[lbo-talk] Dependency and wage labour doctrine in action in extremis

Hein Marais hein at marais.as
Thu Nov 11 02:34:18 PST 2010



>
> Judeo-Christian commandments and the permanent austerity of late
> capitalism: a perfect match. Smith has seen the future, and it
> doesn't work, but it shall.
>
> Hein
>
>
> Iain Duncan Smith: it's a sin that people fail to take up work
>
> Work and pensions secretary prepares to introduce the most severe
> welfare sanctions ever imposed by a British government
>
> Thursday 11 November 2010 09.11 GMT
>
The Guardian
> Ian Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, said today it was
> a "sin" that people failed to take up available jobs as he prepared
> to announce a tougher-than-expected squeeze on the unemployed.
>
>
>
>
>
> This will see the jobless face the threat of losing all benefits for
> as long as three years if they refuse community work or the offer of
> a job, or fail to apply for a post if advised to do so.
>
> In the most severe welfare sanctions ever imposed by a British
> government, unemployed people will lose benefits for three months if
> they fail to take up one of the options for the first time, six
> months if they refuse an offer twice, and three years if they refuse
> an offer three times.
>
> Downing Street sources said the new "claimant contract" will come
> into force as soon as legislation is passed, and may not wait for
> the introduction of a streamlined universal credit system in 2013-14.
>
> Duncan Smith will tell MPs today that he is introducing the biggest
> shake-up of the welfare system since the Beveridge reforms ushered
> in the welfare state after the second world war. He will say that a
> new universal credit system will make 2.5 million of the poorest
> people better off and reduce the number of workless households by
> 300,000.
>
> Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Duncan Smith said the
> sanctions would be applied to those who would not cooperate when
> work was available.
>
> He said that 4 million jobs were created under Labour, yet 70% of
> them were filled were by people from overseas because people from
> this country were not capable or able to take those jobs. "Surely
> that's a sin, that's the problem," the former Tory leader said.
>
> The key incentive in his measures was that "work should always pay
> and that you should be better off in work than out of work".
>
> He said the situation of one in five households out of work could
> not persist and needed to be changed and promised a package of
> support to help people overcome difficulties to get back into
> employment.
>
> He told BBC Breakfast: "We will help people look for work and get
> them work-ready; that will go alongside it. Then, if having done all
> of that people have a job offer, they should take that work. That's
> a condition most taxpayers would accept."
>
> The new workfare regime is certain to be criticised for expecting
> the jobless to take work at a time when unemployment is forecast to
> rise. The move could potentially leave thousands of people receiving
> no benefits other than some money to cover their housing costs.
>
> Duncan Smith said: "We are coming out of a recession, more jobs are
> being created ... It is not enough but it is growing all the time.
> As the economy grows and more jobs become available, all we are
> simply saying is, people have a responsibility now we are making
> work pay to take the job when it is available."
>
> The welfare white paper is deemed so groundbreaking that David
> Cameron chose to laud the measures as he landed at the G20 summit in
> South Korea.
>
> He said: "The message is clear. If you can work, then a life on
> benefits will no longer be an option. If people are asked to do
> community work they will be expected to turn up. If people are asked
> to apply for a job by an adviser they will be expected to put
> themselves forward. If people can work and they are offered work,
> they will be expected to take it. This is the deal. Break the deal
> and they will lose their unemployment benefit. Break it three times
> and they will lose it for three years."
>
> The regime will apply to all 1.6 million jobseeker's allowance
> claimants, irrespective of how long they have been unemployed. JSA
> is worth only £64.45 a week for over-25s, and No 10 said it expected
> the sanction to be enforced, once warranted, as a matter of course.
>
> Job advisers should not use discretion to let people stay on
> benefit, Downing Street said, arguing that too many advisers did not
> make use of the sanctions available to them.
>
> Many charities and local government leaders will be wary of offering
> work to unemployed people, especially if they have been in effect
> forced to take the work or lose benefit. The community jobs set
> aside for the jobless include clearing up litter and doing charity
> work.
>
> Cameron argues that the new regime is necessary to prevent a
> dependency culture. He believes a new universal credit system
> bringing together tax credits and a range of benefits simplifies the
> system so much that it will ensure work will always pay in
> comparison with staying unemployed. Ministers say that, with 5
> million people on out-of-work benefits and almost 2 million people
> growing up in workless households, they have to embark on "root and
> branch reform".
>
> The new universal credit, costed at £2bn for this parliament, is
> designed to remove the financial disincentives to work, ensuring
> that someone keeps a minimum 35p in every extra pound earned.
> Cameron said: "It simply has to pay to work. You cannot have a
> situation where if someone gets out of bed and goes and does a hard
> day's work they end up worse off. That is not fair and sends
> entirely the wrong message."
>
> Duncan Smith will cast his reforms as a "once-in-a-generation"
> attempt to get the jobless back to work. But the man credited by
> Duncan Smith as his greatest influence on poverty reduction
> criticised the changes. Bob Holman, an academic and community worker
> from Glasgow who has worked for Duncan Smith's thinktank the Centre
> for Social Justice, accused the work and pensions secretary of
> forcing people into "degrading" jobs.
>
> Asked his opinion about Duncan Smith and his plans for welfare
> reform, Holman said: "Well, my view has taken a bit of a dent. When
> Iain came to Easterhouse [in Glasgow] in 2002, one of the things he
> expressed admiration for were unemployed people who were working or
> giving their time as volunteers to our project … Now he seems to
> have turned that on its head.
>
> "He seems to be regarding them with disrespect and saying 'you're
> not really a part of society. We're going to force you to do these,
> what are really degrading jobs,' which won't equip them for
> anything, but in a way are punishing them for not working and in a
> climate in which jobs are hard to get."
>
> Douglas Alexander, Duncan Smith's Labour shadow, told BBC Breakfast
> that his party supported moves to simplify the benefits system, but
> concerns remained about job availability.
>
> He said: "If we can have a simpler benefits system that removes
> disincentives for people to get into work, we will support them.
> That was a big part of the work we were trying to take forward
> ourselves when we were in government."
>
> He added: "Our real concern is this: without work these changes
> won't work. If you are going to move people from welfare into work,
> there needs to be jobs for people to take up ... It is important to
> remember that if you get these changes wrong, you could end up with
> a higher welfare bill not a lower welfare bill."
>
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> Jobless claimants face tougher rules
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> Severe welfare shakeup will introduce claimant contract with up to
> three years' benefits penalty for refusing a job
>
> Related
>
> 26 Oct 2010
>
> Iain Duncan Smith's bus advice reveals a poor grasp of work and jobs
> | Neil Lee
>
> 22 Oct 2010
>
> Iain Duncan Smith tells unemployed they should get on the bus to
> find work
>
> 6 Oct 2010
>
> Welfare reform: Poverty trapped | Editorial
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> 5 Oct 2010
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> Banished from the city | Lynsey Hanley
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