Names of Workfare Exploiters and Oppressors Revealed – by Court Order.
Names of hosts for DWP “schemes…collectively referred to as “workfare””.
What do they know. Refuted.
Hats off to Frank Zola!
Further to today’s Court of Appeal ruling*, that dismissed the DWP 3rd appeal, with regards disclosing the names of hosts (employers/charities/businesses/public authorities etc) of your Mandatory Work Activity scheme (“MWA”), Work Experience and the Work Programme (“WP”) schemes. Please disclose all the names of said hosts you hold in connection to this ruling.
In your disclosure of host names, please indicate for each unique individually named host which individual unique scheme or schemes each specific host provided placements for.
The List of Shame.
African Childrens Fund
Abacus Children’s Wear
ABCAL
Ability
Ace of Clubs Charity Shop
Acorns
Action for Disability
Action Housing
Active Community Team
Advocacy Support
Afro Caribbean Centre
Age Concern
Age UK
Agnew Community Centre
Air Ambulance
Aire Valley Recycling Ltd
Airedale Computers,
Al-Khair Foundation
All Aboard
Allied Healthcare
Almadene Care Home
AMF Torquay Bowling Alley
Amicus Horizon Housing Association
Animal Krackers
ARAS German Shepherd Inn
ARC
Archer Project
Arthritis Research UK
Arthur Rank
Arts Factory
ASAN
Asda
Asha Charity Shop
Ashgate Hospice
Aspire Community Enterprise Ltd
Auchinleck Talbot F.C.
Autism Plus
Aylestone Park Boys Football Club
Babygear
Back2Earth
Bangladesh People
Bangladeshi ass sangag centre
Barnardos
Basic Life Charity
B’Dwe
Beaumaris Hostel
Bedfordshire Education Academy
Belgrave Hall Museum
Bernicia Group (Social housing provider)
BHF
Blaby & Whetstone Boys Club
Blue Cross
Bluebell Wood
Bookers
Boots
Botanical Gardens
Bottle Rescue Aireworth Mill
BR Environmental
Bradford Autism Centre
Bradford Community repaint
Breaking Free
Brian Jackson House
Briardale Community Centre
Bright House
Brighton and hove wood recycling
Britannia College
British Heart Foundation
British Red Cross
British Waterways
Brockhurst Community Centre
Bryncynon Strategy
Bryncynon Strategy
Butterwick Hospice
Cancer Research
Cancer Uk
Capability Scotland
Care & Repair
Carers Centre
Caribbean Centre
Caribbean Restaurant (Streatham)
Carlisle Park
Carr Vale Allotments
Cash Convertors
Castle Gresley Community Centre
Cat Haven
Cats Protection League
Cauwood day services
CCA Furniture Outlet
Cerebal Palsey Care
Changing Lives in Clevedon
chapletown youth community centre
Chesterfield FC Community Trust
Chestnut Tree House Shop
Children in Distress
Children Scrapstore Reuse Centre
Children Trust
Childrens Society
Chopsticks North Yorkshire
Circulate
Citizen Advice Bureau
Claire House
Clic Sargent
Comfort Kids
Community Association – Trefechan
Community Re-Paint
Community Resource Centre
Community Voice
Complete Professional Care
Compton Hospice
Congburn Nurseries
Cooke Computers
Cooke E – Learning Foundation
Co-op
Corby Boating Lake
Cornerstone
Cornwall Hospice Care
County Durham Furniture Help Scheme
Croydon animal samaritans
CSV Media
Cusworth Hall
CVS Furniture
Dan’s Den Colwyn Bay
Dapp UK
DC Cleaning
Deans
Debra
Demzela
Derbyshire Timber Scheme
DHL
Dial Intake
Didcot Railyway Museum
Disabled Childrens Services
Discovery Community Cafe
Dogs Trust Glasgow
Dogsthorpe Recycling Centre
Doncaster College
Doncaster Community Centre
Dorothy House Hospice
Dorset Reclaim
Dovehouse Hospice Shop
Dragon Bands
Durham Wildlife Trust
E Waste Solutions
Earl Mountbatten Hospice
East Anglia Childrens Hospice Shop
East Cleveland Wildlife Trust
East Durham Partnership
East Midlands Islamic Relief Project
East West Community Project
Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
eco Innovation Centre
Elleanor Lion Hospice
ELVON
Encephalitis society
English Landscapes
Enhanced Care Training
Enterprise UK
Environmental Resource Centre
Essex County Council
Extra care Charitable Trust
Fable
Family Support
Fara
Fare share Malmo Food Park
Featherstone Rovers
Fenland District Council
First Fruits
FN! Eastbourne
Foal Farm
Food Cycle
Fops Shop
forget me not childrens hospice
Foundation for Paediatric Osteopathy
Fountain Abbey
Fox Rush Farm
FRADE
Frame
FRESCH
Fresh water christian charity
Friends of St Nicholas Fields
Furnish
Furniture for You
Furniture Project
FurnitureLink
Gateway funiture
Genesis Trust
George Thomas Hospice – Barry
Geranium Shop For The Blind
Glasgow Furniture Initative
Glen Street Play Provision
Goodwin Development Trust
Govanhill Baths Community Trust
Greenacres Animal Rescue Shop
Greenfingers
Greenscape
Greenstreams Huddersfield/ environmental alliance
Grimsby District Health care charity
Ground Work
Hadston House
Happy Staffie
Harlington Hospice
Hart Wildlife Rescue
Hartlepool Council
Hartlepool Hospice
Hartlepool Prop (Mental Health)
Hartlepool Trust Opening Doors
Hastings & Bexhill Wood Recycling Project
Havens Childrens Hospice Shop
Havering Country Park
headway
Healthy Living Centre
Hebburn Community Centre
Help the Aged
helping hands
High Beech Care Home
High Wycombe Central Aid
Hillam Nurseries
Hinsley Hall Headingley
Hobbit Hotel
Holmescarr Community Centre
Home Start
Homemakers
Hope central
Hospice of hope
Hounslow Community Transport Furniture Project
Hull Animal Welfare Trust Hull
Humanity at Heart
I Trust
Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation (IRMO)
Intraining Employers
Ipswich Furniture Project
Iranian Association
Islamic Relief
Jacabs Well Care Center
Jesus Army Centre
JHP
Julian House Charity Shop
K.T. Performing Arts
Kagyu Samye Dzong London
Keech Hospice Care Shop
Keighley & District Disabled
Kier Services – Corby
Kilbryde Hospice
Killie Can Cycle
Kingston Community Furniture Project
Kiveton Park & Wales Community Development Trust
LAMH
Leeds & Moortown Furniture Store
Leicester City Council
Leicester Riders
Leicester Shopmobility
Leicestershire Aids Support Services
Leicestershire Cares
Lifework
Lighthouse
Linacre Reservoir
London Borough of Havering
London College of Engineering & Management Woolwich
Longley Organised Community Association
Lyme Trust
Lynemouth Resource Centre
Mackworth Comm. Charity Shop
Making a Difference
Marie Curie
Mark2 (marc)
Martin House Hospice
Mary Stevens Hospice
Matalan
Matchbox
Matthew25 Mission
Mayflower Sanctuary
MDJ Lightbrothers
Meadow Well Connected
MEC
Mental Health Support
Midland Railway Trust
MIND
Miners Welfare community centre
Mistley Place Park
Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal Regeneration Partnership Scheme
Moore Cleaning
Morrisons
Muslim Aid
Myton Hospice
Nandos
Naomi Hospice
National Railway Museum
National Trust
NDDT
Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Necessary Furniture
Neighbourhood funiture
Neterlands Dog Rescue
New Life Church
Newham Volenteers Group
Newport City Council
Nightingale House
NOAH enterprise
North East Lincs Motor Project
North London Hospice Shop
North Ormesby Community Shop
Northumberland County Council
Norwood
Old Nick Theatre
One 0 One
Open Secret
Overgate Hospice
Oxfam
Papworth Trust
Partner Shop
Paul Sartori Warehouse
Paws Animal Welfare Shop
PDSA
Pegswood Community Centre
Pennywell Community Association
Peterborough Streets
Pheonix Community Furniture
Pilgrim Hospice
Placement Furniture Project
Platform 51 Doncaster Womens Centre
Playworks
Plymouth Food Bank
Plymouth Play Association
Plymouth Volunteer Centre
Pound stretcher
POW Shop
Powys Animal Welfare Shop
PPE Paving
Preen Community Interest Company
Primrose
PRINCE & PRINCESS OF WALES
Prince of Wales Sherburn in elmet
Princess Trust
Queen Elizabeth Foundation
Queens Walk Community
Queensland Multi-Media Arts Centre
Rainbow Centre
Rainbows End Burngreave
Real Time Music
Recycling unlimited
Red Cross
Refurnish
Regenerate Community Enterprise
Remploy
Restore
Rhyl Adventure Playground Association
Right Time Foundation
RNID
Rochford Council
Rosalie Ryrie Foundation
Rosliston Foresty
Royal Society for Blind.
Royal Wotton Bassett Town Council
RSPB
RSPCA
Rudenotto
Rudyard Lake
S & S Services
Saffcare
Sainsburys
Salvation Army
Santosh Community Centre
Sara
Save the children
Savera Resource Centre
Scallywags
Scarborough Council
SCD Fabrications
School of English Studies
Scope
Scottish Cancer Support
Scottish International Relief
Scunthorpe Central Community Centre
Seagull Recycling
Seahouses Development Trust
Second Chance
Second Opportunities
Sedgemoor Furniture Store
Sense
Sesku Acadamy Centre
Shaw Trust
Sheffield Reclamation Ltd – Reclaim
Shelter
Shooting Stars
Shopmobility & Community Transport – Access
Slough Furniture Project
Smythe
Sneyd Green
Somali Community Parents Association
Somerfields
Somerset Wood Re-Cycling
South Ayrshire Council
South Bucks Hospice Warehouse
South Wales Boarders Museum
Southend United Football Club
Spaghetti House
Spitafields Crypt Trust
Splash fit
St Barnabas
St Catherines Hospice Trading
St Chads Community Centre
St Clare’s Hospice
St Davids Foundation
St Elizabeth Hospice Charity Shop
St Francis Hospice Shops Ltd
St Gemma’s Hospice
St Georges Crypt
St Giles
St Helens House
St Hughs Community Centre
St Lukes Hospice
St Margarets Hospice Scotland
St Oswald’s Hospice
St Peters Church
St Peters Hospice
St Raphaels hospice
St Vincents
St. Catherines Hospice
St.Theresa’s Charity Shop
Stages Café
Stannah Stair Lifts
Stef’s Farm (Education Farm)
Step Forward
Stocking Farm Healthy Living Centre ( Sure Start)
Stockton Council
Stone Pillow
STROKECARE
Strood Community Project
Strut Lincoln
Sudbury Town Council
Sue Ryder
Sunderland Community Furniture
Sunderland North Community Business Centre
Superdrug
Swindon 105.5
Sycamore Lodge
sydney bridge furniture shop
Sypha
T&M Kiddy’s Kingdom
Tara Handicrafts
Teamwork
Teesside Hospice
Tendring Furniture Scheme
Tendring Reuse & Employment Enterprise
Tenovus
Tesco
Thames Hospicecare
Thames Valley Hospice
Thanet District Council
The Ark Shop
The Art Organisation
The Charity Shop
The Childrens Society
The Childrens trust
The Crossing
The Good Neighbour Project
The Greenhouse
The Harrow Club
The Hinge Centre Ltd
The Isabella Community Centre
The Island Partnership
The Kiln Cafe
The learning community
The Linskill Centre
The Listening Company
The Octagon Centre Hull
The Old Manor House Riding Stables
The Princess Alice Hospice
The Range
The Reuse Centre
The Rising Sun Art Centre
The Rock Foundation Ice House
The Shores Centre
The Spurriergate Centre
The Undercliffe cemetary charity
The Vine Project
The Welcoming Project
The Woodworks (Genesis Trust)
Think 3E,
Thirsk Clock
Thurrock Council
Thurrock Reuse Partnership (TRUP)
TLC
TooGoodtoWaste
Top Draw
Traid
Trinity Furniture Store
Troed Y Rhiw Day Project
True Volunteer Foundation
Tukes
Twice as Nice Furniture Project
Twirls and Curls
Ty Hafan
Tylorstown Communities First
United Churches Healing Ministry
United Play Day Centre
Unity in the Community
UNMAH
Untapped Resource
Urban Recycling
Vale of Aylesbury Vineyard Church Project
Vista Blind
Walpole Water Gardens
Walsall Hospice
Wandsworth Oasis trading Company Limited
Wat Tyler Centre
WEC
Weldmar
Well Cafe
Wellgate Community Farm
Wellingborough District Hindu Centre
Western Mill Cemetary
WH Smith
Wheelbase
Whitby Council
Wildlife Trust
Wilkinsons
Willen Care Furniture Shop
Willington Community Resource Centre
Windhill Furniture Store Shipley
Woking Community Furniture Project
Womens Aid
Womens Centre
Woodlands Camp
Worsbrough Mill & County Park
Xgames
YMCA
York Archaeological Trust
York Bike Rescue
York Carers centre
Yorkshire Trust
Yozz Yard
Zest
Zues Gym
Excitement mounts as the Workfare exploiters run for cover…..
This news came to us via our friends at Boycott Workfare.
Ipswich Unemployed Action. 
Jesus, that’s a mighty long list of f*ck*ng scrounging parasites! 😨
Marie
July 29, 2016 at 4:29 pm
Plus some pretty well known names, Sainsbury’s, Tesco’s, Salvation Army, Wilkinsons,
For us in Suffolk: Sudbury Town Council.
Essex:
Essex County Council, Thurrock Council
Thurrock Reuse Partnership (TRUP)
Plus a whole raft – or should it be skip? – of ‘Charities’, ‘social-enterprises’, and civil society associations, grinding the faces of the poor and unemployed….
Andrew Coates
July 29, 2016 at 4:35 pm
Some of these places belong to huge corporations and can afford to pay the minimum wage, and claimants who have been sanctioned have to slave away on an empty stomach, b*stards won’t even buy them a sandwich they are so selfish and greedy…
Whoever invented workfare should be hung,drawn and quartered.
Marie
July 29, 2016 at 5:42 pm
I thought Tesco had previously withdrawn from workfare schemes. Surprised to see AgeUK on the list.
Tim
July 30, 2016 at 7:10 am
There will be many more of course when the work & health programme gets started, I knew that councils were at it but we know the way things are going every council will be.
You have applied for a job, you get an interview be it on the phone or in person, the employer realizes you want paid for the job, you then receive an email, – unsuccessful.
No doubt some of you may have seen when starting an on line application, “where did you hear about this job” a drop down menu with all kinds, with new ones added – job centre & work experience.
Its why many of us can not get into paid employment.
enigma
July 29, 2016 at 7:24 pm
They don’t want us to get jobs, we are to be kept as a pool of cheap slave labour to keep the greedy global elite in their opulent lifestyles.
Marie
July 29, 2016 at 8:36 pm
enigma:
I can confirm Cambridgeshire County Council will be running some of the Work and Health Programme in Cambridgeshire. I spoke to an adult learning tutor yesterday and she confirmed that their library learning centres will be hosting the scheme. It won’t be two years like the WP. It will be a series of short sharp shocks (her words, not mine) not unlike the Skills Conditionality courses. A continuous series of two week “workshops” – each one more intensive than the last, apparently. You can draw your own conclusions as to what it will involve. Psychological water-boarding, I’m guessing.
jj joop
July 30, 2016 at 7:14 am
Reading between the lines, 2 weeks on, 2 to 4 weeks “off ” involving intensive scrutiny from coachy.
jj joop
July 30, 2016 at 7:19 am
I wonder how this will play out when part-time workers on Universal Credit end up treated like unemployed claimants, i.e., called in on a fortnightly basis to see a Work Coach and, possibly, made to do a bit of unpaid workfare to make up their hours, or go on a DWP sponsored “course”, or whatever, in order to achieve what IDS called “full participation”? When in-work conditionality gets imposed on over a million part-time workers, with sanctions, work search, appointments at the Jobcentre etc., will Jobcentres, already denuded of staff, even be able to cope?
And would someone working 30 hours a week doing a local job, which the like, be forced by the Jobcentre to give up that job for a 35 hour job, ninety minutes away, leaving them substantially poorer after paying travelling expenses, simply to increase the number of hours they work every week by a mere 5 hours to bring them up to the minimum amount of paid work demanded, i.e., 35 hours over seven days?
Universal Credit is the most hateful and cancerous evil inflicted on the poor and the struggling for years.
Tim
July 30, 2016 at 8:09 am
It was Thatcher’s Home Secretary of the time Willie Whitelaw who introduced the “short, sharp, shock” to the prison system:
“Not long after the 1979 election, Home Secretary William Whitelaw had announced he was going full steam ahead on a key manifesto promise – the Short Sharp Shock.
To a euphoric Tory party conference in October 1979, the urbane and aristocratic Whitelaw told delighted delegates that detention centres for teen lawbreakers would no longer be ‘holiday camps’. This played on widely believed, media stories of young hooligans leading cosseted lives behind bars. “Life will be conducted at a swift tempo,” he assured the party.
The belief was that a regime of early wake up calls, military drill and manual labour over a three month period would shock young offenders out of a life of crime. To break even the most determined spirit, periods of recreation could be denied, silence was the general rule with only 30 minutes of chat between prisoners permitted each day.
The Short Sharp Shock regime kind of resembled the opening half of the movie Full Metal Jacket – a mindless ultra-disciplinarian series of routines that aimed to bury liberal attitudes to offender rehabilitation once and for forever. This was going to be punishment pure and simple and the duly traumatised young criminals would keep their noses clean from then on.
Curiously, prisoners at one of the four Short Sharp Shock centres, Glenochil in Scotland, were referred to as ‘trainees’. They were assessed in the mundane tasks they were ordered to perform, like cleaning the floors, and given colour coded tokens to mark out levels of achievement.
Under the terms of Whitelaw’s 1980 Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act, any young offender banged up for less than four months at Glenochil could expect a regimented hell. Dormitories spotless by 6.45am while prison officers with peaked caps and pulled down shirtsleeves tipped over their bed mattress for any minor infraction and ordered it remade.
Marching was seen to be the idea therapy for these youngsters. Marched to breakfast, marched to their cells, marched to the work areas and then marched to their tea break. They were even forced to jog on the spot until told to stop.
Some of this simply echoed the kind of regimes that already existed in borstals but with greater intensity and over a shorter time period. But it also signaled a view in government circles that a crackdown was needed on Britain’s wayward youth, a reversal of the permissive society kicked off in the 1960s and perceived to have set in train some kind of moral decline.
But it wasn’t morals that these young primarily lacked. It was jobs in the real world. Most of those sent to the designated Short Sharp Shock centres had committed acts of theft or stolen vehicles and something like 90%, according to the Sunday Times, had no work at the time of offending.
In an unfortunate twist for the government, these kids with little by way of a future often found the regime a relief from the drudgery outside. Effectively, it took their minds off how dreadful things had become in their shattered communities.
As one youth mused.
“I can’t say whether I’ll go out and pinch again or not, but I can tell you that drilling hasn’t made any difference. It makes me better, I think. I enjoy it, it passes the time more quickly and it makes us fit. Next time, we’ll just run faster from the coppers won’t we?””
https://thatchercrisisyears.com/2013/01/14/short-sharp-shock-thatcher-takes-on-the-wayward-youth/
Borstal
July 30, 2016 at 11:17 am
Fucking scum the lot of them
foxglove
July 29, 2016 at 7:56 pm
Frank Zola left an annotation (29 July 2016)
Disclosure of info for FOI requests relates only to what existed at the time of the FOI request being lodged, for the list above that was 25 January 2012. Or as the DWP states “PROVIDERS FOR MWA DURING THE REQUESTED PERIOD”
Mighty long list only it’s just part of a much much longer list.
enigma
July 29, 2016 at 8:22 pm
Marie
July 29, 2016 at 7:40 pm
Hi I made this drawing because of people i know going through this. There is also this article . Andrew Cooper -‘You take my life
When you do take the means whereby I live.’ *
Waging war on the unemployed is at the sharp end of the class struggle and, while it takes different forms, it is one of the forces of capitalist coercion. The class relation whereby the capitalist is able to buy labour power on the market as cheap as possible and maximise the rate of exploitation is what oils the capitalist system. The more desperate people are, with no means of supporting themselves other than selling their ability to work – their labour power – for a wage, the better for capitalism. In 1734 Jacob Vanderlint, an ancestor of our present day governing moralists of capital, quoted by Marx in Capital, said, ‘An ideal workhouse must be a house of terror and not an asylum for the poor.
http://www.revolutionarycommunist.org/marxism?catid=0&id=4138
No criminal court in Britain is allowed to make you starve as a punishment, yet people can be left unable to feed themselves or even maintain shelter over their heads for being five minutes late for an appointment at a jobcentre. Unlike in court, you will not be present when the decision is made; there is no requirement for a hearing. The ‘crime’ is not knowing or playing by rules which are subject to arbitrary and sometimes ridiculous interpretations. The narrative developed by successive Labour, Coalition and Tory governments is one of individual ‘rights’ and ‘responsibilities’ enforced by increasingly harsh sanctions. ‘We are ending the something for nothing culture’ says the DWP. In reality the driving force is the need for capitalism to constantly cut the cost of maintaining the reserve army of labour. ANDREW COOPER reports.
Since 2012 claimants have faced losing their benefits for up to three years through sanctions. Two million people have had their benefits stopped within the last two years. The number of sanctions on Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) has almost tripled from 2.5 sanctions per 100 claimants per month in 2001 to 7 per 100 claimants per month in 2014. Behind these figures are brutal effects on people’s lives. During 2014 there was a 19% increase in the number of people hospitalised with malnutrition in England and Wales. Commenting on this rise, the Vice President of the Faculty of Public Health, John Middleton, said: ‘people can’t afford good quality food … Malnutrition, rickets and other manifestations of extreme poor diet are becoming apparent’. On top of this, claimants may find themselves homeless if they cannot meet housing costs such as service charges, or fail to renew housing benefit applications on time.
The rules for sanctioning can be applied in the most arbitrary ways. There are whole websites listing the stupidest reasons given for sanctioning people which include not looking for work on Christmas Day. Poor and confusing communication has been cited as a major cause of benefit sanctions. So much for ‘the clear and fair rules’ that Iain Duncan Smith said should apply to benefits! Playing by the rules is not how the DWP operates, as shown by its recent leaflets. These showed pictures of people with quotes claiming to have benefited from being sanctioned. The response to a Freedom of Information request by Welfare Weekly showed that these photographs were actually from stock images, and the quotes were manufactured. Non-existent ‘Sarah’ was shown explaining how being left with no money for two weeks helped her to write her CV!
According to the Samaritans, the poorest people are already ten times more likely to commit suicide than the affluent. The psychological warfare of the sanctions regime just adds to this. ‘I didn’t know what a benefit sanction actually was until money was just taken away like that.’ Sam Clement, a real JSA claimant, told Vice magazine. ‘It shocked me how quickly I fell to pieces. The whole thing destroyed my mental health.’ The reason for the sanction was that Sam attended a course in self-employment approved by one job centre advisor, and then when he had completed it another advisor told him that it was not an approved course. Later he would be driven to a failed suicide attempt after being threatened with a further sanction if he didn’t take part in a ‘voluntary’ work programme to learn a ‘work ethic’.
Employment Support Allowance (ESA) replaced Incapacity Benefit in 2008 to support people with long-term illness or disability. Everyone who claims it must undergo periodic Work Capability Assessment (WCA). There has been a threefold increase in ESA sanctions from 1,400 per month in 2013 to 5,400 per month in 2014. Despite a landmark decision in court in 2013, which ruled that WCAs were not fit for purpose, they have continued regardless. New statistics given by the DWP in August 2015 due to a Freedom of Information request show that 2,380 people have died shortly after being declared fit for work over a period of less than three years, from December 2011 to February 2014. The DWP says we should not draw any conclusions from this!
The DWP says ‘sanctions are critical in incentivising benefits’. However, the thinking behind benefit sanctions amounts to that of beating an animal with a stick to change its behaviour. It is a way of transferring the blame for a crisis-ridden social and economic system onto working class individuals. The main causes of unemployment are blamed on individual behaviour, to the point of threatening people to undertake treatment for ‘mental health issues’ or face sanctions. The Conservatives have proposed an on-screen cognitive behaviour therapy treatment, under threat of sanctions, for 40,000 claimants. Hundreds of psychologists have condemned this, in an open letter, in which they describe such therapy as professionally unethical and damaging. Even on its own terms the benefit sanction system does not work. Evidence from the University of Oxford found no link between sanctioning rates and employment rates. Leaving someone with no money to buy clothes and travel and facing possible malnutrition is hardly likely to help them find work.
Waging war on the unemployed is at the sharp end of the class struggle and, while it takes different forms, it is one of the forces of capitalist coercion. The class relation whereby the capitalist is able to buy labour power on the market as cheap as possible and maximise the rate of exploitation is what oils the capitalist system. The more desperate people are, with no means of supporting themselves other than selling their ability to work – their labour power – for a wage, the better for capitalism. In 1734 Jacob Vanderlint, an ancestor of our present day governing moralists of capital, quoted by Marx in Capital, said, ‘An ideal workhouse must be a house of terror and not an asylum for the poor.’
FRFI 247 October/November 2015
Andrew Cooper
March 27, 2017 at 7:36 am
The slime trail behind the snail.
ken
July 29, 2016 at 8:00 pm
DWP rejects Universal Credit APA applications
Hundreds of landlords’ applications for Alternative Payment Arrangements (APAs) under Universal Credit are being deleted by the Department for Work & Pensions. (DWP)
http://news.rla.org.uk/dwp-rejects-univdit-applications/
ken
July 29, 2016 at 8:37 pm
This comes as no surprize when you factor tory intent. If the money is paid to landlords government wont be able to claim claimants made themselves homeless. This allows them not to be legally responsible for making you so.
Government knows they make revenue on only rented housing/flats to working people and that this is why they decided to sanction housing benefit so as to keep claimants of whether unemployed or in work subservient. Also don’t forget the UKs GDP is heavily inflated by the housing bubble and that’s why the government claims the countries doing well GDP wise yet doesn’t translate to how it really is for the public.
This government desperately needs all UK citizens in DEBT be it taking out loans, accepting repayable handouts and or by making them subservient.
The world knows unless they mimic China, they will all end up powerless to it and other countries practicing the same labour treatment. Americas much further down the road on this and why half of the entire population reported earning less than £20000 pounds ( that’s around 28000 dollars) last year and why they are SO DESPERATE TO GET TTIP in play throughout the world.
Welcome to a future that wont change if people don’t change and start standing up against their governments by any and all means necessary.
This is not scare mongering,DO YOUR HOMEWORK, tell me it isn’t so.
doug
July 30, 2016 at 1:40 pm
Reblogged this on sdbast.
sdbast
July 29, 2016 at 8:42 pm
More
DWP forced to reveal vast list of firms using benefit claimants for unpaid work after 4-year legal fight
The Tory government spent four years trying to stop you knowing firms it linked to Mandatory Work Activity – from Cash Converters to Nando’s
Poundstretcher, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons are among more than 500 companies, charities and councils named as having used Mandatory Work Activity.
Others on the list from 2011 included payday loans firm Cash Converters, chicken diner Nando’s, WH Smith, Superdrug and DHL.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dwp-forced-reveal-vast-list-8522078
Waiting ouside Jobcentreplus offices at 9am and numbers of people standing around only to go in and be lectured about being out of work.
ken
July 29, 2016 at 8:47 pm
“A DWP spokesman said: “Employment programmes help thousands of people every year gain new skills and experience to get into work”
enigma
July 29, 2016 at 9:11 pm
Under regulation a claimant isn’t allowed to volunteer for any business that does not serve the community, tescos and the likes do not classify as this. They will only count for schemes offering trade specific work experience (like the ones you encounter at conditonality courses).
So of course DWP will withhold certain names just like they without certain information when claimants make FOI requests but don’t ask the right question in a way DWP cant get around.
doug
July 30, 2016 at 1:45 pm
The government believes that:
the current system is too complex
there are insufficient incentives to encourage people on benefits to start paid work or increase their hours
We are aiming to:
make the benefit system fairer and more affordable
reduce poverty, worklessness and welfare dependency
reduce levels of fraud and error
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-welfare-reform/2010-to-2015-government-policy-welfare-reform
Web tool to make transition to universal credit easier
Anthony Thomas, chairman of LITRG, said: ‘Universal credit has a complicated roll-out that is progressing slowly and it can be confusing for both claimants and advisers to understand how new and existing claimants will be affected in the short term. We hope our web tool will aid people who may be anxious about the changes.
‘To complicate matters further, two different systems are running alongside each other, and the rules about who can claim universal credit are different under each. As the full digital service rolls out, HMRC will no longer accept tax credit claims for people under state pension credit age in certain areas.’
https://www.cchdaily.co.uk/web-tool-make-transition-universal-credit-easier
ken
July 29, 2016 at 9:02 pm
Anyone of a certain age needs to re-read the last two sentances of what Ken posted above.
I suspect there “will be trouble ahead” as the advert went, when that starts to bite.
I would not be surprised if it is not made retrospective as well.
Gazza
August 1, 2016 at 12:13 am
The farce and the agony of trying to get universal credit payments
“Universal credit has been a nightmare,” Imogen Groome says from her flat in Greenwich. “It’s like getting blood out of a stone to get money you’re entitled to.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/28/universal-credit-payments-delays-loans
ken
July 29, 2016 at 9:04 pm
She’s right. After you apply for Universal Credit you hear nothing. Week after week goes by and you have no idea how your application is progressing, or if it is getting processed at all. In my case, after five weeks, I got a letter which stated “You have no supplied all of the information we asked for” without telling me what information was missing or that the DWP needed. Many phone calls followed and eventually the DWP decided to write to my landlord about some issue they seemed not to be able to tell me about and about which I remain ignorant to this day: I received my first payment TWO MONTHS after first applying and suffering a lot of problems with my landlord through no fault of my own.
THIS NIGHTMARE IS UNIVERSAL CREDIT!
How anything quite this bad ended up law is baffling.
It will end up convulsing the lives of innocent millions.
Tim
July 30, 2016 at 7:19 am
Tim and anyone listening, you made an agreement that you would accept conditions in lieu of benefits so if they haven’t officially confirmed you are qualified for benefits in writing, they cannot make you follow the conditions or penalize you for not doing so. Under contract law an agreement is only legally binding once both parties accept the others terms and remuneration begins.
As the delays are caused by DWP both in policy and time means they cant hold you accountable for any time up to the point of officially declaring you qualify.
i WOULD SUGGEST UNDER THIS POINT
that claimants irrespective of what i just mentioned do still turn up on time at DWP only and hand in work evidence BUT DO NOT COMPLY with any other DWP conditions until such time as i have already mentioned.
If claimants don’t want to do this for whatever reason then you only have yourselves to blame. I’m not taking pops at claimants but their does come a time when you must make a stand, must make sacrifices.
doug
July 30, 2016 at 1:57 pm
Nothing to do with the claimant commitment, Doug, but the application process itself. Basically it went like this:
(1) Made a claim for Universal Credit online.
(2) Received call from the DWP with an appointment to go to the Jobcentre to establish my identity, present evidence, and to create a Universal Jobmatch account.
(3) Went to Jobcentre with photo identification, birth certificate etc., and underwent interview to prove who I was after which I was given a second appointment to present documents relating to housing and such like.
(4) Attended second appointment and had tenancy agreement, bank statement, utility bills etc., scanned into system and was told by the Jobcentre all was well.
.
.
.
(5) Five weeks later I receive a letter stating that I had not provided the information, in respect to my claim for Universal Credit, that had been requested but not telling me what information was missing or what they needed to know to proceed with my claim.
(6) During this extended “waiting period” with no income I had been going to see my Work Coach regularly and presenting evidence of my Jobsearch in printed form for scrutiny having denied the DWP access to the Universal Jobmatch account I was compelled to make.
(7) Telephoned the UC call centre to find out what was going on and was told all was well and that they did have all the information needed to process my application.
.
.
.
(8) Waited another two weeks without contact from the DWP and so rang again. Was told that there must be some hiccup with the rent allowance, but because my tenancy agreement had been recorded on the UC system I should begin receiving UC soon.
.
.
.
(9) Another week goes by and I ring the UC call centre again to chase them up. Was told I would receive the first payment of UC that same day and would be contacted by a separate office as per my rent allowance which would be paid separately. The next day the DWP office that deals with housing benefit rang me and told me that they were going to have to contact my landlord because I had left “a few things out” when applying for UC although they couldn’t tell me what was missing so that I could supply details as requested; remember that the Jobcentre and DWP itself had said several times that I had provided all the evidence and information necessary to process my claim.
.
.
.
(10 Another two weeks passes by and finally I get a letter from the DWP informing me that the missing rent allowance had been paid into my bank account and Universal Credit starts being paid to me on a monthly basis one month in arrears.
What a nightmare!
To this day I have no idea what information I failed to provide when I first applied for UC and imagine, if I hadn’t chased them up, that I’d still be waiting to receive word to this day. Until you experience it personally you have no idea of just how utterly hopeless and frustrating the application process for UC is. After you apply you receive no information about progress of the application so you never know if the application is proceeding smoothly or if something on your part needs doing to expedite the procedure.
The people who devised and implemented Universal Credit should be hunted down with dogs!
Tim
July 30, 2016 at 9:41 pm
Devised by Franz Kafka in novel form. Appropriated by IDS in 2016 in truth stranger than fiction nightmare …
shirleynott
August 1, 2016 at 7:45 pm
Pupils given detention because their parents cannot afford school meals.
The Head of Michaela community school in Wembley, London, issued parents with a letter threatening to punish pupils with “lunch isolation” if they lunch payments were not made on time.
Parents were told their children would be given a sandwich and a piece of fruit in place of their hot meal and separated from their friends at lunch time until the debts were paid off.
Ms Birbalsingh attracted national attention after speaking at a 2010 Tory party conference in which she was applauded for her criticisms of the school system.
She lost her job in the backlash that followed, but became a poster figure for former education secretary Michael Gove’s education reforms and set up her own free school.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/pupils-detention-isolation-parents-cannot-afford-school-meals-katharine-birbalsingh-michaela-a7162226.html
enigma
July 29, 2016 at 9:49 pm
Stephen Hawking warns human race will perish if pre-Brexit attitudes towards money are not challenged
‘Just like children, we will have to learn to share’
In an essay for The Guardian, the celebrated physicist outlined how the EU referendum was influenced by attitudes towards wealth and the way our society prioritises money and the accumulation of possessions.
“Money is also important because it is liberating for individuals,” he writes. “I have spoken in the past about my concern that government spending cuts in the UK will diminish support for disabled students, support that helped me during my career. In my case, of course, money has helped not only make my career possible but has also literally kept me alive.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/stephen-hawking-warns-human-race-will-perish-if-we-do-not-change-attitudes-towards-money-we-had-over-a7161631.html
enigma
July 29, 2016 at 10:02 pm
Disclosure of info for FOI requests relates only to what existed at the time of the FOI request being lodged, for the list above that was 25 January 2012. Or as the DWP states “PROVIDERS FOR MWA DURING THE REQUESTED PERIOD – A lot of the fuckers who have participated in this shit aren’t on this list. Even if you compare it to Boycott Workfare’s List of Shame. What about a list of every business/organisation who have EVER participated in this workfare slave labour exploitative shit.
CWP Victim
July 30, 2016 at 7:31 am
Tory policies should ‘undergo a mental health impact assessment’, say Labour.
A survey of 2,000 workers, by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), found that 31% have experienced some form of mental health problem during their working life, up from 26% in 2011. Four in ten of these had experienced a mental health issue in the last 12 months, to an extent that had affected their health and wellbeing. – sanctions while on workfare.
However
The Tories continue to ignore advice about assessing the effect their policies might have on the mental health of the population.
“A workforce that feels supported and valued will be more motivated and productive at work.” if all are paid the NMW they would.
There’s also a clear role for HR professionals and line managers to ensure that employees are getting the support they need and feel they can speak up. but what will happen if they do?
http://www.welfareweekly.com/tory-policies-should-undergo-a-mental-health-impact-assessment-say-labour/
enigma
July 30, 2016 at 10:36 am
As a result of the appalling conditions in my last job I needed 8 weeks off sick to deal with it all and wait for medication for depression and constant migraine to kick in.
katrehman
July 31, 2016 at 8:07 am
Age UK, one of those in that long list.
Poorest ‘hit hardest’ by state pension age rises, say Age UK
Groups with low life expectancy should be able to ‘get state pension early’, say Age UK.
.http://www.welfareweekly.com/poorest-hit-hardest-by-state-pension-age-rises-warns-age-uk/
enigma
July 30, 2016 at 10:49 am
The lowest life expectancy is someplace up in Glasgow, Scotchland where the life expectancy is 50!
Greenfly
July 30, 2016 at 11:07 am
Someplace called the Calton, although 50 is a tad on the optimistic side 🙂
Greenfly
July 30, 2016 at 11:09 am
No chance of drawing a pension then 😀
Greenfly
July 30, 2016 at 11:10 am
BBC/TVL/ Monthly Threat-o-gram
😀 The Legal Occupier
A change in the law.
You need a TV Licence to for BBC iPlayer 😀
As as 1st September 2016, a change in the law means you need to be covered by a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on demand – including catch-up TV – on BBC iPlayer. This applies to all devices, including a smart TV, desktop computer or laptop, mobile phone, tablet, digital box or games console.
Even if you access BBC iPlayer through another provider, such as Sky, Virgin Media, Freeview or BT, you must have a TV Licence. 😀
As before, you still need a TV Licence to watch or record any live TV channel, not matter what device you use. 😀
PS This is an official 😀 warning that we are carrying out an investigation 😀 of your address 😀
WE DO NEED NEED A FUCKING ‘TV LICENCE’ – FUCK OFF!!
TVL/BBC/Crapita can fuck off
July 30, 2016 at 11:03 am
Unenforceable nonsense.
Sarah Conner
July 30, 2016 at 1:06 pm
Then the BBC must do whatever is necessary to prevent someone using it (like giving out special codes to licence holders only ) then or it amounts to entrapment and that’s illegal.
That aside this move will hurt the BBC over time and besides, what exactly is it that the BBC is going to track, oh that’s right, IPs. Well mirror your IP and they have scrap all as it will appear that it was downloaded from three or four different countries all of whom aren’t answerable to the BBC or UK law.
Add to that you can watch BBC kindly uploaded by others to sites not a part of the branded catch up services who like before are abroad out of UK law jurisdiction not to mention they mask themselves while uploading like i just mentioned.
So sadly if people in the UK really want to watch BBC on demand, theirs very little BBC can do to stop them unless like i said they issue special codes to licence holders but again they will be broken, boarded and pasted out to everyone just as a very nice “fuck you BBC and british government).
Elvis is leaving the building
doug
July 30, 2016 at 2:22 pm
The iPlayer blocks access from outside the UK:
“BBC iPlayer only works in the UK
Sorry, it’s due to rights issues.
In the UK? Here’s some advice.” It also detects the country of the IP address accessing the flash plug in, just in case you proxied into just the actual site itself. Of course there are ways and means to circumvent it.
The web used to be full of comments from foreigners along the lines of: “Look at all these excellent programmes we get for free that the stupid Brits pay zwoty 1400 (£200) a year for lol 😀 ” But is is ridiculous when you think about it – giving foreigners access to ad free content for jack shit. And being paid for by the UK populace!
Fuck TVL
July 30, 2016 at 2:56 pm
It NOW blocks access to non-UK IP addresses but it hasn’t always.
Fuck TVL
July 30, 2016 at 2:57 pm
It lets any country onto the site to peruse the content, but the actual player part is blocked if the IP address detected is non-UK.
Fuck TVL
July 30, 2016 at 3:09 pm
F*** TVL
Don’t be ridiculous as its more they try to block it but when faced with people of a certain skill sees that so called block wither to nothing but a pathetic attempt.
Trust me people watch BBC iplayer or should i say everything it contains all over the world, two of the sites i use are anywhere but the UK so tell me how they achieved that then if what the BBC said is true ?
BBC like government dont know dick crap about programming and just to demonstrate you can still do it without knowing any programming, just have a mate who has a license ( we all know at least one Muppet who paid for it) record to the program direct from the TV, then upload it. Track that BBC bitches.
Im officially saying the BBC is talking crap and i openly challenge them to try and prevent it going out in ways they cant control, infact would they like to except a bet, like if i can, i never need to pay for a license ever again. The only thing the BBC can block is their toilets overfilling with all that shite their talking.
doug
July 30, 2016 at 4:21 pm
Why does iPlayer think I’m outside the UK?
It’s most likely due to your IP address. Confused? We’ll try to explain:
Just like we need addresses to send and receive stuff in the real world, in the connected world of the internet, devices also need addresses for the same purpose. It’s known as an IP address.
When you request to watch a programme in BBC iPlayer, the programme is sent as data through the internet to the address that’s requesting it.
IP addresses are generally provided by your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and are required to be registered in a particular country.
And because of the way BBC iPlayer is funded, only users with registered UK IP addresses can access our programmes.
So how can I make iPlayer recognise me as within the UK again?
If you’re in the UK and see a message saying you’re not, it’s because BBC iPlayer is unsure you’re in the UK and there are several reasons why this might be.
Network Error
If the Outside UK message is a recent problem, try reopening your browser and resetting your router. If that fails, just try a little later as there could have been a network error that may resolve itself.
Private VPN (Virtual Private Network) or Web accelerator
If you are using a VPN and are in the UK, try disabling to see if that helps. If we detect you might be using a VPN, you’ll be unable to play programmes. This is because we’re unable to detect the end point of your private network; we need to be confident you’re in the UK.
And if you’re using a web accelerator try disabling to see if this helps.
Tor Networks
If you are using a Tor network, be aware that only Tor Relays nodes are able to play programmes on BBC iPlayer. [exit nodes are out, crafty, eh]
Proxy Server / Work Computer
Some companies and organisations might have an internal network which routes data outside the UK. It’s worth checking with your companies IT support to confirm.
IP address not registered in the UK
If you don’t think it’s related to any of the above suggestions, it’s possible that your IP address is not registered in the UK. Try checking other services that could be UK restricted (like programmes from other UK broadcasters for example). If you do have a problem elsewhere, raise it with your ISP. If you don’t, get in touch using the contact link below as this is something we may be able to help you with.
If after investigating we believe you are incorrectly being recognised as outside the UK, we’ll update our database. This can take up to 2 weeks.
Mobile Devices
In addition to what’s been mentioned above, check whether data reduction settings are enabled as some mobile browser route data outside the UK when data reduction features are used.
Chrome (30.0 and above)
In browser settings, select ‘Bandwidth Management’ and turn off ‘Reduce data usage’
Opera
In browser settings disable ‘Off-Road Mode’
Another option would be to use an alternative browser for accessing the BBC. And if none of these suggestions work, speak to your ISP or network provider.
iPlayer
July 30, 2016 at 11:39 pm
Private VPN (Virtual Private Network) or Web accelerator
If you are using a VPN and are in the UK, try disabling to see if that helps. If we detect you might be using a VPN, you’ll be unable to play programmes. This is because we’re unable to detect the end point of your private network; we need to be confident you’re in the UK. No VPN access either. So the most common and most likely routes in from outside the UK are blocked!
iPlayer
July 30, 2016 at 11:42 pm
http://iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/tv/in_the_uk_message
iPlayer
July 30, 2016 at 11:45 pm
Open Sesame!
https://www.vpncompare.co.uk/how-to-watch-bbc-iplayer-from-abroad/
Houdini Elbow
July 31, 2016 at 12:05 pm
You have to pay for VPNs though: as the article says “there is no such thing as a free lunch 😉 ”
And this from the BBC:
“Private VPN (Virtual Private Network) or Web accelerator
If you are using a VPN and are in the UK, try disabling to see if that helps. If we detect you might be using a VPN, you’ll be unable to play programmes. This is because we’re unable to detect the end point of your private network; we need to be confident you’re in the UK.”
So the iplayer is actively blocking VPNs if if detects them, along with proxies.
VPN
August 1, 2016 at 10:31 am
Last time we were in P*oland we were sat watching iplayer on a smart TV with a group of drunken P*oles. The P*oles were laughing their socks off at how stupid us Brits are for paying for their TV programmes 🙂
Incidentally, their is no such thing as a ‘TV licence’ in P*oland, but all the channels carry reklamas (ads), and there are lots of them, even more than the in the UK, if that is even possible 😀 Even the state broadcasters, the P*olish equivalent of the BBC carry ads. And their programmes are basically shit. The only thing we saw remotely worth watching on Polish TV was a Fish Called Wanda, and they seemed to show that over and over again 😀
Micheal Palin
August 1, 2016 at 10:41 am
Last time we were in an unnamed East European country beginning with a ‘P’ we were sat watching iplayer on a smart TV with a group of drunken natives. The natives were laughing their socks off at how stupid us Brits are for paying for their TV 🙂
Incidentally, their is no ‘TV licence’ in this unnamed European country beginning with a ‘P’, but all the channels carry reklamas (ads), and there are lots of them, even more than the in the UK, if that is possible 😀 Even the state broadcasters, the unnamed East European country equivalent of the BBC carry ads. And their programming is basically shit. The only thing we saw remotely worth watching on this unnamed East European country’s TV was a Fish Called Wanda, and they seemed to show that over and over again 😀
Micheal Palin
August 1, 2016 at 10:44 am
Firstly you don’t have to pay for VPN, sure their paid for versions but theirs just as many that are free and the simple fact you didnt check VPN (poster) JUST PROVES YOU KNOW YOUR WRONG AND ARE JUST TRYING TO DELIBRATELY PREVENT WHATS VERY CORRECT FROM BEING SAID.
Im sorry but you VPN,FUCKTVL and IPLAYER (POSTERS) are so WRONG i bet you think the world is flat as well.
doug
August 1, 2016 at 1:42 pm
The next version of the free Opera browser will include a FREE UNLIMITED VPN! Sounds too good to be true? Well, yes, it is really since the Opera VPN is actually more akin to a superior kind of proxy but does provide more security, might enable uses to get around blocks on the internet put in place by ISPs (Pirate Bay anyone?), and will keep your internet activity more private. Should be much better than Tor, e.g., should allow streamed and flash video. Don’t know yet if it will work with iPlayer since there’s only a beta developer version available currently, but as Opera is my browser of choice anyway will be able to find out when it updates itself to version 39 later this year. It’s free so why not give it a go? It already has a nice built-in ad blocker, speed dial, and the next version should conserve battery life on laptops and offer the VPN/Proxy service unlimited and free.
The browser is webkit based and available for several operating systems, although the latest versions aren’t ready for Linux yet as far as I know. Linux is still stuck on Opera 12.16. I think developer versions of the more modern versions do exist for Linux outside of the repositories.
Check it out,
http://www.opera.com/
Tim
August 1, 2016 at 4:09 pm
Sure you can get free VPNs, doug but we are talking in the context of the iplayer here, which means you would require a reliable, speedy high-bandwidth, unlimited VPN. And you sure ain’t going to get that for next! All you will get for £nothing is a slow as snail VPN with a cap of 500MB a month loaded with adverts! There is no such thing as free lunch, well, maybe on Planet Doug 😀
And you must think the BBC, hardly a tiny operation, are stupid if they can’t detect proxy servers and VPN connection. You couldn’t be more wrong!
Networking Expert
August 1, 2016 at 6:18 pm
PS doug, assuming you are in the UK you don’t need a proxy or VPN to access the iPlayer 🙂 This discussion is mostly ‘academic”?
PPS One of the main reason the BBC has to block access, apart from it being funded by UK citizens, is that BBC Worldwide sells a lot of the programming overseas: no point in another broadcaster paying for content that has already been viewed on the iPlayer 🙂
Networking Expert
August 1, 2016 at 6:23 pm
You read it here first 🙂 Seems like TVL/BBC/Crapita like to give their ‘customers’ a ‘heads up’ 😀
iPlayer ‘loophole’ to close on 1 September
People who watch BBC programmes only on iPlayer will be required to buy a TV licence to view the content from 1 September.
Previously a licence was only needed to watch live broadcasts, so catch-up content was technically exempt from the £145.50 annual fee.
But due to a change in the law, a licence will be needed to download or watch BBC programmes on demand.
Those who already have a TV licence will not be affected. 😀
We DO NOT Require a 'TV Licence'
August 2, 2016 at 6:31 am
Doug is correct. There are free VPNs. The real question is not so much anonymity as where the VPN server is that connects you to the internet: in the case of iPlayer, if you wanted to use it to watch BBC programmes abroad, the VPN would have to make it appear as if you had an IP address located in the United Kingdom. I’m not sure if any free VPNs allow you to do this.
Tim
August 2, 2016 at 9:10 pm
Oh. And Avira the German anti-virus developers (for Windows systems) offer a real free VPN for Microsoft OS users. You only get 500 MB of free access per month – so no good for iPlayer – but the subscription is fairly cheap if you’re in work although probably unaffordable if you’re not.
Tim
August 1, 2016 at 4:12 pm
Daily Mirror.
“DWP forced to reveal vast list of firms using benefit claimants for unpaid work after 4-year legal fight
The Tory government spent four years trying to stop you knowing firms it linked to Mandatory Work Activity – from he Tory government has been forced to reveal a vast list of firms that hoovered up free labour from benefit claimants after spending four years trying to keep it a secret.
Poundstretcher, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons are among more than 500 companies, charities and councils named as having used Mandatory Work Activity.
Others on the list from 2011 included payday loans firm Cash Converters, chicken diner Nando’s, WH Smith, Superdrug and DHL.
More than 100,000 jobseekers were put on the hated ‘workfare’ scheme, which forced them to work 30-hour weeks unpaid for a month each or have their benefits docked.Cash Converters to Nando’s”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dwp-forced-reveal-vast-list-8522078#ICID=sharebar_facebook
Andrew Coates
July 30, 2016 at 11:32 am
“Now that the DWP has at last complied with the law and released the information that was requested in 2012, we should be able to get further details about where workfare it is taking place today.
“We encourage everyone who wants to see an end to workfare and punitive welfare policies to use and share this information, and to work together to press all the organisations involved in workfare to pull out immediately, as so many already have. ”
A spokesperson for Tesco – the only organisation out of more than a dozen on the list The Independent tried to contact that have actually provided a comment – said: “Prior to deciding the scheme wasn’t right for us, we had offered to pay those who were doing placements with us.- “As a business we remain committed to providing employment opportunities for the long-term unemployed.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/benefits-department-for-work-and-pensions-mandatory-work-activity-government-major-companies-free-a7163646.html
enigma
July 30, 2016 at 7:18 pm
Employment Minister calls on businesses to create more opportunities for older workers.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/employment-minister-calls-on-businesses-to-create-more-opportunities-for-older-workers
enigma
July 30, 2016 at 9:53 pm
Corbyn pledges to scrap Labour union laws in favour of collective bargaining.
Jeremy Corbyn would require companies with more than 250 employees to accept new industrial laws under which they would have to recognise a specific union with which to bargain over pay.
Aides to the Labour leader said a Corbyn government would “repeal” 1999 union legislation that was passed by a Labour government to introduce a new French-style framework of union rights.
The best way to guarantee fair pay is through strengthening unions’ ability to bargain collectively – giving employees the right to organise through a union and negotiate their pay, terms and conditions at work,” he writes.
Corbyn also proposes that all employees be given guaranteed hours which must be specified and written into a contract – bringing an end to zero-hour contracts. If an employer wants workers to work beyond those hours, they must specify the length of additional work along with a reason for asking.
An employer will also have to give reasonable compensation, akin to an “on-call” payment to an employee, for agreeing to make themselves available for additional work, whether they are ultimately asked to do so or not.
“Economic failure is a central reason why people are no longer prepared to accept politics as usual, across the advanced industrial world,” Corbyn writes.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/30/jeremy-corbyn-scrap-labour-union-laws-pledge
enigma
July 30, 2016 at 10:17 pm
Doug, what do you think of collective bargaining.?
enigma
July 31, 2016 at 3:21 pm
While to a point it has worked for unions it has yet to used by collective groups of employees who are non union.
The word to catch is bargaining as it denotes no common ground. If we take the young doctors strike, the amount on strike are enough to hurt the NHS yet despite that government just did what they want demonstrating workers can want what they want but if an employer doesn’t want a bar of it and it cant be mandated, then its all dead in the water.
doug
August 1, 2016 at 1:50 pm
Up to a million people still need to renew their tax credits and pay what they owe before Sunday night’s deadline.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said around 800,000 claimants need to update their details by midnight on Sunday or face losing the payments or being hit by penalities.
HMRC has sent out information about their annual review in a white A4 envelope and anyone who has not renewed their credits is being urged tp contact HMRC urgently.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tax-credit-deadline-hours-left-8526728
enigma
July 30, 2016 at 10:23 pm
New Tory leader claims to fight slavery ( rich coming from the very party that backed zero hours and workfare and scumbag companies like Sports Direct who use Victorian style workhouses!)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36934853
Marie
July 31, 2016 at 1:54 pm
Forced labor occurs when an individual is forced to work against his or her will, under threat of violence or other punishment, with restrictions on their freedom.
The term ‘forced labor’ is also used to describe all types of slavery and may also include institutions not commonly classified as slavery, such as serfdom, conscription and penal labor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery
enigma
July 31, 2016 at 2:55 pm
The launch of Theresa May’s campaign against modern slavery is laudable – until you realise there is one form of slavery she actively promotes.
You might say that wage slavery does not involve anything like the kind of abuse that is associated with the other forced workers – but you’d probably be wrong.
As Mrs May said herself, “People are enduring experiences that are simply horrifying in their inhumanity” – and that goes for people who are forced to seek paid work of the most demeaning kinds, simply to make ends meet.
Employers will force pay and conditions down, exploit their workers brutally, inflict psychological torture on them, just to keep them docile. This Writer has seen it – perhaps you have too.
That’s just fine by Theresa May.
Look at today’s (July 31) report about student debt – released concurrently with the launch of Mrs May’s campaign.
It says, “Having to pay back student debts will wipe out any graduate premium for most professions, claims the Intergenerational Foundation in a report.”
Meanwhile the government is still telling us higher education boosts employability and earnings.
So the cream of UK academia is lured into huge debts that will hang over them for most, if not all, of their working life.
Meanwhile the rest of us – those who can find work in the first place – are already under the cosh because employers know their only restriction is the ‘National Living Wage’ – which doesn’t pay enough for anyone to survive without benefits.
And the benefit system is deliberately skewed to withhold payments from claimants.
http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2016/07/31/heres-why-mays-campaign-against-slavery-is-a-contradiction/
enigma
July 31, 2016 at 3:05 pm
Absolutely Disgusting, I shall most certainly not be purchasing goods or using the services of any of the Companies or Organisations partaking in this Farcical scheme the Government calls Training, I would suggest that nobody has any dealings with any of these unpleasant down market rubbish outfits , hit them in the pocket, its the only thing they understand.
These people are too stupid to see the long term damage they are doing to our Nations Youth by Deskilling and Demotivating them in schemes like this, it speaks volumes about the State of this Country and the pathetic people running it.
I read out this Email from the Boycott Workfare Group to a friend of mine living in Germany and he burst out Laughing at the Idiocy of it. David Penson Bracknell Berkshire.
David Anthony Penson
July 31, 2016 at 6:52 pm
James,
further to this evenings telephone conversation, I am sending you the list of organisations and companies using unpaid Labour via the Government’s Workfare Schemes. David
________________________________
David Penson
July 31, 2016 at 7:23 pm
Dealing with the effects of poverty costs the UK £78 billion a year, £1,200 for every person, new research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has revealed.
So
This September, JRF will launch a comprehensive plan to Solve UK poverty. It will set out what government, businesses and individuals can do to support families and communities, improve educational attainment and build skills, promote growth and boost incomes and ensure that everyone has the chance of a decent and secure life.
https://www.jrf.org.uk/press/poverty-costs-uk-78-billion-year
enigma
August 1, 2016 at 10:55 am
The report outlined the following key costs:
£29bn on treating health conditions associated with poverty
£10bn on schools providing initiatives such as free school meals and pupil premium for poorer students
£9bn on the police and criminal justice systems dealing with the higher incidence of crime in more deprived areas
£7.5bn on children’s services and early years provision, such as free childcare for deprived two-year-olds
£4.6bn on adult social care
£4bn on housing
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36937516
enigma
August 1, 2016 at 12:34 pm
Parents of ‘fit for work’ suicide man back call for Iain Duncan Smith prosecution
The parents of a disabled man who took his own life after being wrongly found “fit for work” have backed attempts to persuade Scottish police to investigate the actions of former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith.
http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/parents-of-fit-for-work-suicide-man-back-call-for-iain-duncan-smith-prosecution/
ken
August 1, 2016 at 11:48 am
A life time of debt.
Students starting university courses in England will no longer be able to apply for grants towards living costs.
Under changes that came into effect on Monday, grants for students from low-income homes are replaced by loans
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36940172
enigma
August 1, 2016 at 11:55 am
Someone should inform JRF!.
enigma
August 1, 2016 at 12:05 pm
Line managers are often best placed to identify problems with mental health at work,
Then goes on
The question most often overlooked by organisations in relation to managing mental health in the workplace is whether or not line managers believe they have the skills to manage colleagues with mental health problems. The overwhelming response to this question when asked in line manager mental health training is “no
When people think about mental health, negative images often come to mind more readily than positive ones: for example, movies such as “One flew over the cuckoo’s nest”, “Silence of the lambs” or “Psycho”.
Sometings will never change thats just the way it is.
Straight back to the dole queue.
http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/mental-health-work-can-line-managers-positive-impact/
ken
August 1, 2016 at 12:04 pm
But before going back to a JC.
“help can be provided by signposting colleagues to available help, such as employee assistance programmes, psychological therapy services or occupational health where offered, or encouraging the employee to contact their GP or local NHS services” /maximus..
enigma
August 1, 2016 at 12:29 pm
Privatizing public services only increases FRAUD.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-36943526
Yet another sterling example of how fraud can be doubled in probability.
Do we see a hotline number with the advert “if you think your provider is a benefits cheat” ?
doug
August 1, 2016 at 2:03 pm
What are the biggest public spending programs in the UK?
http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/year_spending_2017UKbn_16bc1n#ukgs302
enigma
August 1, 2016 at 2:23 pm
Incidentally Mandatory Work Activity has ceased but I’d like more information on this (a couple of people at one of our latest lectures seem to be on them)
Community Work Placements
Community Work Placements aim to help you get and keep work by enhancing your CV, skills and motivation. You might go on one of these placements if you’re claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance and have already been on the Work Programme. The programme runs till October 2016, but no one will be referred to it after March 2016.
Various different organisations run Community Work Placements for Jobcentre Plus. Each placement involves work for the benefit of the community.
An organisation running the scheme will have up to 30 weeks to work with you from when Jobcentre Plus refers you to them. You’ll spend up to 26 of these 30 weeks on a work placement, for 30 hours a week.
If you don’t take part
Your benefit could be stopped or cut if you refuse to do a Community Work Placement.
If your benefit is stopped or cut, you should tell Jobcentre Plus if you have a good reason for what happened. Tell them as soon as you can – ideally within 5 days. You may also be able to challenge the decision.
Andrew Coates
August 1, 2016 at 3:20 pm
2012, Mandatory work activity scheme extended. DWP still using that name to those who don’t know.
Employment Minister Chris Grayling has also warned that the system of sanctions is being tightened to make sure people can’t just sign off Jobseekers Allowance and sign on again a few weeks later in order to avoid their placement.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mandatory-work-activity-scheme-extended
enigma
August 1, 2016 at 4:17 pm
How many people know that Mandatory Work Activity has ceased, knowing DWP there’s probably many people on that scheme, I’ll bet that many people will still be put on Community Work Placements.
enigma
August 1, 2016 at 6:03 pm
Can you still be put on cwp/mwa if you have already done them ???
I’ve done them both, I don’t want a repeat performance 🙅
Marie
August 1, 2016 at 6:51 pm
You shouldn’t be but then we’re talking about DWP, so they might try, for your own good of course!!
enigma
August 1, 2016 at 7:23 pm
A 6 week Work Wise Course, might be ……..
http://www.unemploymentmovement.com/forum/job-centre/2916-6-week-work-wise-course.html
enigma
August 1, 2016 at 9:00 pm
So a skills conditonality course then. Well unless a person can forget how to speak English or count since their last one, i hardly see how you can be made to do it again.
Effectively a claimants last application for SFA funding will act as proof of prior attendance in all modules. As usual, don’t sign any documents.
doug
August 2, 2016 at 7:43 am
Japanese people ‘dying from overwork’ by putting in more than 60 hours a week.
‘Karoshi’ – either from a fatal heart attack or stroke, or a suicide triggered by overwork – is now a recognised cause of death.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japan-overwork-working-60-hours-karoshi-a7166376.html
enigma
August 1, 2016 at 6:56 pm
Imagine having to do workfare for 60 hours a week 😭
Marie
August 1, 2016 at 7:37 pm
The Scottish government will consider abandoning the words “benefits” and “welfare” because of their negative connotations, as it begins the process of shaping the country’s first ever social security system.
Freeman said the consultation would consider the use of another word, such as “payments”. “Making dignity, fairness and respect real is about the culture that the [new Scottish social security agency] embraces. There are things to do to effect change quickly and one of those is through language,” she said.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/29/social-security-not-benefits-scotland-to-ponder-words-of-welfare
enigma
August 2, 2016 at 10:44 am
Good. The name of a thing often influences the way that people regard a thing.
Tim
August 2, 2016 at 4:58 pm
Yes Tim as in “workfare”
All those companies, charities etc taking advantage of the unemployed by not paying them, – “Working for your benefits” or “workfare” “all the negative connotations” so change the names, from benefits & welfare to payments or other, – not so good, of course it will take generations.
enigma
August 2, 2016 at 5:56 pm
Yep. Which is why the Conservatives and, let’s be honest, many in the Labour party starting saying “welfare” instead of “social security”. Osborne in particular did this insinuating that social security is paid into by working people while the welfare goes to people who don’t work as a justification to remorseless slash and burn the latter. The Tories turned “welfare” into a dirty word and used it over and over to defame and demonise claimants, no matter how innocent, deserving and worthy. Ugly stuff but black propaganda like this turns out to be very effective when bolstered by campaigns in newspapers (Daily Mail etc) and programmes on TV (Channel 5 etc).
Tim
August 2, 2016 at 9:25 pm
Theresa May chairs cabinet committee on economy.
Prime Minister Theresa May is chairing the first meeting of a new cabinet committee focused on building an economy “that works for everyone”.
The committee is made up of almost half of Mrs May’s cabinet.
These include Chancellor Philip Hammond, Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green……………
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36951890
enigma
August 2, 2016 at 1:47 pm
Fifty years on and a new generation of Cathys have nowhere to call home.
In 1966 the powerful Cathy Come Home shone a light on the desperate housing problems gripping Britain at the time. When the programme first aired, the extent of the crisis shocked the nation – 3 million people were living in slums or stuck in a brutal private renting market. It was a far cry from the popular notion of the swinging 60s.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/31/shelter-cathy-come-home-homelessness-anniversary
enigma
August 2, 2016 at 2:32 pm
The arithmetic of the powerful that makes poor people ill
The point has been passed where the arithmetic of the powerful should bend to the damaging and state-imposed insolvency of the powerless. The cumulative impact of caps, housing benefit cuts and council tax on the diminishing incomes of the worst off has damaged their health and life expectancy.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/01/the-arithmetic-of-the-powerful-that-makes-poor-people-ill
ken
August 2, 2016 at 4:18 pm
Ever heard of prospects.co.uk ?
Ive been handed a web address that apparently DWP gave out to a claimant just the other day and was wondering if anyone has used this interactive module thing as i cant get the web address to link to a page no matter the PC or browser i use.
If you have whats it all about, is it a questionnaire or what ?
Now it maybe just the one as its the first time Ive had one handed to me by a not so impressed claimant but again it may be how new registration occurs which if so,we need to know more.
All i can state is that the claimant told me they have to go to it, do it whatever that is and take a photo which isn’t going to happen if they cant get the page up.
doug
August 3, 2016 at 9:25 am
Doug, thanks for that, I will continue with what I do and hopefully I come across it.
enigma
August 3, 2016 at 2:21 pm
It looks like the usual cobblers for young people, if only all 1.5 million of them had the right SKILLS, SKILLS, SKILLS, then they could all apply for the same 1 flipping burger flipping job.
http://nibbler.silktide.com/en/reports/prospects.co.uk
https://twitter.com/ProspectsGroup
Another Fine Tory Economic Slump
August 3, 2016 at 3:09 pm
Thanks enigma and another fine tory economic slump.
I will make a point of popping down to the local JCP and see what DWP say about it not connecting.
doug
August 3, 2016 at 4:40 pm
OT : Prospects, enigma/doug/Another Fine – its Workfare
Chair is a lib-dem man, ran for office in Basildon
Front Page: Welcome to Prospects
The Prospects Group provides tailored education, employment, training and care products and services for people at all stages of life. Each year Prospects inspires more than 500,000 people to develop their potential and transform their lives. More than 1,400 professional and skilled colleagues provide practical support to the local communities they are based across the UK and internationally. Prospects is one of the largest employee owned companies in the UK. It is also a Leader in Diversity and ranked in the top 100 index by the National Centre for Diversity. The social purpose of Prospects is to focus on the delivery of high quality services to the public and private sector for individuals at all stages of life. We have 20 years’ experience of successfully delivering public services across the UK.
http://prospects.co.uk/WhoWeWorkWith/SupplyChainPartners.aspx
Supply Chain Partners
Prospects works in partnership with a wide range of education, employment and training specialists, to enhance our offer to customers in:
Work Programme and similar welfare to work initiatives – working with unemployed people, enabling them to secure sustainable jobs
National Careers Service (NCS) – information, advice and guidance on learning and work to anyone over 19, with help to choose and enter careers
NCS offender services to people in prison and resettling in the community, to choose and secure positive destinations
European Social Fund programmes bringing unemployed people nearer the labour market, improving skills and employability, placing them in sustainable jobs
Gazza
August 3, 2016 at 5:40 pm
Oh,
can access using gogle chrome on Linux Mint if that’s any help to anyone. Will be copying off pages just in case pages start diseapearing sudden like….
Gazza
August 3, 2016 at 5:41 pm
20% VAT on a chocolate bar. TWENTY (20) fucking percent V-A-fucking-T on FOOD!! And even if you are on BENEFITS you still have to pay this fucking, evil, iniquitous, regressive fucking TAX!! Fuck V-A-fucking-T. It is even on TAMPONS ffs! Another fucking 20% V-A-fucking T!!
Chocoholic who has the painters in!
August 3, 2016 at 6:15 pm
Welcome to Parasiticous.
Another Fine Tory Economic Slump
August 3, 2016 at 8:57 pm
Got to love the ‘discounters’ the way they list the VAT:
“VAT Rate A 0.0% – £0.00
VAT Rate B 20.0% – £0.20” – must have been the chocky bar 😀
Every. Fucking. Shop. should do this* – so we can see exactly how much we are forking out in TAXES.
*some put an asterisk (*) besides the VAT- exempt items
Every Lidl Helps
August 4, 2016 at 6:42 am
And there is also an ‘A’ and ‘B’ beside each price. Just to rub it in 😀
Every Lidl Helps
August 4, 2016 at 6:50 am