Wednesday Actions
First used Wednesday 29th February
Wednesday was a busy old day and following the announcement that the policy on Youth Work Experience had changed and young people would no longer be sanctioned if they left the scheme after one week..
Iain Duncan Smith : cwgca@Tory.org
(copy & paste)
Dear Mr Ian Duncan Smith
It has come to my attention that the coalition government, of which you are a part, has been exploiting the young unemployed of this country while perpetrating a lie that you are trying to help them.
I refer of course to the Work Fare scheme.
While we all agree that everyone needs work experience in order to have a better chance in the very competitive work environment it is clear that the Work Fare scheme does not provide that. It very plainly provides large corporations with heavily state subsidised labour with no promise of work at the end of the program. In fact it actively undermines existing jobs and has been demonstrated to have a negative effect on the working hours of those already employed.
Furthermore the way in which it is presented to the unemployed has been duplicitous: the young people involved are led to believe that they have no choice and threats of loss of benefits are used to coerce this “slave work force”. I am perfectly well aware that the DWP have changed the appearance of the contract in order to hide this and that your government has backed down from the program. You only did it because people like me, the voters of this country, brought pressure to bare on the companies involved and they withdrew from the scheme because they don’t want the negative image of Work Fare anywhere near them.
If it was not for public pressure then neither your government nor the companies would have backed down. You had to be told that slavery is wrong. Think about that. Did you really think that this is a great way to treat people?
You are now going to claim that of the people who have gone through Work Fare around 50% were off benefits after 6 months and this is fabulous. However it is a misrepresentation of the facts. Few of these people are in paid employment that had anything to do with their Work Fare placement and more importantly the same amount of people who are NOT on Work Fare also left benefits within a 6 month period.
Finally, Work Fare, in common with many coalition policies, makes no economic sense. If you are reducing wages and creating a culture of fear in the workplace then people will not spend money. If people are not spending money then the economy is not being stimulated and your friends in big business will not be able to sell their products. Again, why do we have to tell you this? It seems obvious to everyone except the politicians.
I am well equipped with the facts (yes all of them, even the ones that you have tried to delete) and, inconveniently for you, I am able to understand them. I know that this is terribly naughty of me and you would much rather that I remained stupid and docile. But I am not. I am angry. And am watching you. You have attacked the young people and I have hit back and protected them. I know that you are attacking older people on benefits and the disabled in a similar despicable manner. This is not acceptable. I will continue to press you on these issues until you stop.
Signed *delete and insert name here*
The letter can be downloaded as a word.doc
After a number of government ministers said 'workfare' protesters were from the hardline 'left' we set the record straight
@MailOnline #workfare protests not extreme but compassionate & rational. Not just about work exp #DLA #ESA #wrb #wrag http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/feb-2012/dwp020-12.shtml
@BBCNewsnight #workfare protests not extreme but compassionate & rational. Not just about work exp #DLA #ESA #wrb #wrag http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/feb-2012/dwp020-12.shtml
@jonsnowC4 #workfare protests not extreme, compassionate & rational. Not just about work exp #DLA #ESA #wrb #wrag http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/feb-2012/dwp020-12.shtml
@BBCNews #workfare protests not extreme but compassionate & rational. Not just about work exp #DLA #ESA #wrb #wrag http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/feb-2012/dwp020-12.shtml
@Conservatives #workfare protests not extreme but compassionate & rational Not just about work exp #DLA #ESA #wrb #wrag http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/feb-2012/dwp020-12.shtml
@TheSunNewspaper #workfare protests not extreme, compassionate & rational. Not just about work exp #DLA #ESA #wrb #wrag http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/feb-2012/dwp020-12.shtml
@TelegraphNews #workfare protests not extreme, compassionate & rational. Not just about work exp #DLA #ESA #wrb #wrag http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/feb-2012/dwp020-12.shtml
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