Workfare: London Bridge is the tip of the iceberg
June 10th, 2012The more the job market shrinks, the more the government is revving up its programme to force the jobless to work for nothing. Like so much else, it started with New Labour, but the Tories have now expanded the project of payless work out of all proportion. It operates either by threats (loss of benefits if you refuse) or inducements that turn out to be imaginary (unpaid work will improve their CV or lead to a real job with the same employer). Or the welfare-to-work privateers (G4S, Serco, A4E) provide ‘work experience’ in their own offices, while the High Street supermarkets take on unemployed people as unpaid temporary workers. Even hospital trusts take on jobless people to do ‘general tidying’ or ‘assisting with feeding patients’. (more…)
