Cadbury And Morrisons To Help Launch Mass Workfare Scheme

workfare-protestUPDATE: Morrisons are denying on twitter that they will use workfare and are simply offering 3 day unpaid ‘taster sessions’.  They also claim this scheme is not being run by Jobcentre Plus and is not connected to a DWP scheme, despite the DWP stating it is a partnership between the Jobcentre and the IGD.  According to the supermarket, the main aim of this scheme is to help someone with “CV writing hints, interview skills and presentation tips” and no-one will be sanctioned for not taking part.  However since participants are to be recruited from Jobcentres, the risk of sanctions will be very real and Morrisons will have no say in the matter.  It is unclear which of the companies involved in the scheme will use workfare, or the work experience ‘opportunities’ being encouraged by Employment Minister Mark Hoban.  Once again employers like Morrisons are finding out the hard way that any involvement with the DWP is toxic as Ministers will use their names and reputations to prop up the exploitative and failing workfare and sanctions regime.  See this comment for more info.

In a major blow to all those struggling to find a job, the greedy food industry could be lining up to hire over 15,000 unpaid workers the DWP have announced to day.

In a joint operation between the DWP and the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD), young people on benefits are to be expected to stack shelves and work on production lines for companies like Morrisons and Muller Dairy without pay.

This exploitative scheme – which will not just damage the chances of anyone hoping to find a real job in sector,  but could also be used to place pressure on the wages and working conditions of existing workers – seems to be yet another attempt by grasping supermarket and food producing bosses to bring workfare into their businesses by the back door.

According to the DWP, participants will attend “workshops, and interview sessions with HR managers” but more importantly according to Mark Hoban  businesses will be encouraged to offer “work experience opportunities”.  It is likely this will mean young people sent to work without pay for up to 2 months on the Government’s Work Experience programme.

Whilst this scheme is officially voluntary, if claimants refuse to attend then they could be sent on Mandatory Work Activity instead, which is backed by severe benefit sanctions.  With Jobcentre staff working to unofficial targets to sanction as many benefit claims as possible – and over a million sanctions expected to be handed out this year – nothing can be said to be ‘voluntary’ under the current Jobcentre regime.

Astonishingly there is no longer even any pretence that any of these workfare positions will eventually lead to a real job or even that they are valuable in helping young people find paid employment.  In a gushing press release, the only tangible benefit the DWP dare mention –  based on a pilot scheme last year – is that those forced to work for free might feel “more confident about applying for a job”.

The only people who will gain real benefits from Work Experience on this scheme are the food companies who are to be given an endless stream of tax payer funded free workers.  Meanwhile as the DWP well knows, these young people will no longer be included in the unemployment figures (although they are usually still included in the less reported Claimant Count).

The Head of Communications of the IGD is currently crowing about the scheme on twitter where he can be contacted at: @jonneal_IGD

According to DWP @Morrisons, Muller Dairy (@FreshMilkDaily) and Mondelēz, producers of @CadburyUK, are all involved in the scheme.

For all the latest news on resisting workfare visit: http://www.boycottworkfare.org/

Follow me on twitter @johnnyvoid

102 responses to “Cadbury And Morrisons To Help Launch Mass Workfare Scheme

  1. Cadbury used to be a quaker company FFS. They were one of the first industrial employers to introduce things like workers rights and benefits.

    Now they’re shitting all over their heritage.

    • Cadbury’s are now owned by Mondelez, formerly Kraft, so that says everything about how much they valued their heritage. Mondelez was created when Kraft demerged its snack foods business from its grocery business, and the snack business became known as Mondelez.

    • The Cadbury’s were philanthropists ffs – George had Bournville Village built to house the workers. We need to reseruct these guys and put them in charge of Government and kick IDS and that shower of shite to fuck.

  2. This is an absolute disgrace. Maybe some concerned country – or the United Nations – will intervene.

    • Can’t see it, Syria is surrounded by so called religious middle east countries and I don’t see any of them rushing to defend the Syrian children and civilians that are getting chemical weapons dropped on them.
      With the propaganda surrounding the unemployed in this country you will not see the rest of Europe and defo not America where we adopted new deal from, rushing to our aid.

    • Landless Peasant

      From an email I received via 38 Degrees:

      “The United Nations has sent UN Human Rights watchdog, Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik to Britain to investigate the link between the infamous “Bedroom Tax” eviction threats and rates of suicides in Britain.”

      So not Workfare or Benefit sanctions, but at least the UN are to investigate the Bedroom Tax issue.

      • @landless maybe the UN should invade the UK and free us from servitude?

      • landless

        Our governments answer to the UN will be to build more shoe boxes to make sure those concerned about extra cost can be manipulated into them.

        • @johnny void and all this wa scadbury reply on the FB page..

          “we’re certainly not using slave labour! During September we will be supporting a month long campaign in partnership with IGD – the independent food and grocery research charity. This month of skills, training and learning will be called Feeding Britain’s Future – Skills for Work Month.

          Young people will spend their time participating in CV and interview sessions with Mondelez International employees to help them develop their employability skills and improve their chances of getting a job. They will also be offered a tasting session, and where available a factory tour. Participation is entirely voluntary and they will not be asked to perform any work tasks; our sessions are purely to provide information about the careers we have on offer in our business.

          Young unemployed people taking part will receive help and advice to equip them better to get a job the next time an opportunity comes along – in fact 93% of the young people who took part last year said the training made them more likely to consider a job in the industry. We want participants to be able to go to their next opportunity, whether in the food industry or not, with the confidence to achieve a better outcome.”

          ie the usual bollocks i simply reminded them that the UK tax payer funded the kraft takeover of cadbury..

          • Why the fuck are we brainwashing kids into wanting to pack Dairy Milk boxes for a job?

            Christ in heaven, is this the 21st century? Are all the world’s problems solved and all of science uncovered? Are we living in a free technological paradise where all our wants are met freely? Why else would anyone advocate this utter nonsense. Our kids should be helped aspire to something better than working for these greasy cunts!

  3. will companies ever learn that being part of a slave scheme is so much more damaging to their companies precious reputation than they realise!, shame on them.

    • Another Fine Mess

      Wonder what time are they’ll have to close down their 2 facedbook page.

    • morrisons and tesco have taken a huge hit in the last two years because people are now shopping at aldi its where i shop and its far busier than my local tesco has ever been and the staff are happy and not bad paid and this workfare will only make more people desert them

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  5. What’s disturning about this is The Sun yesterday saying how 1,000 people are leaving JSA every day – Well, of course. Workfare slavery, sanctions, God knows what else …

  6. When will people cop on that this is …..15000 less ‘normal jobs’ that will now never be filled…..15000 less people who will be able to provide for their families or contribute less to society….just to satisfy the greed of the ‘few’
    To paraphrase Churchill ‘never has so much been taken from so many just to benefit so few”

    • The cost of food has increased too,even with free labour – how dare they?
      George Osborne on the Andrew Marr show yesterday praising the work programme and how successful it is. Successful alright in taking money out of the poorest peoples pockets and into their own and the robbing businesses they supply the work fodder to.

    • Another Fine Mess

      gfmurphy101
      You missed one. 15,000 people the taxpayer still has to pay for.

  7. Yet another step toward serfdom.

  8. diz this no make ye want tae take military action against WESTMINSTER

  9. Who cares? We shall just rob or kill to survive! Just hope it’s MP’s that are victims.

  10. Interesting how Mark Hoban is now being used for all things DWP and far less of IDS…

    I wonder if IDS is being quietly moved to protect him from the mess at the DWP and if Hoban is being set up as “DWP’s minster of failure” when the whole UC and reforms mess comes crashing down and will be handsomely rewarded after falling on the sword for IDS’s absofuckinglutly hufuckingmongous cock ups at the DWP.

  11. This is a National Disgrace to us all, how dare you make money of the bcks of those who have nothing. I wont be shopping with you for the long term , unless you stop this action.

  12. Morrisons are just trying to keep up with Tesco and Asda,both of whom already exploit this government hand out scheme. It makes one wonder how many politicians are on the boards of these companies.

  13. I will never use a Morrisons again. Nor will my entire family. Well done bosses, a proper shooting yourself in the foot exercise. I genuinely hope they go under.

  14. Jobseekers should sue the DWP for blatantly restricting and reducing the jobs available on their website, that as well as constantly duplicating job opportunities page after page on the Universal Jobmatch farce of a shambolic piece of shit.

  15. can we cadburys tio fuck off? like complain on ther facebook page and and all that stuff?

  16. Rosemarie Harris

    So Morrisons are taking FREE labour so does that mean we will get cheaper food or that these young people will get a food allowance? Other wise i don’t see why we should buy our food ….We should walk in and take it!
    While people are in this workhouse have fun with the items for sale!
    Fight back by losing them money It’s the only thing they understand!

    • @rosemarie harris whats the betting morrisons are also avoiding corps tax too? thats really taking the piss..

    • hey how is this for arrogance? cadbury contact form it has ‘praise’ in the top position..

      https://contactus.mdlzapps.com/form?siteId=Zv0BAiPw9HLxCuKyFDGRiyYZfufseHmj

      i wont be praising these arseholes..

    • See the update, Morrisons say they aren’t, and they are just running a three day scheme – sort of mini-workfare with CV training etc. What the other companies are doing is unclear. Hoban and the DWP are attempting to imply a work experience element, Morrisons say this is nothing to do with the DWP and they are just using Jobcentres to advertise the scheme, the DWP say its a partnership initiative.

      So, either this is a mish mash of workfare and training schemes, with some companies offering work experience and others three day ‘jobsearch’ training, or it is all jobsearch type stuff and the DWP is attempting to represent it as work experience because they want to use it to show big companies are still involved in workfare. It’s all very murky and someone is fibbing. Will keep an eye on it, be interesting what Cadbury say if they bother to say anything.

      • @johnny its a DWP fuckup like before….btw ive mailed cadbury and posted on their FB page dont foreget its a bigger pisstake with then because UK tax payer paid for the kraft take over and the bastards sacked some uk cadbury workers..

      • Maybe it’s a sign of panic at DWP that Hoban et al are spinning it as major “workfare” whereas Morrisons are saying “no no it’s just 3 days CV training”. Morrisons need to be made aware how toxic it is to get in with the DWP’s unpleasant schemes. I certainly won’t be shopping there again until they confirm that anyone stacking shelves for even 30 minutes will get paid for their work.

        Looking forward to the day when Hoban is on the dole and on the receiving end of all this himself.

      • Cadbury said exactly the same to me in an email


        Thanks for your email.

        During September we will be supporting a month long campaign in partnership with IGD – the independent food and grocery research charity. This month of skills, training and learning will be called Feeding Britain’s Future – Skills for Work Month.

        Young people will spend their time participating in CV and interview sessions with Mondelez International employees to help them develop their employability skills and improve their chances of getting a job. They will also be offered a tasting session, and where available a factory tour. Participation is entirely voluntary and they will not be asked to perform any work tasks; our sessions are purely to provide information about the careers we have on offer in our business.

        Young unemployed people taking part will receive help and advice to equip them better to get a job the next time an opportunity comes along – in fact 93% of the young people who took part last year said the training made them more likely to consider a job in the industry. We want participants to be able to go to their next opportunity, whether in the food industry or not, with the confidence to achieve a better outcome.

        Kind regards

        Izzy Ghafori-Kanno
        Consumer Relations Administrator “

  17. I work for the co-operative and can tell you that’s the store I work in has recently used workfare

  18. I shop at Morrisons, I will now say…I used to shop at Morrisons.

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  20. back to the Victorian era

    My cousin runs a small – 3 staff – printing business and JC+ contacted him to see if he would take a Workfare candidate. My cousin said yes and that he would pay over the minimum wage. First guy arrived and couldn’t speak English, second guy arrived a 19 year old guy and the first week he worked his butt off. My cousin was so impressed he offered the guy a fulltime permanent job and gave him a pay increase to boot.JC+ furious at my cousin as they state he should not have paid him at all coz they supply free labour and also it means that JC+ have one less employer and he will be unpopular with other employers who take Workfare candidates.cousin told them to f*** themselves as he at least has a conscience and he decided who to hire and fire.

  21. dont these cunts understand irony?
    “***Feeding Britain’s Future*** is about helping young people to understand the rules of the game. By offering valuable training in areas like CV writing and interview skills, we want to build confidence so they can compete in the jobs market.”

    whilst several million are using foodbanks just to get by….so they get free labour,,what to put the free foodbanks out of business?

  22. more from lord fraud “I mentioned Morrison’s earlier in connection with the wage invcentive. To give you more detail, the government will offer 160,000 wage incentives worth up to £2,275 each to employers who recruit an 18 to 24 year-old from the Work Programme or via Jobcentre Plus. ” fuck that shit they even pay the bastards to exploit people..

  23. Another Fine Mess

    “CV writing hints, interview skills and presentation tips”
    From Morrisons??? So they’re admitting the Waste Programme is a failure.

  24. Asda are doing the same. My daughter has to attend on 18th September. She felt like she had no choice,

  25. Knight_of_the_Poor

    Bravo, on another excellent post Johnny!

    Its becoming plain that the Tories are using Austerity as a cover for their moral crusade towards a return to Victorian values. They believe the poorest have been allowed to vote themselves largess from the public purse under the previous labour government and are determined to stamp on them.

    The end goal is to create a new workhouse without walls. Anyone working less than full time (for whatever reason) and claiming state aid will be sent to work for a big corporate as an unpaid grunt. The conditions for these workers will be predictably awful as employers don’t have to pay even minimum wage and know their ’employees’ cannot leave as they face sanction, the withdrawal of all aid and utter destitution. This follows the Victorian idea of ‘less eligibility’, making these peoples lives so bad that even a minimum wage job stacking shelves or sweeping roads will seem like riches.

    I’m sure that were the Tories guaranteed power in this country they wouldn’t hesitate to reintroduce a modern form of vagrancy law. Those who choose to stick a finger to the government by opting out of state aid and the workhouse would be actively criminalized layabouts and literally forced to work as punishment.

    On a positive note the Tories chances of winning the next election outright are diminishing weekly so fingers crossed people 🙂

    • I agree with everything you sat, but include in the unpaid grunts those working full time on low wages that rely on some form of benefit to survive; then it follows the terms and conditions of the better paid are under threat from the ‘competition’ of cheaper labour.

      As for vagrancy laws, one might argue they have already done so by criminalising some forms of squatting, that kept the homeless off the streets.

  26. Morrisons doesn’t even pay its own staff when it can get away with it, let alone the unemployed.

  27. Hypothetically if some poison (not fatal) or LSD were to be inserted into a few bars of chocolate….the chocolate would all have to be pulled from the shelves at a cost of £££££££ to Morrison’s. Oh dear, a whole batch ruined. Do that two or three times (protected by a wall of silence as all the other workers are being forced to work) and Morrison would see sense and start paying their workers or at least hiring free labour that they have to pay for.

  28. So that’s Morrison’s off the list then, where the hell can any of us shop with a clear conscience? And my suspicions about the Co-op were correct. As for Cadbury’s,( I hate chocolate,gives me heartburn) they’ve forsaken their Quaker origins where the health & welfare of their workers was a prime concern, now they’re just part of a greedy multi-national

  29. Well that’s me not eating cadbury’s or shopping in Morrison’s any more, when they lose money they will learn as this is all about making money with free labour.

  30. Don’t underestimate the DWP’s motivation. This is purely an exercise to reduce the official long term unemployment figures. They have done this with training schemes and education courses under New Deal. If the government had nothing to gain, they would not be interested in offering slave labour to companies; finding people real work is much more attractive and less costly.

  31. Are there any supermarkets that don’t use workfare? Is there a list anywhere of the companies who do?

  32. Cadbury are claiming on their FB that they are not using workfare

  33. “Taster session”, what the hell is that?
    I’m gathering it’s something along the lines of “here’s a pallet of stock, there’s the shelves. Get busy.”
    Because nobody can train to any standard in 3 days, and simply displacing items, is hardly anything of value, apart from to the employer.

    • They obviously think that lot’s of people are so thick that they can’t understand what a shit job working in a supermarket is until they experience it first hand! Perhaps some of the time is also spent explaining how retail workers can augment their pathetic wages by claiming in work benefits so that your income is topped up to something which you still can’t fucking live on!!

  34. and this was the reply from morrisons “The ‘Feeding Britain’s Future’ scheme is completely voluntary and is no way connected to Workfare.

    Alongside over 100 other companies we are offering a three day taster session of what it’s like to work in the food sector as part of a nationwide initiative from the IGD.

    Other companies, including all the main food retailers, are offering similar sessions. Morrisons candidates leave with a food safety certificate and CV writing and interview skills training. Last year, after giving close to 1,000 of these opportunities, we offered jobs to 96 of the candidates.”

    my reply was this “dear morrison dont you find it ironic that you are part of ‘feeding britains future’ when millions are using foodbanks?”

    • Morrisons candidates leave with a food safety certificate.
      And, Morrisons? Considering the fact that all you have to do is sit in front of a PowerPoint presentation for about an hour, then regurgitate what you’ve just learned with a sufficient level of accuracy to ‘earn’ your certificate, I’m pretty sure that ‘training’ isn’t worth the fees it costs you. Passed my own food hygiene and health and safety training with flying colours in 2008, and I’m technically retarded!

  35. email from cadburys “Thanks for your email.
    During September we will be supporting a month long campaign in partnership with IGD – the independent food and grocery research charity. This month of skills, training and learning will be called Feeding Britain’s Future – Skills for Work Month.
    Young people will spend their time participating in CV and interview sessions with Mondelez International employees to help them develop their employability skills and improve their chances of getting a job. They will also be offered a tasting session, and where available a factory tour. Participation is entirely voluntary and they will not be asked to perform any work tasks; our sessions are purely to provide information about the careers we have on offer in our business.
    Young unemployed people taking part will receive help and advice to equip them better to get a job the next time an opportunity comes along – in fact 93% of the young people who took part last year said the training made them more likely to consider a job in the industry. We want participants to be able to go to their next opportunity, whether in the food industry or not, with the confidence to achieve a better outcome.
    I hope this helps.”
    nope…

  36. http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/10425946.print/

    ” A new development and work experience initiative backed by several Bradford firms has been highlighted by a Government Minister as a good way to shape the skills of youngsters entering the jobs market.
    Employment Minister Mark Hoban praised the Our Club programme of six-week courses for unemployed young people, which is being piloted in Bradford, as a good example of a partnership approach to transform the experience of job seekers.
    The first course was launched last month by ***Morrisons*** and Bradford Bulls for a group of unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds recruited through Jobcentre Plus. They receive work-related training at Morrisons stores along with sports coaching techniques to help them in applying for work. Rex Procter and Partners and Lahore Cafe Bar are also backing the scheme.
    Speaking at a Bradford Enterprise Network event at Morrisons’ head office, Mr Hoban said: “Here in Bradford, Department of Work and Pensions is working to support Leeds City Region in realising their ambition to transform the experience of young people entering the job market and to shape the skills investment to align with the real growth sectors in the economy.
    “A good example of this sort of excellent partnership working is Our Club, a programme Morrisons have developed alongside the Centre of Coaching Excellence which is being piloted here in Bradford. The programme is being supported by a number of employers who are providing both the work experience element and guaranteed job interviews for all who complete the programme.”
    The Minister said the Government was giving training providers more freedom to tailor training to the needs of the local community and economy.
    “For example, DWP have been working with Bradford College to develop and deliver a number of training programmes including ESOL, Basic Skills, Employability Skills and sector-based work academies for a number of local employers, including Provident Financial and Torque,” he said.
    Mr Hoban said the recent welfare reforms were intended to make sure people could not “just sit on benefits”.
    “Of course we should provide financial support for those who are simply too ill or disabled to work, but for those capable of working they should do everything they can to find employment in return for the support taxpayers offer,” he said.
    Mr Hoban said the hidden success story in the labour market was that more people who weren’t looking for work were now doing so and getting jobs. “

  37. New attempt to demean benefit claimants launched by right-wing loonies

    New attempt to demean benefit claimants launched by right-wing loonies

  38. There was an old convention, I recall, where if you wanted some work doing you paid someone to do it. Or am I just imagining things? :v

  39. This government (at least and at most) is engaging in the whole sale betrayal and selling out of the futures of subsequent generations (and everyone else). David Fraud champions Premier inn for employing a few people (possibly on workfare). This is ridiculous.
    Cait Reilly has her future cut short because it’s piss easy politics to give her her marching orders and send her to Poundland on pain of sanction. She was already doing voluntary work. Instead of supporting her to use an expensive degree to the betterment of not just her life, but society, we send her to the nearest retail gulag.
    We expect this industry, a social cancer inexorably spreading across the land, to save our youth yet we do nothing about it’s reputation for poor wages and few rights. This has to be almost suicidal. Yet this government is condemning people’s futures, even at teh expense of their education, to this.
    Why are we not helping them learn, train and become something that has value? Why not help people express themselves creatively, or get involved in science and technology, in research and reason?

    No, it’s better they be grist for the neverending mill of the supermarket industry, or the budget hotel chain. Or any number of easy lazy short termist solutions that contribute nothing to a better, smarter, progressive, compassionate society.

    And this is how britain ‘competes’ on the world stage?

    • A lot of young people from working class backgrounds are getting into debt and training in the sciences, but unless you were educated at Eton and Oxbridge top jobs are both elusive and exlusive.
      Those like Cait Riley are told to go and work in a supermarket plus another job on top, they make laws to make sure they do in order to pay back their student loans which have kept dons and professors in a job, yet done nothing for the student.

  40. Pingback: http://www.isaved.eu-welcome-debt help-moneyRights and Remedies

  41. Ah, but just remember that this is part of a larger scheme to wipe us out. After this will come the ‘saving’ of the £108 billion annual costs of the NHS, meaning that only those above a certain level of income will be able to afford medical care. Frankly, I look forward to the day when one of my (as yet non-existent) children can cough in the face of a rich bastard’s kid, passing on the smallpox or polio they caught from an immigrant from a developing country.

  42. Ghostwhistler

    There will be plenty of middle and upperclass people employed in positions behind closed doors such as GCHQ or in labs supposedly trying to find cures for a multitude of illnesses that is killing off society, but before the terminally ill are ushered off they are being encouraged to run for their lives to attract sponsorship and funds for cancer research and other debilitating or incurable illnesses.
    No wonder there are so many wrongly diagnosed with cancer, it’s a huge money maker for the lecherous class.
    We have charities for Macmillan nurses, heart foundation and numerous other diseases that should be funded by the NHS not charities, yet we are told millions of extra cash is being poured by govt. into the NHS. They even have ‘health’ lotteries for God’s sake,( not much good for those addicted to gambling).
    The country is run by con artists for the benefit of con artists.

  43. Pingback: Cadbury And Morrisons To Help Launch Mass Workfare Scheme | the void « this 'n that

  44. Research report Self-employment,
    tax credits and the move to Universal Credit

    Click to access rrep829.pdf

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