Will glue company come unstuck over ‘two weeks without pay’ offer to Universal Credit claimants?
Why is the Tory government allowing this?
A glue company called Bond It has advertised jobs via Universal Credit work coaches – which may sound great in these recession-ridden times.
There’s only one catch:
The firm is asking UC claimants to do the work without pay for two weeks.
Not only that, but the job does not appear on Bond It’s own site, nor is its two-week unpaid “trial” mentioned on any other site that advertises jobs.
As Ben Claimant points out below, it is specifically for Universal Credit claimants.
“I feel completely worthless”: #UniversalCredit claimants offered two weeks of unpaid work https://t.co/En1jwBOO2b
The job does not appear on the Bond It website and the 'two week unpaid work trial' is not mentioned on any other job site. It is specifically for UC claimants. pic.twitter.com/dJeB0GBsnz
— Ben Claimant 💚 Join a Union (@BenClaimant) August 19, 2020
And your Tory government supports this behaviour.
Your Tory government considers anybody on Universal Credit to be available to companies to work for nothing –
That’s slave labour, by the way!
– simply because they have to claim a so-called benefit that pushes them into poverty as a condition of claiming (that’s the intention of the five-week wait before payments begin), that punishes them if they are paid at irregular times of the month for the work they do, and that punishes them if they are unable to secure better-paid work.
Strangely, Labour has managed to actually ask the government what’s going on…
The rise of exploitative employment practices in the post-Covid economy? https://t.co/mj55qJAKck@HollyLynch5: "It is extremely concerning to see that the Job Centre are condoning such unscrupulous employment practices…" pic.twitter.com/wn7XonhZsU
— Ben Claimant 💚 Join a Union (@BenClaimant) August 19, 2020
… although it is doubtful anything will come of this.
The story in the New Statesman article refers to a person who was already claiming UC, so is familiar with its injustices already.
But millions of people have signed on as a consequence of Covid-19.
I hope they get job offers like this.
It will show many of them what they’ve been supporting all these years.
Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Here are four ways to be sure you’re among the first to know what’s going on.
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (in the left margin). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
The Livingstone Presumption is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
In my area there were such jobs on offer pre -Covid, being pushed by the Jobcentre. One such ‘opportunity’ was at a well-known biscuit manufacturers situated about 10 miles away from where I live. It was via an agency and involved two weeks of unpaid onsite training followed by one week unpaid work, after which applicants would be guaranteed an interview! So that’s THREE WEEKS of unpaid nonsense before you even get an interview for the job! Naturally I declined when the JCP Work Coach offered me a place on this exploitation experience. Many who did complete the three weeks were unsuccessful at interview and were not offered a job.