David Cameron - Slave Driver?

Article 4(2) of the Human Rights Act states ‘No one shall be required to perform force or compulsory labour.’ Despite this, many young people who are claiming jobseekers are finding themselves forced to work for free in fear of getting their jobseekers benefit cut. This is due to the Governments ‘back to work’ scheme.

The Back to work scheme is aimed at people between the age of 16 and 24 who have been unemployed for more than three months. On paper it seems to be a great idea, young people who are claiming benefits are given the opportunity to ‘volunteer’ for a company in order to gain experience. However the reality is not as good, under the ‘back to work’ scheme, many will be expected to ‘volunteer’ full time for up to 8 weeks. Working full time would usually see you earning around £182, based on you working 30 hours per week at minimum wage, yet many young people will be working full time for a pittance of £50 (the average amount of jobseekers benefit.) The word exploitation springs to mind.  It gets worse, if a person leaves their placement after the first week, they stand to lose two weeks of jobseekers. Therefore, it is somewhat baffling to me how the government can use the word ‘voluntary’, surely the potential loss of benefits just screams the word ‘compulsory’ or even ‘blackmail’?

The scheme will affect many graduates who are struggling to find a job. Claiming that it will help them gain vital experience. I am soon to be a graduate and for the past two months, I have applied for numerous jobs, even ones that I do not particularly want. I have even contacted over 20 law firms asking if I could volunteer a couple of days a week while I am still at university in order to gain experience. Call me crazy, but if I am in a position whereby I am forced to claim jobseekers whilst trying to find a job, I do not think that 8 weeks of forced labour in Tesco is going to help me do this.

The scheme has attracted a wealth of opposition, namely that of the Socialist Workers Party. Due to this opposition and the controversy of the subject, many companies have dropped out with Burger King being the most recent but others including Waterstones, Maplin, Sainsburys and Argos. Tesco have remained in but they guarantee a job at the end of the 8 week placement. Why wouldn’t they stay in, it just means that they can get 8 weeks of free slave labour. David Cameron's thoughts on the matter are 'Put a young person into college for a month’s learning, unpaid, and it’s hailed as a good thing. Put a young person into a supermarket for a month’s learning, unpaid, and it’s slammed as slave labour.’   -  Maybe that’s because it is Dave.

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