More Statistics, More Lies.
The Guardian reports today.
Government claims to have created an additional 500,000 jobs in the past year have been called into question after it was revealed that one in five of the people involved are on government work schemes, including tens of thousands still claiming unemploymentbenefits.
But figures obtained by the Guardian from the Office for National Statistics show that just over 20% of this total (105,000) involves those on largely unpaid government back-to-work schemes, the majority of whom are still claiming jobseeker’s allowance.
They include unpaid workers doing voluntary and mandatory work experience in supermarkets and charity shops.
Many more tens of thousands with no jobs, training or pay, who simply attend regular job hunt workshops as part of the work programme run by the Department for Work and Pensions, are also being counted as employed.
So now we know: when we’re on the Work Programme ‘job searching’ we’re ‘working’.
Let’s here no more about skivers on the dole!
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I have been saying this for years and now it’s all coming out in the open, I really hope IDS is taken to task over this and sacked.
Also shut the evil Work Programme and Private Providers down.
So when I do jobsearch I am working?
In a nutshell – NO.
The Jobcentre Say Searching For A Job Is A Job In It’s Self As You Are Promoting Yourself”
Department for Work and Pensions group
Universal Jobmatch: Update
17 January 2013
PCS has received many queries and concerns from members regarding the use of Universal Jobmatch (UJ). This circular provides an update on recent issues.
Staff accessing their own UJ accounts
On its introduction, members of staff were encouraged to set up their own accounts to demonstrate the use of UJ to claimants. It has came to light recently that accessing your own records (or that of friends or family) using the UJ icon on your desktop is subject to the same security restrictions as other departmental system such as JSAPS or LMS. Staff are permitted to set up and access their own UJ account, but it must be done through the internet browser and jobsearch activity must be done in their own time.
PCS has asked that DWP provide clarification to their managers, in addition to the ‘implementation updates’ they have issued already. They have stated that the advice to set up an account and demonstrate its use to the claimant was local and not from the UJ project. Clearly, we believe that no action should be taken against a member of staff where they have been misadvised by their manager.
Jobseeker Directions and Mandatory Use of UJ
PCS was aware that, despite assurances otherwise from the UJ project of DWP, management in some jobcentre districts were instructing advisers to tell claimants that UJ is mandatory and access must given to the DWP.
As a result of legal challenges and negative press attention, DWP have revised the guidance on UJ to make it clear that this cannot be done. The UJ Jobmatch toolkit chapter 3, paragraph 50, states: “You cannot issue a Jobseeker’s Direction to either require a claimant to create a profile and CV in Universal Jobmatch or to mandate a claimant to give us access to their account – this is their decision not ours.” Paragraph 52 also states that “We cannot specify to a JSA claimant how they provide us with records of their jobsearch activity and Universal Jobmatch will not change this.”
PCS is awaiting clarification from DWP management on the status of the many Jobseeker Directions that were incorrectly issued to claimants before the guidance was clarified. PCS members should contact their local representative to challenge any instruction to inform claimants that the use of UJ or access to it is mandatory.
http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/department_for_work_and_pensions_group/dwp-news.cfm/id/78E359C6-7B09-4FC6-98EBD4696432C199
There you have it in black and white, ‘UJM’ is not mandatory and everything Iain Duncan Smith has been spouting regarding UJM is UTTER SHIT!
The DWP and Jobcentres could have saved themselves a big headache just by saying:
We are introducing a new £20 millon non mandatory jobsearch system called Universal Jobmatch, it’s free for anyone to use should you wish to and together with current jobsearch measures may help you in your efforts to find work.
But that would have been too sensible – wouldn’t it!