I STILL think Tesco should fucking well PAY THEIR STAFF. Workfare is wrong!!!!

[TapselteerieO]

Still angry, I hope the protests on the 3rd of March all over the country really keep this campaign lit, it makes me furious to think people seem to assume it has been sorted.

I will boycott every company that uses schemes like this until they are ended completely.

I thought tesco had pulled out and started a new better scheme?

Not sure if someone else has started another thread but until Workfare stops we need to keep this going.

Yes, it's dreadful - fancy people having to actually DO something for their JSA. Disgusting.

"As the Work Experience placements are for 30 hours a week, and up to eight weeks in length, this is potentially 336,000 hours of labour that the taxpayer has effectively subsidised Tesco for ? a company that made £3.5bn profit last year, whilst young job-seekers on the scheme work for less than £1.25 an hour. Far from sneering at jobs in the retail, as someone who works in the sector, I appreciate their worth ? a fair day?s work deserves a fair day?s pay."

But if they do other people's jobs for them for jsa not minimum wage, they're just putting people out of jobs. What's the point? Or do you own a big multinational,oldgreywhiffletest
How about they get all the skilled unemployed doing similar? That might get a few more people riled on minute. Journalist for jsa, lawyer for jsa, teacher for jsa. Sack all those currently working then re-employ for 60 quid a week - bargain

But if they do other people's jobs for them for jsa not minimum wage, they're just putting people out of jobs. What's the point? Or do you own a big multinational,oldgreywhiffletest
How about they get all the skilled unemployed doing similar? That might get a few more people riled on minute. Journalist for jsa, lawyer for jsa, teacher for jsa. Sack all those currently working then re-employ for 60 quid a week - bargain

Figures released by the job search website Adzuna show that in parts of the UK, there are up to eighty unemployed people for each job vacancy available.

These companies can afford to pay people for the jobs, take them off JSA completely.

Many people working for these companies need two jobs and still rely on housing benefit and tax credits to afford to live, but at least they are getting paid the minimum wage.

Anyone doing workfare is not contributing taxes or Natioanl Insurance, how does that help our economy?

These workfare placements increase the profits of these companies but do not reduce unemployment.

could you give me a link to the protests on the 3rd March please?

All you people on here who disagree with workfare would you object if claimants were required to do similar work on a voluntary basis?

OldGrey the clue is in the name. Job-seekers Allowance. People on this benefit have to be actively seeking work. That is the thing they have to do and if they don't do it, they are sanctioned. Except if they are on Workfare.

Providing Tesco et al with free labour rather than working these hours at NMW and paying tax back in is not what I consider to be a good of of the tax paid by employed people.

use

3rd March protests nation-wide.

15 years ago the Government ran a similar scheme. My friend, made redundant, and in his 40s, went on the scheme. He did 6 months, for an extra £10 a week, in a market garden. At the end of that 6 months he had learned enough to set himself up in a gardening business, which he carried on successfully for the next 15 years.

He learned skills, mixed with people, had something to do instead of floundering around at home alone, and came out with his head held high.

What's the difference between that and Workfare?

From Boycott workfare page "Workfare means that those who need welfare are forced into unpaid work for multi-million pound companies. Instead of a living wage, they receive only JSA ? a tiny £53 a week for the under-25s ? far below minimum wage.

Workfare means those in paid positions may see their jobs replaced by this unpaid labour. Why would a company pay for people to do these jobs when they can get free labour from the Job Centre?"

Thank you!

here you go

A link to the original thread for those that would like to read up

YANBU.

This is a national disgrace. It offers no hope of a real job, and no real skills for the participants, and props up the private sector using public money and free labour.

And anyone who objects is shot down. It perpetuates the myth of worklessness - there is little to no evidence to support the horror stories of three generational u employment and intentional unemployment.

If anyone is really interested, there is great work already available and about to be published by the Joseph rowntree foundation.

The following companies and organisations are known to have used or be using workfare:

100+ Workfare Providers

List 1: Alphabetical list

List 2: Workfare Organised by a4e under Flexible New Deal (Holloway
Branch)

List 1: Alphabetical list
a4e
Alpha Stream ? Kent
Asda
ATS
BHS ? British Home Stores [1]
Boots
Burger King
Burton
Age Concern
Argos
Asian Star Community Radio LTD
Barnardos
Bookers Wholesale
Carillion ? Kent
British Heart Foundation
Capability Scotland
Cancer Research
DB Accident Repair ? Kent
DC Cleaning Sussex
Diamond Glass Medway ? Kent
Dorothy Perkins [1]
Envirostream ? Kent
Evans [1]
Finsbury Park Business Forum
F&S Interiors ? Kent
Go Response ? Kent
Helen & Douglas House Hospice ? Maidenhead
HMV [3]
Holiday Inn
Holland & Barrett
Gorgie City Farm
Greggs the bakers
JA Glover ? Kent
Jessup Electrical Wholesale Ltd ? Kent
JJ Vickers & Sons Ltd ? Kent
Kennedy Scott
Kent Flooring Supplies ? Kent
Kent Space ? Kent
Maplin ? have tweeted that they have withdrawn, awaiting statement
Matalan ? have suspended workfare. Keep up the pressure for them to drop it!
Mayhem Paintball ? Kent
McDonald?s
Medway Council
Medway Tyres ? Kent
Miss Selfridge
Mr Gleam ? Sussex
Newham Council
Newhaven Community Development
Olympic Glass ? Kent
Omnico Plastics Ltd ? Kent
Outfit [1]
Payless ? Kent
PDSA
Pizza Hut
Plumbase ? Kent
Poundland
Poundstretcher
PPDG
Primark
Process Plant Services Ltd ? Kent
RBLI
Regency Guillotine ? Kent
Richmond Fellowship
Romney Resource Kent
Royal Mail
RNR Performance Cars ? Kent
Saffron Acres Project
Salvation Army
Savers
SERCO
Scout Enterprises
Servest ? Kent, London
SHOC Slough Homeless
Signs & Imaging Ltd ? Kent
Slough Library
Slough Furniture Project
Southern Membranes Ltd ? Kent
Southern Metal Services ? Kent
southern Roofing & Building Supplies ? Kent
Stephens Fresh Food ? Kent
Superdrug
Swan Lifeline ? Windsor
Tesco
Topman [1]
Topshop [1]
The Range ? Sussex
Town and Country Cleaners Kent
Wallis [1]
Westvic Enamellers ? Kent
WHSmith
Whittingtons Silk Flower & Plant Centre ? Kent
Wilkinsons

Tens of thousands of unemployed people made to work without pay
www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/15/thousands-unemployed-work-without-pay

the following companies and organisations say they will no longer take part in workfare:

TK Maxx
Sainsbury?s
Waterstones
Shelter
Marie Curie
99p stores
Mind and Disability Works group. This includes eight major charities.
The following have suspended their involvement. We look forward to them confirming that they will stop involvement in any of the government?s workfare schemes:

Scope
Matalan
Argos
Superdrug
Oxfam have confirmed to us that they are contacting their stores to ensure workfare does not take place. We await a statement from them. Maplin has tweeted that they will no longer take part in workfare. Poundland has its policy under review. Age UK is investigating.

Hold them to it! Ask in your local stores to confirm that no one is on DWP ?Work Experience?, Mandatory Work Activity, the Community Action Programme, Sector Based Work Academies, or Work Programme placements: all of these are forced unpaid work, or workfare schemes. Let us know if you hear otherwise.

Thanks for keeping this going. Oh, and !

OldGrey, like your friend, I went on one of those schemes. I wasn't eligible for benefits so I was literally working 40 hours for £10 a week. The difference was, there was a genuine prospect of paid employment, and in fact I was offered a salaried post after a couple of months. It was great for me, as I was highly qualified but had no work experience other than shelf-filling/checkout jobs I'd done as a student.
The Workfare scheme is entirely different. It's exploitation, nothing more. We're paying taxes to give large companies something for nothing, ie a constant supply of free labour. Unspeakable.

OldGrey in the past the return to work schemes were not just money making scams for big business, now people are losing there jobs to workfare replacements or seeing their hours cut. These companies can afford to pay people to work for them, if there are 8 unemployed people for every job available then there are not enough jobs out there, there will be even less if Workfare schemes become the norm as they are in America.

Hellooooo Ladies Owen Jones debated this on 10 o clock Live with some others Theres still time to catch it if you go to Channel 4 +1 now. I was so fucking angry with what Julia Hartley Brewer said that i tweeted them.
Unfortunately though they dont read tweets out.
So agree we HAVE to keep this campaign going.

Thankyou for keeping this going everyone xxx

Would anybody care to answer my question about whether they would support people doing non profit making voluntary work instead?