Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Harringay Homebase using unpaid jobseekers
As a regular Homebase customer I was pretty disappointed to read this in today's Guardian:
http://m.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/apr/06/homebase-criticised-wo...
Why are the jobcentres helping Homebase at a time when a lot of our Haringey community centres are in trouble and closing down? I find it hard to see how this is 'of benefit to the community', as this scheme is supposed to be. Surely this is effectively subsidizing Homebase with taxpayers money at a time when a lot of our community funding has been cut. I'd be interested to know who makes the decisions as to where work scheme participants go - looks like Finsbury park jobcentre in this case. I'm thinking it may be worth a letter to them (and Homebase).
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michele on
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Thanks for alerting us to what is happening at our homebase. I agree that it is outrageous that they are not being paid - it is free labour subsidised by us tax payers - not right where multi- million pound profit making companies are concerned. Back in the 80s (under the WEEPs scheme) if employers wanted to offer work experience to those on benefit they had to pay them a weekly wage and they came off benefit - I got a job at the time under this scheme, with a voluntary organisation working with single homeless people, and thus gained experience to becaome a paid housing adviser.
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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This article is very interesting on how big companies make their profits .http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/05/company-profits...
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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A couple of important skills that employers look for are being able to get up and out of bed on time to get to work and being able to dress/speak appropriately once you're there. These are things you "could" learn in a scheme like this. I'm not defending it, just saying that it's not purely born of some evil desire to profit from the unemployed.
While we're slagging off local builder's merchants and DIY outlets, I have never had anything other than patronising, eye rolling assistance from the staff at Hornsey Jewsons. They reminded me of Two Wheels Good. But I guess they did know what they were doing and were probably not paid much more than the staff at B&Q et al who are paid.
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I quite agree, John. They always act as if they've got far better things to do than serve customers.
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Permalink Reply by Juliawoo on
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If these schemes were thought out better and did not feel like this one does i.e cheap labour benefiting Homebase then they could have a place. As John said, giving long term unemployed a reason to get up, communicate and get some structure can obvious help with peoples self worth. However being treated as crap whether paid or non paid just makes my blood boil as they know they are caught in a catch 22. I hate going into DIY places as I do end up feeling small - they will end up going to the wall in the end as add nothing apart from convenience.
Also I just want to add into this in this vein that I used the Kwikfit in Crouch End the other day which again used to be a place that you would go into and feel patronised as a woman and the service I got there was impecable. They were efficient, friendly and non patronising and it was even followed up a few days later with a call asking for feedback on the service.
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I find it a little ironic that the so called 'workfare' scheme has emerged at a time of recession! Frankly there aren't enough jobs to go around so exactly what will be achieved by forcing people to work for benefits? If my memory serves me right this debate emerged from the case about a year ago of a woman with a degree who was doing worthwhile voluntary work at a museum being forced to work at Poundland or lose her benefits! This led to a number of well publicised protests and a number of chains stores pulling out of the scheme for fear of bad publicity.
I understand the points being made about people being motivated to work but the current economic climate isn't much of an incentive! In large parts of the country youth unemployment is very high with some sections of society at around 50%! It is clear to me that the only real objective of 'workfare' is to drive down pay and condition the nation into believing people should work for their benefits!
Again I understand individual's frustration at the lack of knowledge of workers in DIY stores but without excusing rudeness and sexism in the main I blame the lack of motivation down to how people are trained and treated - and ultimately how much they are paid!
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Now where the hell is that bugger Banksy just when we need him?
Homebase have a long hideous stretch of off-magnolia wall facing Endymion that's just cryin' out for a new Michelangelo or Hogarthian Work of Art, 'SLAVE LABOUR a la mode'. Homebase will ship it off to Miami's auction rooms by Monday, then we'll all get on our laptops like the clappers till Claire and Nilgun and Dlammy and all yell in Unison: "There go our People. We are their Leaders. Let's follow them all the way to Miami and back!" By then this "discussion" will have reached page 973 and taken over all the meeja, obliterating the Fatcher Funeral. We'll have our very own Banksy back where it belongs, and Homebase will invite in an International Consultant such as Bill Clinton to set up a proper Intern Service at the old zero rate but with a change of uniform every hour.
So, Banksy, slip in tonight and save us from our meandering maundering. Give us tonight a little of the old Whymark feelgood factor, the virtual moral outrage, the online people's self worth so we can work off our dudgeon in the Defence of High Art rather than have to waste it on these worthless workless no-goods who cannot even tell a superior customer the difference between Superglu and It-Sticks-Like-Shit.
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Permalink Reply by Gerry Platt on
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Anti-workfare protest at Homebase Harringay - Sun 14 July, 1pm 
As part of Boycott Workfare's week of action, Haringey Solidarity Group will be picketing outside Harringay Homebase tomorrow, Sunday from 1pm-2pm in protest at use of unpaid workers at their Willesden store.
Join us on Sunday 14 July, 1pm at Homebase Harringay, 430 Green Lanes, N4 1DT. by Harringay Green Lanes rail station.
Earlier this year, we picketed their store in response to their use of the Job Centre's work experience scheme which forces claimants to work for their dole, or face cuts to their benefits. Homebase later made a statement confirming they would not use any further recruits from the scheme, but it seems they have now gone back on their word and have been up to the same tricks at their Willesden branch.copied from:
http://www.haringey.org.uk/content/workplace/42-workplace/250-anti-...
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