Charities refuse to host forced unpaid labour for unemployed

A new scheme that will force unemployed people into unpaid work is in trouble on its first day, with dozens of charities and faith groups refusing to take part in it.

The “Help to Work” scheme, announced by George Osborne at the last Conservative Party conference, will require long-term unemployed people to work full-time for six months for a voluntary or community group. Their benefits will be cut if they fail to take part.

The scheme, also known as “Community Work Placements”, begins today (28 April). But over thirty voluntary sector groups – including Oxfam, Anti-Slavery International, the Ekklesia thinktank and a range of local agencies – have condemned the scheme and said they will not participate.

They say that unemployed people need paid jobs and that voluntary groups need real, willing volunteers.
They have urged all faith groups, charities and other voluntary organisations to reject workfare schemes and sign their call to “Keep Volunteering Voluntary”.

Three of the largest supporters of other workfare schemes have said they will not accept placements for the six-month scheme – the Conservation Volunteers, the Salvation Army and YMCA England. They are now being urged to go further by pulling out of all workfare programmes and backing Keep Volunteering Voluntary.

Critics of the scheme point out that it will force people to work for more twice the maximum community service sentence for drink-driving.

“On the Work Programme, you are made to feel like a criminal for being unemployed,” said Dave Draper from Derby, who will soon have been unemployed for two years and could be forced on to the new scheme.

Read more...