.

Fuckwits who allowed this are putting people in danger - both the pressed labour and the crowds they were supposed to steward.

Er, Josephine I did! The government aren't trying to do away with long term unemployment - they're adding to it!

And how the hell is this gov helping???

How about paying them to do the security job Josephine? Radical idea i know

Duh, Josephine. Us 'lefties' have been suggesting the only sensible solution: getting corporations to PAY unemployed people by the hour for what they do at a decent rate. Outrageous socialism, eh?

Kal: snap :D

us crazy out-there lefties all think alike don't we? With our evil, profligate plans to waste the hard-earned tax of decent Daily Mail reading citizens by actually PAYING PEOPLE TO WORK.

She'll be on about Stalin next, you watch it.

btw Labour didn't have quite the same problem to deal with since unemployment was much lower when they were in power. I'm no fan of Blair, and I think they are all neoliberals in the end- but Labour seem to have been better than this bunch of overprivileged, preening, asset-stripping corporate tossers....

How about paying them to do the security job Josephine? Radical idea i know
How on earth would that work? Instead of employing experienced stewards, you employ unemployed people? The point is that these people are unemployable and they are trying to make them employable by giving them work experience. No company worth it's salt is going to employ these people when there are plenty of experienced people out there looking for work.

This is disgraceful.

What would help unemployment would be if the companies using workfare actually employed people. Instead of being forced to work for £70 a week they should be paid national minimum wage and taken on at the end of a trial period.

Labour were better at it because they were in power during an economic boom, largely created through a housing bubble of their own creation. And they also were keen on throwing money around to create jobs that there was no need for other than to give people jobs.

What would help unemployment would be if the companies using workfare actually employed people. Instead of being forced to work for £70 a week they should be paid national minimum wage and taken on at the end of a trial period.
Exactly the same as it is now. Given the choice between those conditions and doing nothing, the companies would do nothing. The people would still be unemployed and unemployable.

You seriously have a complete lack of understanding of the sutiation. You cannot force companies to give jobs to people they do not want to give jobs to!

If 'these people' are unemployable, Josephine, isn't it a bit worrying that they are stewarding a major event like this?

"Given the choice between those conditions and doing nothing ... You cannot force companies to give jobs to people they do not want to give jobs to!"

Not true.

People were needed to be stewards at the event. If workfare didn't exist, the companies involved would have had to pay people to do those roles, thus creating real jobs.

They are using Workfare to increase profits, it's not a solution for long term unemployment!

I'm not saying companies should be forced to employ people, however if they require staff then they should employ people therefore lowering unemployment.

There were hundreds, possibly thousands, of paid, experienced stewards at the event.

And now I read they're going to get the prisoners working more.
here
I can express how angry the whole thing is making me!

No one was forcing this ghastly security company to employ anyone. They took on workers. And they should have paid them rather than using free labour from the 'unemployable' (snigger...only unemployable for money, it seems).

The Conservative world amazes me. Literally anything goes in order to make the rich richer. Because that is what you are advocating, Josephine. Allowing the already rich to exploit the poorest in order to keep their profits up. But that's Ok I guess rather than 'creating jobs in order to give people jobs'. Silly me, I thought it was a good thing for people to actually work? But then, they should be working FOR FREE shouldn't they?

They say workfare, I say workhouse. They'll be building them again soon, you'll be happy to hear, Josephine.