cheap labour??

[Tonka]

Some of these long term claimants came to work for me on the Future Jobs Fund thingy. And some of them, the ones who where any good, I gave a job at the end of it. They wanted work... most really wanted a job... particularly where I work as it's pretty good fun. That scheme was got rid of in the cuts though. I never saw it as slave labour. They got good training, and the chance of employment if they proved themselves.

In the distant past I used to do some security shifts at job centres. You can't generalise about the claimants. Every type of person comes though to claim of every class, career history, motives. Some people are trying hard and desperate others are parasites, who I would happily euthanize. The majority of people coming through did want a job... they just didn't want to be care-workers, which was what most of the vacancies were.
I think people need to have been on benefits quite a while before they are pushed into work... they used to just be pushed into training. You'd be surprised how hard some people would fight to get out of a free two week (part time) training course in IT.

I don't think I'm making much of a point to one side or the other. Just telling of my experience.