A man has been ordered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to work for his old firm for six months without pay after they made him redundant.
John McArthur, an electronics specialist, revealed he?s living off 16p tins of spaghetti and without heating after being sanctioned by a jobcentre for refusing to work unpaid for LAMH Recycle in Motherwell.
McArthur stated that he was happy to work for LAMH under the now-defunct future jobs fund for the minimum wage in 2010-2011, but refuses to do so unpaid.
As part of his punishment for refusing to go on the 26-week community work placement (CWP), the DWP have brought McArthur?s unemployment benefit to an end until January, which has forced him to survive on a monthly pension of just ?149.
?It was simply a case of: ?Go here, work for nothing and if you don?t we?ll stop your subsistence level benefit,?? he said.
For around three months, the electronics specialist has spent two hours each weekday morning marching outside the plant wearing a placard reading: ?Say no to slave labour?.
LAMH admitted it had as many as 16 people working for free for six months under CWP but also stated that six had progressed into paid employment since the end of June.
The operations and development manager, Joe Fulton, insisted that the scheme ?worked for people who want to make it work for them?.
He also revealed that out of the firm?s paid workforce of 39, 25 had previously been unemployed.
McArthur claims he has been applying for 50 jobs a week without any joy and also accused the CWP programme of being ?entirely exploitative?.
He stated that it came at the ?expense of poor people who?ve got absolutely no choice?.
?The government deny it?s forced labour, that you can say no, but forced doesn?t always mean physical, it can be psychological or economic.
The person who is trying to survive already on subsistence level welfare has absolutely no choice in the matter especially if they?ve got young children to look after,? he argued.
Code:
http://www.hrgrapevine.com/markets/hr/article/2014-11-06-dwp-force-man-to-return-to-company-and-work-for-free
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