True but they are being forced to work for an amount of money that is way below the minimum wage.
Probably doing work that stops someone else from getting a job that would pay them the minimum wage.

The only winner here is Poundland getting free labour.

Indeed, and as I have said, that is the real issue.

The fact she's work shy and would rather toss it off volunteering in a museum is immeterial.

The facts say otherwise.



I really don't know whether you're trolling here, Standee, or whether you mean that:

1) Working in a museum isn't 'real' work – which itself suggests that museums are worthless;

2) Work experience isn't useful?

We don't know that she is workshy and we don't know what her volunteering duties involved.
But yes, it's immaterial to the issue of Poundland being the only winners, if that's what you meant.

On the basis that, after the Poundland nonsense, she apparently went and found a part-time job at Morrisons, while also doing work experience at the museum, it's a fair bet that we know that she is not "workshy".

Indeed, fair point.

I like Standee...He is an enigmatic conundrum. He can work himself into an orgasmic lather leading the righteous in a cavalry charge to have injustices over a couple of photos being displaced at the KC...Alternatively he can come on a thread like this and talk narrow-minded bollox!

What I don’t get is the Work Programme cost the tax payer about £5 billion, I think, and, (as far gaining full-time employment is concerned), being on the WP is worse than ‘doing nothing’.

The government has been accused of artificially reducing the unemployment figures by 105,000 because they are counting unemployed people on these work placement schemes as employed.

From here: [urlhttp://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2012-10-23d.124129.h[/url

"Those participants whose activity comprises any form of work, work experience or work-related training are classified as in employment. This is regardless of whether the individual is paid or not."

There also an issue of people being under-employed i.e. people in work who are seeking longer hours but can't get them. This is also in part thought to be linked to the free labour these work placements provide.

Finally there is the issue of falling unemployment yet no growth in GDP. More people said to be in work but the country is not producing more and income tax receipts are down. This is also partly explained by people doing voluntary work on a work placement scheme being classed as employed yet they aren't producing anything nor paying tax or NI because their income is JSA and not a wage from an employer.

Smoke and mirrors, methinks.

The whole Atos/A4e/WorkFare/demonisation of disabled, unemployed, low-paid, anyone on any benefit etc etc is nothing other than playing with deckchairs on the Titanic; the iceberg in question being the fact that there are neither enough jobs around for the working-age population, nor enough jobs that pay a living wage so that the taxpayer does not continue, via in-work benefits, to have to subsidise companies.

Successive governments have both helped to create/facilitate the development of this situation – and not done enough to tackle this central iceberg, while also not telling the public that this is at the heart of the issue.

In a shellnut.

Waste of time and money? www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... thing.html Happening now. www.publications.parliament.uk/p ... 2-0003.htm www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/1072 Watch this space? www.legislation.gov.uk/new/2013- ... 2013-02-14

Waste of time and money? www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... thing.html Happening now. www.publications.parliament.uk/p ... 2-0003.htm www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/1072 Watch this space? www.legislation.gov.uk/new/2013- ... 2013-02-14