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Day 4: On-line Action against Community Work Placement Charities

[Photo: Sinister Pics]

[Photo: Sinister Pics]

As part of the Week of Action Against Workfare and Sanctions, on Thursday 5th December 2013, we’re focussing on the Charities that will be handing in their tenders today to access unpaid claimant workers through the new Community Work Placements regime.

Community Work Placements, originally announced by George Osborne as “Help to Work” on 30th September 2013, is a set of new measures that will be forced on claimants who have come through the two year Work Programme without securing employment. The scheme is described as an “intensive option” where the providers will “deliver mandatory work placements for claimants for 30 hours a week for up to 26 weeks, alongside supported jobsearch”. Or put another way, it’s a six month sentence to force claimants work for free or lose their benefits.

Typically the 33 companies who have the option of tendering for this new scheme are the very companies who currently run the Work Programme: the companies who failed to assist the claimants back into work over two years are now being given an extra six months to make even more money off the back of the unemployed! These “Employment Related Supported Services Suppliers” include three charities Boycott Workfare has flagged up before.

Take a look at their finances at http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/find-charities/ by inputting their charity number. Then e-mail or contact them on social media to express your distaste at their continued abuse of the benefits system to line their own pockets!

THE SHAW TRUST:
business.development@shaw-trust.org.uk (287785)
@Shaw_Trust
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaw-Trust/221553131217597

THE CONSERVATION VOLUNTEERS:
a.watmouth@tcv.org.uk (261009)
@tcvtweets
https://www.facebook.com/TheConservationVolunteers

GROUNDWORK UK
gduxbury@groundwork.org.uk (291558)
@groundworkuk
https://en-gb.facebook.com/groundworkuk

There are also two more charities touting for business as “secondary delivery providers”, seeking to subcontract from the above and the usual suspects such as Ingeus, G4S, A4e and Serco. They are the supposedly christian organisations The Salvation Army and the YMCA. Key in “Salvation Army” or “YMCA” to the web link above to find out how they are profiting in your locality. The details below are for their head offices in London.

THE SALVATION ARMY:
info@salvationarmy.org.uk
@salvationarmyuk
www.facebook.com/salvationarmyuk

THE YMCA:
press@ymca.org.uk or enquiries@ymca.org.uk
@ymca_england
www.facebook.com/YMCA.England

Don’t forget to sign the petition calling for an end to all benefit sanctions without exceptions:http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/benefit-sanctions-must-be-stopped-without-exceptions-in-uk