I wrote a few days ago about the Government’s Workfare scheme, where I condemned the work-shy (naturally) but thought it was out of order for rich corporates to take advantage of the scheme to pay workers nothing!
The Guardian’s Polly Toynbee writes:
“Workfare is transparently unfair to most people, substituting slave labour for big companies. Michael Heseltine’s scheme that was dubbed workfare had three vitally different ingredients. He paid jobseeker’s allowance recipients extra for working, he ensured the work was for charities or community projects – no risk of job substitution – and the job market was rising. Iain Duncan Smith and Chris Grayling breached all those, absurdly calling objectors “job snobs”. The protesters gave them the bloody nose they deserve.” [my highlighting]
I am the biggest fan of Iain Duncan Smith’s Welfare Reform but Chris Grayling should have a word with Michael Heseltine on how not to feather the nests of the big corporates at the expense of the taxpayer. Large companies push the money to the top as it is, the directors do not deserve to be rewarded for it by the Government providing free labour at the bottom. Only positions in charities or the voluntary sector should be used as part of the Workfare scheme to encourage the work-shy to get back to work.
Gavin Maclure's Musings 
February 24, 2012 at 2:23 am
Please give some thought to the cost to Tesco of training and supervising these youngsters and to the administrative cost of the scheme. It is extremely unlikely that Tesco does more than break even.And as for charities and community projects, by all means use them as workfare for the older/experienced unemployed, but that sort of activity is hardly the gold standard in work experience that youngsters need if they are to compete with economic migrants for permanent employment.
February 28, 2012 at 3:26 pm
Is that the same Guardian that advertises unpaid "jobs" for ethnic minorities, I wonder?