Oppose Welfare "Reform"

UNISON is supporting tomorrow’s lobby of Parliament on Welfare Reform, called by our sister union, PCS.

PCS are opposed to plans to privatise the public employment service and social fund.

They argue that the flexible new deal tendering process and the proposals contained in the bill should be abandoned. It is wrong to allow organisations to make profits out of the sick and unemployed.

They want to see the government focus on safeguarding and creating jobs instead of punitive sanctions and increased conditionality for claimants.

It seems ironic that the Government should step up the pressure to force claimaints into work just at the point at which the recession means that there are fewer employment opportunities – but this is not ironic at all.

During an economic crisis employers will seek to restore profitability by reducing labour costs and measures which increase labour supply, and encourage those thrown out of work to accept lower paid employment contribute to this objective.

This has nothing to do with modernising public services, except in the sense that the New Poor Law represented “modernisation” in the 1830s. There is further online comment here.

For those of us who cannot make it to the lobby of Parliament tomorrow – there is an online petition to sign.