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.

Hi NicholasTeakozy, yes it does seem that these people were inexperienced and had not yet obtained whatever certificate they were working towards. The managing director did say that some experienced people were there, but possibly not enough to monitor and train all the unskilled ones.

But, I think to some extent, the company is getting a pasting, when officials and bigwigs in charities and govt must know that this is what happens.

I think Prezza is anti workfare, but he kept emphasising the Olympics, which I felt was strange, because what about the people in supermarkets, stacking shelves at night. He didn't mention them, but he may be against that as well.

Here is the interview

news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9726000/9726250.stm

Evan Davies says in the BBC interview that they were getting the SIA security card which allows them to work for 3 years in the industry. This is a lot more useful than an NVQ. So, I wonder if that original story contains inaccuracies. I also don't believe that all of the staff were unaware that they would not be paid. I have a feeling that some of this is political theatrics and some of the story may be incorrect.

Lord Prescott expresses concern for unpaid labour, and yet we have political parties, themselves, using unpaid labour.

www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/06/mp-unpaid-internships-damage-job-market

And the Guardian is a great newspaper, even if I disagree with some of its articles.

'Keith Vaz, Labour MP and chairman of the home affairs select committee, recently hired a new intern. I was interviewed for the position, under the impression that it was paid. The job ad detailed the pay as "in accordance to Ipsa [Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority] guidelines" and I, naively, thought that these might say "pay your staff". But, no, it was a full-time, three-month, expenses-only internship. The lack of pay essentially ruled out any applicant who was not already in a fortunate economic position ? ie with wealthy parents who were willing to fund their career progression.

What actually drives young people to take these roles and accept conditions of no pay and no employment rights? The desire to "volunteer" for an MP? Anyone who has not recently worked a 50-hour week for less than £20 may be out of touch with graduate job-hunting. The article does not mention the crippling fear of failure that arises from being unlucky in your job search, and the feeling that you will never get anywhere.'

These things have ben going on for years and the bigwigs knew all about it.
It is very sad that young people have to "volunteer" to work for free to gain job experience. There should be free training for unemployed people and they should be able to get these certificates for free if they coimplete teh courses, and they should also be allowed to receive their benefits, while trying to better themselves.

I think there should be laws about these free internships. Didn't Clegg say he was against it? I'm not sure if he did anything to change it.

Were ShowSec doing the security?

They're well known in the music industry for being thugs. They're known for having providing very poor training, and employing agressive, violent idiots. Also for many individuals who work for them dealing drugs at festivals.

(My DP has worked in the music industry for years).

The whole vibe of many festivals has been changed when ShowSec have taken over the security. As a festival-goer my heart sinks when I hear they're doing the security. I am very wary of them, they have ruined many a festival goer's experience.

Love all the backtracking about 'free qualifications'...

Either you need a qual to do stewarding and as such all stewards should have been fully qualified and paid accordingly, or you don't and as such all stewards should have been paid accordingly.

I'd imagine it's not all those unemployable job seekers who they've got doing workfare anyway, bet they were people who already have a raft of qualifications and are highly employable who were suitable people to have a public facing role at a huge national event.

I saw on martin money savers you can go to festivals for free if you do a bit of free stewarding. That seems a bit fairer than this shite. What next? Nvq level 1 in litterpicking? Rock breaking? Rope unravelling?

'What next? Nvq level 1 in litterpicking? Rock breaking? Rope unravelling?'

Nope, fortunately, New Labour was voted out, so red tape is being reduced.

Ah but claig how can one employ people for free to do work that should be paid if you are not pretending it's for their benefit by offering a qualification at the end of it?

And it could be any of us, really, that end up on workfare. A few bad runs of luck, this rubbish economy and there you are, after 6 months on the dole, classed as long term unemployed and now you need to work for free too.

no need to offer them a paid job at the end, as long as you can continue to get a supply of the desperate to work for nothing, or below minimum wage, and sleep in tents or under bridges.

I am not in favour of workfare. There must be a better way of getting people back into work. I agree with you that there are too many of these qualifications and certificates and red tape and barriers to employment, But since they exist, people have to jump through the hoops and do what is necessary to wave the piece of paper that entitles them to a job. Without jumping through these hoops, people probably stand no chance.

It took me more than 6 months to find a job after I wanted to return to work, after having DS, and I was job-hunting like crazy.

(I was on a fixed-term contract when I got pregnant so no job to go back to).

It was very demoralising.

Being sent miles away to sleep rough and work in these conditions wouldn't have helped me at all!

And don't assume that the people they picked for this didn't have any qualifications. My SIL is job hunting. Her job centre tried to send her on a literacy course to "improve her employment prospects". But, SIL is a qualified teacher with not one, but two post-graduate qualifications! (Including, ironically, one in Careers Development!) She's more than qualified to run a literacy course!

She was dying to suggest that the Job Centre employee might benefit from a literacy course themselves, so they could actually read her notes! This kind of thing isn't uncommon, as if people are on courses, they're off the official "unemployed" list.

Lord Prescott the great socialist. Well that's a contradiction for a start.

'Being sent miles away to sleep rough and work in these conditions wouldn't have helped me at all!'

The company didn't intend them to sleep rough. It sounds like it was supposed to be a 5 a.m. start, but the coach got there at 3 a.m. and then left. It didn't go as planned.

There is talk saying that they had to provide their own camping gear?

But weren't they picked up at 11pm the night before, so how long were they without any sleep?

I expect so, but he wouldn't have been able to take everyone else with him for 2 hours. Mistakes and errors occur. It wasn't good, but builders in Auf Wiedersehen Pet would probably have experienced similar.

And then sleep in a campsite in this shitty weather...

I swear we are in the year 2012 and not 1812

'But weren't they picked up at 11pm the night before, so how long were they without any sleep?'

I expect that they were meant to sleep on the coach.

'There is talk saying that they had to provide their own camping gear?'
Who said that? I find that hard to believe as the managing director said there was dry sheltered accommodation.

Would it be cynical of me to point out that the government massively underestimated how many security staff would be required for the olympics (and thus didn't budget for them)

I wouldn't be surprised to see workfare people bussed in from all over the UK to staff the Olympics for free.

'And why couldn't he take them with him? Because he wanted more profit.'

Some of these small companies work to tight budgets. Their profit margin is thin. They are not Lords who get paid by the taxpayer.