How do we solve the unemployment crisis?

[rov1100]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15271800

With millions lanquishing on the dole drawing unemployment and housing benefit how can they be put to better use?

Many have suggested they do some community service. The objectors say because they are being rewarded with less than the minimum wage it is a form of cheap labour.

There is a way round this! The amount paid to the claimant should be used to calculate the number of hours doing community service based on the minimum wage.

So if a claimant received say £140 p.w. based on approx £7 hour minimum wage he would need to do 20 hours community service/week.

We already have communiuty services up and running at the momjent: they could join these.

[Kayless]

Well those on the rock and roll certainly need to do something for the funding for their fags and white lightning

[ummmm]

So all unemployed people smoke and drink cheap cider? How ridiculous...!!

[New Judge]

It’s a great and sensible idea, rov and one with which I heartily agree. It has been “announced” as policy many times, but that’s as far as it has ever got and, unfortunately, as far as it ever will.

Broadly speaking there are two types of claimants: the first are those who want to work and have difficulty finding employment for various reasons; the second are those who do not work, have never worked and have no intention of ever doing so. Some of those in the first group may welcome the scheme. They may well feel that doing something useful (albeit for little pay) helps them maintain their self-esteem whilst they get back to “proper” work. Most of those in the second group will no more co-operate with the scheme than they will go and actively seek work.

Of course for the scheme to work there needs to be an element of compulsion and that is where it will fall down. There is no way on earth that the courts will sanction such action and the first claimant to have their benefits withdrawn for refusal to work who takes the matter to court will be successful. The trade unions will also have something to say. They will contend that if people on the dole can be paid to do work then those employing them should employ them properly.

A great idea, nonetheless.

[ludwig]

I see those in your second group as government employees anyway NJ. Being paid to do the vital job of staying at home and therefore not corrupting the nation's workforce with their bone idleness and dishonesty - leaving more jobs available for those in the first group who actually want them.
There's an argument that it's money well spent.

[DTCwordfan]

perhaps make it two tiered

a slightly higher rate for those who take up community work (and by the way don't forget us carers too), financed by a lower rate of JSA etc to those who show no action to get a job....

[sandyRoe]

If there were 10 jobs available for every unemployed person they'd need to be able to show a very good reason to be claiming benefit. That's not the case. There are areas where there is massive long term unemployment. Contrary to what some people think, a life on benefits is one of poverty, gradual loss of self esteem, and depression.

[naomi24]

Sandy, //Contrary to what some people think, a life on benefits is one of poverty, gradual loss of self esteem, and depression. //

That might apply to people who want to work, but it doesn't apply to those who don't want to work.

[sandyRoe]

There comes a moment when the long term unemployed accept their lot. Then all that I mentioned 'kicks in'.

[naomi24]

Well, I wish something would kick in for the lazy sod of a son of my neighbours whose 'bad back' has kept him on benefits for years. It doesn't seem to prevent him from digging their garden, and chopping their trees down.

[sandyRoe]

Can we really know why he's on benefits? He could have mental health problems, for example. Not all disabilities are visible to neighbours. ;-)

[naomi24]

He hasn't. He's a lazy, scrounging sod.

Sorry rov, I've gone off track here. I'll leave that at that.

[WELSHYORKIE]

Naomi - pick up the phone and report him then. Or even better take video footage and send that in to the social. I have nothing but contempt for these skivers

[Postdog]

They did a similar sort of thing in the eighties called community programmes - peronally I hope that sort of thing never returns. The whole scheme was bogged down by protocol an paperwork.

[Old_Geezer]

Community service is not an answer as if it needs to be done then it ought to already be advertise as reasonably paid jobs. It's no good deliberately keeping jobs off the market in order to get folk to do them without pay. Unless it is a deliberate attempt to demoralise folk.

We have a welfare service not a workhouse system in this country. There sholud be no desire to turn the clock back to Victorian times.

If you wish to solve an unemployment crisis either generate more jobs in the economy, or a quicker solution is to accept we have more unemployed than we have job poitions going, and so lower the retirement age to free up positions for the unemployed.

[steg]

maybe they should cut the working week to 3½ days, then there will be double the amount of jobs available

[Old_Geezer]

True, but some jobs are difficult to split. Needs one person hacking away at it. And unless salaries doubled we'd all be taking some kind of welfare income supplement in order to pay the bills.

[New Judge]

Strangely, steg, I was at work when computers first made their presence felt in the workplace. The “exciting developments” which were forecast for the coming years would see everybody working not 40 or 45 hours a week, but as little as 20 or 25 as mechanisation gave us all extra leisure time.

Unfortunately it didn’t quite work out that way. Some people have vastly increased leisure time (around 100%) whilst others work longer and longer.

Having said that, I still cannot understand how some young people can arrive as strangers to these shores, coming sometimes from halfway round the world, and within a few days have a job and somewhere to stay. Meanwhile some of the home grown variety (such as the lazy sod which Naomi describes) cannot get any work at all.

[sp1814]

It may actually depress the market for low paid and/or unskilled jobs. Companies will jump at the chance of employing resources 'on the cheap'. They will be completely at liberty to pay below market value, and there's no guarantee that the government will pick up the shortfall (why should they?)

Because of this, wage inflation wil be driven down (which is a good thing), but it will have the additional problem of ensuring that more people are pushed below the poverty line.

And then there's another problem - would someone forced to work actually care enough to do a good job?

Another thing - you can't force private companies to take on the long term unemployed, so who's going to employ them? The public sector?

The same public sector which is facting swingeing cuts in their budgets at the moment?

Initially what may sound like a pretty good idea would eventually throw up a number of practical problems.