UK needs ‘Workfare’!…The wasted Generation..6 million on state benefits..£193bn benefits payouts!
Posted on August 18th, 2009 in Unemployment, economics | 20 Comments »
Today we learn more of the shocking state of our nation. We are in one hell of an economic mess. It’s time for radical thinking and ‘workfare’.
First up, official figures show that the number of 18-24 year olds Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) have hit a record highof 835,000, (equivalent to 17.6% of that age bracket). Graduates, fresh from their studies, find themselves winding their way in a queue for state benefits. Put yourself in the shoes of a graduate. Just finished your Degree, the purpose mainly being to give you a head start in life, and you have no where to go. The wasting of a generation of talent.
This follows hot on the heels of a report by Policy Exchange think-tank which puts the actual number of Britons out of work and living on benefits at 5.96 million – (note Official Government figures state 2.44 million). The UK is creating a generation dependent on welfare.
Policy Exchange calculates the figure based on the number of those of working age living off the following state benefits:
- 1.58 million on Jobseeker’s Allowance
- 2.6 million on incapacity benefit and the new Employment and Support Allowance
- 736,000 on lone parents’ benefits
- 400,000 on carers’ benefits
- 363,000 on disability benefits
- 95,000 on bereavement benefits
- 182,000 on other income-related benefits
So this begs the question about the cost to us tax payers and the value society receives from paying blanket benefits. The cost of the benefits system has risen from £93 billion in 1997 to £193 billion today. That is a huge tax burden on the system especially given the cancerous debt burden which is spiralling daily.
So, it is time for Conservatives to think the unthinkable and enter a period of blue sky thinking over welfare and particularly unemployment benefits.
We are facing an unparalleled National Debt and hence a new approach is needed. Workfare, whilst derided by the Left, should be on the table for debate today. What is workfare?…. well…..it’s a scheme in which the long-term unemployed, in return for welfare payments, are required to undergo either skills training or work, in jobs supported by state subsidy or in community-service activities. One of the most successful ‘workfare’ schemes has been employed in the USA, in the State of Wisconsin. Workfare was the key principle behind the 1996 US federal welfare reforms which, with the threat of a loss of benefits after two years, led to a sharp drop in welfare recipients. Welfare to work programs aim to break the cycle of poverty where welfare dependence can become a way of life.
So, Conservatives should include a Manifesto promise to introduce a system which obligates able – bodied unemployed people, not in re-training schemes, who are looking to work, to undertake work that is beneficial to their community in return for unemployment benefits. This would be popular for two reason. Firstly, taxpayers may feel that they get “more value for their welfare pounds” when they observe welfare recipients working for benefits. This helps add to the political popularity of such schemes. Secondly, putting unemployed people into a workplace-like environment attempts to address the argument that one of the biggest barriers to employment for the long-term unemployed is their lack of recent workforce experience.
There is plenty wrong with this country and where ‘workfare’ help could be utilised. Imagine, if companies or the public sector were presented with extra workforce, at no extra charge to them, to help them in their business life. Consider these ares for example:
- Call Centres. Rather than outsource all the call centre work to India and other Asian countries, why not staffed via workfare?
- Schools: Help at schools, after passing background checks, classroom help, help with PE, cleaning, making school dinners etc.
- Manufacturing Industry: Why not provide a stream of workers in our manufacturing plants. This ‘free labour’ would help some of the struggling industries like the car industry.
- Post Office: Again, if the Post Office is to be privatised, why not utilise workfare for Post deliverers.
- Hospitals: Help with general work around the hospital eg the Hospital Superbug MRSA is due to dirty wards, why not have more cleaners in the hospitals instead of people sitting at home
- Building: with a boom in building contracts eg Olympics, more manual labour
- Civil Service: With so much bureaucracy, plenty of paperwork could be finally completed
- Street cleaning & refuse collection: (why should council pay full time salaries when this could be a workfare role?)
- Help in Supermarkets/retail: Be it Customer Service or managerial.
This is but a few examples of where labour can be directed. Yes some is skilled, some unskilled. But there are plenty of areas of opportunity to get Briatin working and ensure welfare dependence does not creep in.
To be successful a ‘workfare’ system has to include a number of elements:
- Applies to all able bodied unemployed
- Has time limits (eg people need time to apply for new jobs etc and therefore workfare may exist for 4 days a week work or maybe all afternoons, as mornings are spent job seeking.
- Possesses Tiers of payments. For those working more hours, they reach a higher level of state unemployment benefits. Those who choose to work less or not participate get lower benefits.
- Those who wish to re-train or get extra skills, receive a lower benefit as the state invests more into their future. But this can be buttressed back up by workfare projects.
- After 2 years, an individual would no longer receive state support. Hence, they have the motivation to seek work, which may involve retraining.
These ideas, obviously are fairly radical for the UK. Again, desperate times, call for stronger measures. We are faced with an unparalleled debt. We have to maintain a work ethic amongst the population. We have to ensure that the UK does not embed a welfare dependency culture.
20 Responses
What we actually need is politicians that believe in wealth and job creation rather than Keynsian centerist big government.
What we need is to incentivise small and medium sized businesses to do what they do best and create jobs. We need to end EU interference in the workplace, stop the obsessive and over burdened nonsense on telling us who we can and can’t employ and what our diversity targets are. We need to have incentives in place via our tax system rather than the over the top payroll taxes, massive business rates and useless restictions on work. We need an equivelent system to the German Mittlestand Investment scheme so that we can have a small and medium sized manufacturing, engineering and electronics industry again.
We need a proper apprenticeship scheme like the old City and Guilds scheme that is NOT administered and run by an army of diversity outreach coordinators.
Welfare needs to change to a sliding scale to enable people to get back into work without losing all of their benefits straight away thereby making them worse of by having a job.
Sorry your ideas are laughable. You want to replaced paid workers with unpaid workers to reduce the unemployment numbers!!!
Sadly it is not just Labour and the Libdums but also Dave Blair and his BluLab party that has nothing to offer to actually solve the problem.
A couple of years ago, I went to Tunisia for a holiday, and was very surprised that, unlike other Arab countries that I’ve visited, there were no beggars on the streets. I questioned our guide about this and he told me that the government provides work or training for everyone; if you had University qualifications and wanted to set up in business they would consider providing funds. He said specifically that they did not provide any money for not working as he believed many European countries had problems with such a system. To me, that was the understatement of the year!
In the next 12 months, many of the hardliners on this site may lose their jobs through unemployment and sickness as the recession really starts.
I am sure you will look to the state for support and it will be not be there. For good measure there may be a huge drop in the house prices so the retirement fund will be gone as well.
Paul
So we bring back slavery is your big idea….. Well there’s a few names under my breath that come to mind about you but I have a better idea and one that you might well approve of and it’s about to hit your neighbourhood and it’s called the `Unemployment Movement`.
This bunch of TRUEREDBLOOD`s have some `Demands`;
Abolition of the signing on regime
Abolition of all mandatory schemes
Abolition of present welfare reforms
Go to http://raw-rap.com to sign up and join a real revolution in ideas.
I have cerebral palsy and have worked since 16, made redundant at 50.
Having paid into the system for 34 years. What kind of treatment would I receive under your system. I am not ashamed to say I love my country, and some of its institutions. I was taught to believe in hard work and fair play. I want paid work.
Not slavery.
Could Grassroots reply:
What would you do with a disabled person like myself,my age is an issue,obviously my disability. You seem to have all the answers. Please respond!
Is your proposal just vacuous nonsense?
Hey Bice. Thanks for the post. You sir, help define what is great about this nation. You have worked and provided for this nation. People like you, who believe in the work ethic are the backbone of the UK. From what you say, you have worked hard all your life and despite being made redundant at 50, would be happy to continue working. I agree…..I dont want to see slavery. I want to see people working and putting back into society. Now the question is what is the best way to achieve that? Unemployment is rising. Many want to work but cant find a job at the moment. But there are a large number of people discentivised to work through the benefits system the UK provides. How do we incentivise those people back into work? I recognise that when people are not working they lose their self worth and self confidence. Hence workfare helps someone by keeping them putting something back into the system. My vision for workfare is not sending all the unemployed into labour roles. But into roles close to their skillset. Eg I listed some examples. If you are an office worker, adept with Computer Skills, why not help out in the Civil Service or help in the public sector.
Bice, what would be your solution?
Hey Bice. Sorry I have been away for a couple of days. In my eyes, employers need to see through disability, age, ethnic background. It is who is best for a job? Who can do a job? Lets look at age. Many employers shy away from employing older workers. But that is short sighted. Experience is priceless. Workers who are older are loyal. the average worker, especially amongst the young, spends 2-3 years in a job. Think of all the investment and training a company makes in that person…and then they leave. hence, older workers can be seen, and this is a generalist statement…to be loyal and may stay at a company for 10 years.
So Bice, I want to see people like yourself, having the best opportunities, being able to work, but I just don’t see the current system making the best of what you can offer. Do you feel that?
Hey paul. That’s why we need to look at new solutions. Our state is heavily, heavily in debt. Unemployment is rising. The News of the World reports that there could be as many as 10 million unemployed. That is unsustainable. hence we have to look at new solutions. Do we just maintain the status quo and pay full benefits to a large part of the population and do nothing? The unemployed, after a period, question their self worth. They lose confidence. That is not want we want. We want to incentivise people back to work. If someone works for a company on a voluntary basis, morally, doesn’t that mean we should pay them more benefit? There just isn’t the employment to go round at the moment as the recession takes hold. What solution Paul would you give? Thanks for your support.
Hey terratech. Slavery is not the goal. No where near. Just providing new solutions in an era with huge debt and rising mass unemployment. I want people to have opportunities. And for those who want to work, have a higher priortised benefit. Hope you agree
It is truly scandalous that so many young people cannot get jobs – some want them some don’t but they should not get money for nothing. Why doesn’t the Government look into the Peace Corps set up by JFK whereby young people would get a nominal payment and sent somewhere either home or abroad to help out in different ways or for us to set up some form of community service. I cannot see the economic sense in just paying out benefits and getting nothing in return
hiya grassroots…Cant you see that what you propose is nothing `NEW` and its conclusion is only Slavery and for people like Bice all remains to be said here would be that you would have them in the Gas Chambers. If you take an attitude of Condemnation or Vilify a section of society continuely as abnormal, deviant then what else do you become but the Monster.
I was just asked to explain just “what are the biggest barrier to employment?” Its a big subject to go into in one post (Posted below) so I hope you get the general gist of it. Please read it in the context that this person asked me after recommending a way to creating employment through giving a subsidy to employers rather than the New Deal agency`s.
Question; What would you say in the biggest barrier to employment?
Your article seems to imply that there is the employment available, A MASSIVE BARRIER!
A journalist G. K. Chesterton said that too much capitalism doesn’t mean too many capitalists, but too few capitalists. The concentration of power into too few hands has encouraged multinationals taking the lion’s share of economic output, when they lose the world loses big time in unemployment and just like the banking crisis now upon us the banks of this country holding the lions share inevitably meant a big hit for this country.
Here I would have to say that “Small is Beautiful”, if you cut your hand you don’t die as otherwise in this crisis the company (body) has been damaged and it has died because the company is the whole thing. So I would first if you wanted to put forward any ideas on getting employment back is to put into effect some legislation on restricting business sizes. What other effect would this have but to burst through the creative bubble as each member of a business/co-operative knows each other better, this is being tried out by larger businesses but I see the creativity lost to the noise of competing Departments.
Your argument to subsidise business for taking on workers is like asking of those jobs available just how many monkeys you need to change a light bulb. This would not create employment since for employment to happen with any real affect it has to be creative in new products/services. All you would be doing is supplying the power centres with capital which would be lost as is now the case. Take a look at the article on `Quantitative Easing Reality Check` (http://raw-rap.com/national-uk/economy/quantitative-easing-reality-check.html) this article at the bottom half gives a real example of subsidy going to waste and just filling the pockets of those in power from the worthless shares.
Well I hear you shout that the monkeys could always take it in turn, of course I`m talking about part-time employment, a ploy now that government of any hue are taken with. A little problem with this is that it relies on those same employers with all the issues and the affect on the individual is work poverty subsidised with benefits (which can lose value and be cut). But hey their working, it seems for many this is an answer but I would say of a stagnated Political and Business culture hanging on to power going in the same direction, ‘DOWNHILL`.
So what of the initial question of the barriers to employment, there are many and not least the most important, `People` and what they feel they need to exist on and a natural inclination to want more. Already suggested as a barrier buster the basic Income starts with the premise you are already creating worth in the economy. What are you doing if you make a cup of tea or mow the lawn but `work`. This is not counted economically so the big question; what is work and how do we create wealth from it.
Making a new economics system is as easy as the bank of England creating money from nothing but it has to have value. We already create value as said making a cup of tea but if this is too simple, what of the value a mother creates bringing up a child, a volunteer who give time and labour to a charity or a programmer who puts out a piece of software which saves lives.
This is an income which needs to be recognised, the true wealth of a country which can be paid to every individual. Everything created hence forth from industry is extra wealth that can be worked for in the traditional sense and taxed however with the underpinning of an income who say anyone would want to work. This depends on people and their natural inclination to want things and there greed. In this fictional society it is all possible even the right to be lazy, to live in poverty since it would not be imposed.
The upside of a system such as this is the right to work for yourself creating wealth in your own community, for your community which would be underpinned by income security from the basic income. An example of dashed hope in this area has been reported widely and can be read about; Jobless-friendly bank threatened by red tape (http://raw-rap.com/national-uk/welfare/jobless-friendly-bank-threatened-by-red-tape.html). Stopped from borrowing from a Micro bank, claimants’ looking to work for themselves fail to start because of financial insecurity. The cardinal sin is if you WORK while unemployed you lose your benefits; surviving is no encouragement to take chances especially if you have a family.
The barriers to employment are imposed, from feudal lords through to today’s political negotiators with business the imposition of the few holding onto power has stifled creativity, competition and has imposed a yoke around people’s imagination. This is beyond the politics of left or right, change will only come when we the unemployed take back our Dignity & Pride, change our masters to become our own.
This is a WAR because they will not change, catalogued and patented as a commodity you are theirs to make money from. Take a look over the New Deal Scandal, you’re their commodity to be sold and battered with. It’s about time sites like this were not needed and the biggest barrier to employment were destroyed.
##End
Employing more people in the Benefits Agency is a waste of time.Meanwhile my youngest brothers business is struggling. He is planning a move to the Southern Hemisphere,his two eldest sons are joining the army.One brother is on ninety days notice. My sister is worrying about her husband going on operations,her son is being primed for a move abroad.He is currently working in the USA. He started university last September.We have cousins in New York State.They emigrated during the the economic crisis of the Nineties.Hard working, young people are already on the move.No need for the Peace Corps.
Thanks Bice. If you could be Prime Minister what would you do in the current circummstances? Spiralling debt. growing large scale unemployment? (thanks for your contributions thus far—very valued).
Grassroots
Go to http://secretmillionaire.channel4.com
It may open your eyes to the levels of deprivation in Britain. But extraordinary men and women are running charities on a shoe string. These people live and work in their local communities. They are on the front line,dug in,fighting hard to save communities.They are the people best placed to tackle disaffected youth and unemployment.They need long term funding. This would enable them to plan long term projects,instead of chasing money?
You MUST be a very young and inexperienced person to have written anything this silly! When you grow up you’ll, hopefully, know better. For example, the USA has FIFTY states and when Wisconsin brought in its extraordinarily cruel and unusual policy in respect to unemployment, hundreds of thousands of men, women and families were displaced to other states which either had work or better social security regimes. The UK consists of four countries all desperately short of jobs. This beggars the question with three million unemployed and a few hundred thousand vacancies, where are the jobs that all these Jobseekers will be forced into by pauperising them and turning them out onto the street?
See?
I won’t go on but you’re making yourself look very silly.
As I say you must be VERY young and unworldly.
[...] Workfare: Get Your Post, Helpful Suggestions. Filed under: Campaigns for Unemployed, Welfare State, Workfare — Tags: Workfare — Andrew Coates @ 12:03 pm TrueBlue offers these “helpful hints” *for future Workfare jobs here. [...]
When you stop people’s benefits and they shoplift their food, it’s going to cost you even more money to put them in jail. Good luck.
I’m disgusted by this article; some people really do have twisted minds.
Those who are forced onto workfare aren’t going to learn a skill or get training (they don’t even get that now on A4E and other third party private companies, as exposed by C4 and the BBC), they are going to do the job criminals do in the community, such as cleaning graffiti from walls, cleaning up parks and other public areas. This isn’t going to help the unemployed; it is slavery and is illegal under article 4 of the human rights act which is the Prohibition of Slavery and Forced Labour, Christ this is something you’d expect out of Nazi Germany.
Once again the unemployed are under attack for a mess created by this vile government. There are over 8 million people ‘economically inactive’ or unemployed, to call it what it really is, and only 479,000 jobs, so too many people not enough jobs and slave labour is not the answer. Proper skills training is but the private companies governments use to provide this DO NOT PROVIDE IT, they take the money and run leaving the unemployed on the scrapheap when they need help most, especially right now, if you don’t believe me look into yourself.
Of course the article writer suggests that those people should be given jobs relevant to their skill set, such as office work, but why not just employ them in those offices instead.
I do hope the article writer loses his/her job and is dumped onto this scheme, that person will soon be whistling a different tune.
If a hospital can get free labour why would they employ anyone, the problem with keeping hospitals clean and the MRSA was when i spent a year in hospital, the cleaners went from local people with pride, to cheap labour with no pride and no training.
But again if you have a job in a hospital or picking up litter then make it a job give people employment.
The last year under labour has been a nightmare, I’m paraplegic after an accident at work, my bowel and bladder does not work, I have massive pain, yet when I went to my jobs center I was treated as if i was OK, for example I cannot drive a normal car no legs it would be difficult, yet I was sent to look for jobs driving Lorries, so the job Center could put down sent the cliament to a job to day, they sent me for a job as a window cleaner, then taxi driver, bus driver knowing i could not do them. Then i had a stroke doctors said it was due in part to the worry of going to these stupid jobs i could not do.