Labour supporting Duncan Smith in defending slave work at Poundland

I was just about to start a thread on this. I don't think I'm unjustified in saying this is the moment where the government crossed the line into dictatorship. Passing retrospective legislation when found to be doing something illegal is the sort of thing I'd expect from Gadaffi or someone like that.

The judiciary has been the only thing keeping the government back in the past couple of years. The government know this and that's why they're cutting legal aid this year so none of the disabled or jobless have anything they can do but die in their own filth.

This is the beginnings of the sort of crisis that leads to revolution.

Well, this is shabby and disgraceful. Labour are to support emergency legislation early next week to enable Ian Duncan Smith to rush through a bill which prevents the DWP from having to pay minimum wage or compensation to the thousands of people who were forced to work at Poundland and other stores or have their benefit stopped.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/15/dwp-law-change-jobseekers-poundland

The bill is the worst kind of retrospective legislation.

This relates to the case won a month ago by former Birmingham University student Cait Reilly, who was instructed to work at Poundland doing shelf stacking for no pay or lose benefits.
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2257547

That opened the way for law centres and poverty campaigners to sue the DWP for re-imbursement of benefits to those who had them stopped and payment of national minimum wage.

People sent to work should be paid at least the NMW. I hope this now goes all the way to Europe, but it is absolutely disgusting that Milliband is supporting this legislation, which basically says that young people on JSA are worthless and their rights should be ignored.

It's a difficult situation but at least they get work experience

How much work experience is working at Poundland going to get you though? Making people do work experience if they can't get jobs makes sense but I'm not sure if something at Poundland for a Science Grad as the original case was is really that useful. Plus if they have openings for unpaid work why don't they have them for paid? It's not like the sort of wages you get doing this work is going to bankrupt the company.

I think Labour supporting this has far more to do with them wanting to avoid the 140 Million pay out. Most governments would do all they could to get around that.

Work experience of any sort is better than been on the dole/JSA when it comes to your CV full stop.

Plus if they have openings for unpaid work why don't they have them for paid? It's not like the sort of wages you get doing this work is going to bankrupt the company.

This is the issue I have with it. It's not as if she was doing work for a charity or a non-for-profit organisation.

Not at Poundland. Workfare should benefit the community. As it is it is Danegeld to the massive private companies who run the capitalist world.

(The government pays a good whack of people's wages as it is with tax credits and housing benefit to top up the paltry minimum wage to something liveable.)

Still i think benefit claimants should do some community service

I might agree to that. Though I think it would only be acceptable within the public sector. The private sector should not be getting free labor.

It would be far more acceptable for example, if claimants were forced into large community based projects (such as landscaping, gardening, or even things like archaeological digs and the like), it would benefit the community greatly while giving them skills which are actually useful.

The main problem with handing them out to private businesses, is that it encourages them to give positions which would normally be paid to claimants (for free)

Well, this is shabby and disgraceful. Labour are to support emergency legislation early next week to enable Ian Duncan Smith to rush through a bill which prevents the DWP from having to pay minimum wage or compensation to the thousands of people who were forced to work at Poundland and other stores or have their benefit stopped.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/15/dwp-law-change-jobseekers-poundland

The bill is the worst kind of retrospective legislation.

This relates to the case won a month ago by former Birmingham University student Cait Reilly, who was instructed to work at Poundland doing shelf stacking for no pay or lose benefits.
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2257547

That opened the way for law centres and poverty campaigners to sue the DWP for re-imbursement of benefits to those who had them stopped and payment of national minimum wage.

People sent to work should be paid at least the NMW. I hope this now goes all the way to Europe, but it is absolutely disgusting that Milliband is supporting this legislation, which basically says that young people on JSA are worthless and their rights should be ignored.

Heaven forbid people do a bit of work in order to retain their benefits...

I might agree to that. Though I think it would only be acceptable within the public sector. The private sector should not be getting free labor.

It would be far more acceptable for example, if claimants were forced into large community based projects (such as landscaping, gardening, or even things like archaeological digs and the like), it would benefit the community greatly while giving them skills which are actually useful.

The main problem with handing them out to private businesses, is that it encourages them to give positions which would normally be paid to claimants (for free)

Heaven forbid people do a bit of work in order to retain their benefits...