'Should we starve the jobless back to work?' poll discussion

BigMummaF

teddyco wrote: »

....Britain used to make high quality products....

I fear that this one little phrase has summed up the whole state of affairs for this country. Britain USED to do so much more than we do now. We've four reasonably sized industrial estates within a three mile radius but if truth be told, the amount of units that are actually open for business could fit into less than one For pity's sake--you've only to pick up your phone to report a fault on whatever purchase to notice that the 'helpful staff' are living abroad these days!

I've only got to the bottom of page two & it is becoming apparent who has personal insight of living on Benefits. My aunt & uncle were the same & believed everything they read about 'scroungers' until it happened to them. They lived in a manufacturing area but within five years, seven of the biggest employers had transferred their operations abroad.
My niece is currently fighting the cause to keep her lecturers jobs at the uni--6 of her 8 classes are affected, in the so-called "important area" of science--so further education is also not an option. Not every parent can afford to subsidise their almost-adult child however much they would want to..
Child care is never 'free'; someone has to be held responsible for ensuring our most precious of assets--our children--are being cared for in a manner we would be comfortable with. CRB checks are horrendously expensive & take forever & a day to be completed. Same goes for care of the elderly & vulnerable.

It is so very easy to look at the notorious waste-of-spacers who do indeed, as mentioned in post 37, spoil it for every decent person who has fallen on hard times but please, also be mindful that you never know when it may be you standing in that dole queue.

Cerisa

I was unemployed for 2 months once. I applied for anythign and everything. I applied for jobs 20 miles from my home. I have a degree, but I applied for everything from professional roles to cleaning B&Q. The job centre were understaffed and kept tryign to put me in roles that required a car (when I don't drive). Quite often offices didn't want to employ me because I was 'over qualified' - they thought I wouldnt want to stay and they wanted people who would make a career out of it.

People who are on jobseekers get a more formal review every six months. If at any point you aren't looking for work, your benefits get cut off. The princely £45 a week they give you goes *no-where* particularly if you have to fork out for travel costs to interviews or temp jobs that go nowhere. I was still in massive debt at the end of the two months, which i'm still struggling to pay off. They mistakenly cut off my benefits, without telling me, due to a one off instance of work, and sent me letters threatening me with court, until I got the Citizen's Advice Bureau involved and was able to *prove* to them that I had been out of work. I had to give them bank statements, payslips and special documents to do this.

I have had jobs before where i've paid £300 a month tax. Surely that entitles me to be looked after by the state when i'm struggling?

I finally got a job through having my CV on Totaljobs.

Note the person who suggested this - a god**** LORD.

Someone who has never really *had* to work for a living. Someone who has never gone hungry, never eaten rotten parsnips cos it's better than starving, never gotten ill through walking to work in inadequate boots in the winter, never had to go in and beg their bank manager to extend their overdraft , only to hear no, so has had to go and beg relatives, via phone.

He is the last person who should *ever* comment on an issue like this.

Being on benefits is terrifying, humiliating and difficult, all the time. The offices that provide them make the whole ridiculous process worse (and when they !!!! up, the Housing Benefit office are completely incapable of making a sincere apology).

gems2381

cymraegjag wrote: »

Incidentally in addition I should state that I am registered disabled and currently recovering from breast cancer and yet still want to work. If anyone out there wants to give me a job I am even happy to move to where the work is. I don't think I can do any more than I am doing and it upsets me when all unemployed people are tarred with the same brush!

You're a perfect example of someone who NEEDS benefits, you've put into the system for years so fair enough I'm happy for you to get help the problem lies with those who have no intention of working and sadly that applies to far too many

BigMummaF

carlw wrote: »

....Secondly I would make anyone that has been unemployed for longer than 6 months earn their benefits. There are plenty of things that need to be done to improve society and clean up local areas and these can be done by benefit claimants’ as a way of earning their benefits. For example, gardening for the elderly, working in a charity shop, cleaning up graffiti, cleaning litter from the streets. I’m sure that councils could set up schemes that allow benefit claimants to work with an experience painter and decorator to decorate council flats that need doing, rather than subcontract it out. Given a few hours I could create enough work for every unemployed person in the county and make the country cleaner and tidier at the same time. Who knows with a bit of experience under their belts the claimant could then go on to become self employed.....

Only problem with this would be the INCREASE in unemployment, as the bosses would then rely on using people they didn't have to pay a full wage! It's a bit like using one machine to do the work of ten humans if you think about it..

Cerisa

surely if someone doesn't want to work they must be ill? mentally i mean? Mind you i say that because I can't imagine not wanting to work.

I think starving the jobless is sick and utterly ridiculous. Perhaps mandatory volunteering would be a better bet?

A friend of mine is on benefits. He volunteered at a garden centre, which led to one paid day a week, then through his friendly personality and excellent work he made connections which have led to job interviews.

Much more productive than penalising people for being unlucky. :beer:

cymraegjag

Thankyou to the people who have shown understanding. In the run-up to the election I have heard politicians and those who have never had to struggle cast unfair judgement on those who are unemployed. I used to work for the Jobcentre myself before I went into the private sector from which I have been made redundant. It is therefore even more humiliating to have to go and queue to sign on and see some people I trained on the other side of the desk. I am disadvantaged in my jobsearch as employers can't see past my walking stick and my age but I am still capable and willing to work for a living if given the chance. To say I am beginning to lose the will is an understatement and isnt helped by being made to feel totally worthless by those clawing for votes.

Cerisa

Ignore them. You have undergone a really traumatic experience and you are doing your best.

gems2381

Cerisa wrote: »

surely if someone doesn't want to work they must be ill? mentally i mean? Mind you i say that because I can't imagine not wanting to work.

A friend of mine is on benefits. He volunteered at a garden centre, which led to one paid day a week, then through his friendly personality and excellent work he made connections which have led to job interviews.

Much more productive than penalising people for being unlucky. :beer:

Not mentally ill just downright lazy some of them!

I was doing agency work and wanted to get into design (my degree is in underwear design) so I started doing one day a week at a design company as work experience so I could add it to my C.V. They soon offered me a full time job so only being paid 4 days a week and working for nothing on the 5th paid off for me.

Helen212322

I am due to be out of a job on 1st June and am currently searching for a job wherever I can. I have already contacted theJSA claim line and the job centre because if I do not find a job by June 1st I will not be able to pay my bills! I am only 24 and have either been an uni or had a job so far, and this will be the 1st time for me on benefits. It is not something I'm looking forward to, I would much rather be in a job right now, but the reality is that there is a distinct lack of jobs out there for people, and for every job there are literally hundreds of people applying for them. Benefits for me is a last resort but I don't see why I should be punished for the problems we have in the economy regarding finding a job; if I don't go on benefits from June 1st I will lose my flat.

Sometimes it isn't a case of 'living off benefits' because it's easier, some of us have to do it because we have no choice.

Cerisa

Exactly Helen.

and that safety net should be there for people with no choice