Tories propose ‘boot camps’ for unemployed

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

Young people could be put into employment “boot camps” rather than given benefits for staying at home, under a new Conservative initiative to force the work-shy into jobs.

Chris Grayling, shadow work and pensions secretary, will propose tougher rules for people aged 18-21 designed to take them off benefits, so that “staying at home doing nothing will be a thing of the past”.While I accept there are a good number of our population that could be classed as work shy I myself doubt that there are enough full time jobs out there for everybody, methinks this is just another scheme to push unemployment figures down. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5f0b61d4-2a97-11dd-b40b-000077b07658.html

[Calanen]

While I accept there are a good number of our population that could be classed as work shy I myself doubt that there are enough full time jobs out there for everybody, methinks this is just another scheme to push unemployment figures down. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5f0b61d4-2a97-11dd-b40b-000077b07658.html


Depends where you live, like most things. Australia has a massive welfare dependant population. As does the UK. If you are prepared to move to London, you can get a job. Enough Australians have shown that.

[wagon]

Depends where you live, like most things. Australia has a massive welfare dependant population. As does the UK. If you are prepared to move to London, you can get a job. Enough Australians have shown that.

What, we have dole bludgers in Australia? I wouldn't have known! Schemes like that proposed will probably only see 'genuine' unemployed, rather than dead$hit dole bludgers. But it is worth a try.

[oldsoak]

This is what p*sses me off - we get told we need immigrants because we dont have enough young people in work in an ageing population - but we have this pool of unemployed thats paying nowt in taxes - which 'kin one is it ? If theres no jobs then immigrants arent the answer, if there are jobs then we need get our b*ggers off their brown eyes into work.
Labour wont shake the social security aspect too much because their afraid of loosing votes - despite the fact that most professional unemployed I meet vote Tory.

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

This is what p*sses me off - we get told we need immigrants because we dont have enough young people in work in an ageing population - but we have this pool of unemployed thats paying nowt in taxes - which 'kin one is it ? No easy answer is there, Labour rolled over to certain groups in business such as food processing and farming which were being squeezed by the large retailers, the only way these businesses were going to survive on slim margins was by using labour at or below the minimum wage.
I say below minimum wage because of the kickbacks and rebates that gangmasters and agencies offer to employers, take on 20 guys for 6 months and the agency will rebate you at the end of the 6 months the money coming from deductions the agency takes from the wages you could get maybe 8% back.

[oldsoak]

Is it worth doing wage subsidies for UK industries to take on more employees ? ( can of worms that that is ) . If they split costs 50-50 it might cost the Government and business less.

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

Is it worth doing wage subsidies for UK industries to take on more employees ? ( can of worms that that is ) . If they split costs 50-50 it might cost the Government and business less.They tried it in the early 80's despite the fact that I was one of the people on the scheme I never found out how much my wages were subsidised, the deal was the company would get money for the first year that they employed you the great hope being that you would be kept on after the first year which mostly never happened. A well known billionaire not far from me got through a wad of staff on this scheme, the area is chock full of people who can lay claim to the fact they worked for this guy in the early days of his business.

[wotsnext]

Sounds to me like another load of Tory bull****!

[Clayton Gold]

We had a similar program here in Ontario a few years back called 'workfare'. I'm not too sure of any successes it had, but I do know that it no longer exists. p-)

It's a noble idea, with benefits for all sides, but it was already mentioned that it seems to nail only the "genuine" unemployed people, and the wellies will still find away to avoid work while being paid for it.

[little icebear]

Typical so called "conservative" populistic BS.

[Marshall_Nord]

Typical so called "conservative" populistic BS.

And the typical “liberal” B.S. is better?

Maybe the West needs a more “masculine” approach to social problems then the current “feminine” cradle to grave approach?

[MaDuce]

You know bread and circus didn't end up well for Rome.

[a_very_ex_STAB]

IIRC the Tories tried this in the Thatcher era. It didn't work.

Unfortunately simplistic 'solutions' always fail to adequately address complex problems.

[Ordie]

Given that UK is part of the EU, I'm surprised Britons do not take employment and educational opportunities within greater Europe.

[a_very_ex_STAB]

Given that UK is part of the EU, I'm surprised Britons do not take employment and educational opportunities within greater Europe.

What makes you think they don't?

[Ordie]

What makes you think they don't?

The Tories make an image that there's many on the dole with no options. I don't know if this is true, it's been 17 years since I studied in London during a semester abroad program. (pre-1992, pre-EU). Back then Leicester, Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham were very depressing cities both economically and socially.

[a_very_ex_STAB]

The Tories make an image that there's many on the dole with no options. I don't know if this is true, it's been 17 years since I studied in London during a semester abroad program. (pre-1992, pre-EU). Back then Leicester, Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham were very depressing cities both economically and socially.

Liverpool still is. It's always been a complete sh1tehole. It's like Naples (but with rain).

The same cannot be said for those other cities really.

Generally speaking unemployment levels are fairly low in the UK at the moment. Certainly lower than in the Thatcher era and when you say you were here.

[loganinkosovo]

Good thing you don't have the ACLU over there. They would be all over this as a violation of the useless bastard's Civil Rights.

They tried Workfare in San Francisco years ago and got sued up the waazoo. And that just made them sweep the streets for a few hours a day not slaming them into a proto-military environment where they would be held responsible for their own actions.....The Horror!

[little icebear]

Good thing you don't have the ACLU over there.

I´m sure they have something like this, but for rather obvious reasons it´s not called ACLU...