The Government’s Workfare scheme is close to ruin after the campaign against it burst into the media spotlight following the occupation of a Tesco store in Westminster last Saturday. Tesco retreated quickly and now more and more companies are voicing concerns and jumping ship from the schemes.
Burger chain McDonald’s continues to participate in the scheme – unwilling to pay a proper wage for all of it’s workers despite skyrocketing profits. They made£942m over just 3 months – enough money to pay nearly 400,000 young unemployed people to work a 30hr week, – McDonald’s entire UK workforce is a fraction of this at 90,000 people, – the entire workforce would cost just £213m to employ on 30 hrs a week at minimum wage.
Even if a whopping 10% of McDonald’s staff are on workfare it would take just 2.3% of McDonald’s massive profits to give them a proper wage and the dignity that goes with it – yet still they insist on using unpaid workers from the ‘poundsaver menu’ offered up by the likes of Chris Grayling and his friends at fraudsters A4e. McDonald’s should pull out of all involvement with the government’s workfare schemes and start paying it’s workers instead of getting it’s burgers flipped on the ‘McCheap’.
The government should face facts – workfare stinks and people know it – the schemes must be cancelled immediately, a program of investment in real jobs and training should replace them and Chris Grayling who has been so complicit in the attempt to make slaves of the unemployed must GO!
Join the demo on Saturday 25 February:
Assemble 10.30am
Outside McDonald’s
291b Oxford Street
London W1C 2DT
Mike Potts said:
I assume you support the likes of Brown and Blair and the wholesale import of EU workers and borrowing money to get out of debt??
24 February 2012 at 3:21pmWhere do you think the money comes from ‘a money’ tree. Grow up and get real, the world is out there and because of benefits and the PC brigade people have become dependant on the state to think and act for themselves.
If its a problem about jobs why not get off your soap boxes and create some, Oh I was forgetting that is for someone else to do as you have much more important things to do.
Stuart Turener said:
Strange comments Mike when the bankster who created the massive worldwide debts continue to feed on the misery of others. I assume you live in the world of Thatcherism , who along with Regan created the environment of casino Capitalism , greed for the rich with no boundaries, limits or morals , welcome to your world Mike !
24 February 2012 at 6:48pmJeremy Phillips said:
Mike, could you post again please, because I’m playing Daily Mail Bingo with the first one and I’ve nearly got a full house.
24 February 2012 at 8:51pmPeter said:
Mike Potts, you put a pathetic case.I am a tax payer and citizen of the UK. It’s about not allowing people to be abused and used by stingy companies who think getting something for nothing and making a profit out of it is acceptable.I hope one day you become unemployed,sick or disabled and then you will understand the cruelty and greed of these companies backed by a money led government at the tax payers expense.I would prefer my money goes to help train people or create real jobs on a fair wage for the vast majority of genuine decent unemployed people.If you feel so strongly come and put your case to one of us at a demo.No..I thought not!You are the legacy left by Thatcher.
24 February 2012 at 11:39pmIan said:
Well done Right to Work campaign. Keep it up! This link is to an expose of Grayling’s lies about the ‘voluntary’ nature of workfare: http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/dwp-rewrite-history-mandatory-work-disappears-from-the-work-programme-providers-guidance/
25 February 2012 at 12:17pmSue said:
Think again Mike companies are explating workers each day.
25 February 2012 at 9:19pmOur Goverment is following the American way.
Barry said:
Mike, you are right about the importation of EU workers. This certainly doesn’t help matters and lefties need to realise this and stop voting Labour or Lib Dem. Immigration from either the EU or non-EU sources needs to stop immediately. However, that by itself won’t solve this issue. What is needed is consistent economic growth to create a real demand for people’s labour. Workfare as it stands can’t work. At the very least, people have the right to expect that if they are doing a normal job they should be paid for their labour.
I used to vote Tory but this workfare scheme is one reason why I can’t vote for them again. Too many Tories are thick or ignorant enough to believe that unemployed people are unemployed because they are ‘lazy’, ‘workshy’ ect. This is true of about 1% of the total not 99% as the Tories and Daily Mail believe.
26 February 2012 at 2:58pmdave said:
I dont see this as a bad thing to be honest. anybody with recent employment is in a far stronger position when going to interviews. These people still recieve their benefits but if you were to pay them minimum wage they would likely have these stopped and have to re apply no?
i find the whole argument interesting but flawed, As is providing people to corporations like Mcdonalds when you look at it. there are plenty of local government jobs that need doing too. It’s absolutly right that people should have to do something for their benefits however. and at the end of the day if they want a job this is a good experience
27 February 2012 at 11:26amPeter said:
In reply to Daves post above.
The adult JSA rate is £6.08p/hr, the Rate for 18 to 20 yr olds is £4.98 and 16 to 17 yr olds £3.68/hr.
JSA depends on whether contribution or income based. Let’s take an example of contribution based JSA which for a 16 to 24hr old is £51.85. On a JSA of £51.85 paying the minimum rate of £4.98, that means a 20 year old could be legally entitled to earn that sum by working just under 10.5 hours.
Given that firms have been exploiting the unemployed by them working many more hours than that above. In jobs like stacking shelves nights which I hardly call suitable experience or training but pure abuse. How about the people on work experience (out of their own choice) being allowed to do the minimum hours that the jsa will allow. Also why can’t firms sign an agreement that if the JS on work experience proves themselves satisfactory that a conditional job will result. Otherwise the only reason I see a firm offering it is to use people for cheap unpaid labour.
Congratulations to those down at Oxford Street this evening. Very good to see the union banners too.
29 February 2012 at 11:13pmPeter said:
The above first sentance should read minimum wage rate and not JSA RATE
29 February 2012 at 11:18pm