The Slavery of Todays Young?
by Why are people mocking Cait Reilly’s decision to take the government to court over being forced to work full time for nothing? Surely we should be supporting her whole heartedly because what the government is enforcing is nothing but slavery under a pretty name. The minimum wage is there for a reason, and this is exploitation pure and simple.
Cait Reilly is being openly mocked by many of the newspapers and probably many people in secure full time work, for threatening to take the government to court over being forced to sweep floors at poundland for nothing. For some reason in todays society people seem to see the enforced slave labour of a 22 year old graduate who in hard times cannot find a job as natural. For some reason people seem to see her reaction to this as unreasonable.
But hold for just one second here. Would you be happy to work full time for absolutely nothing no matter how hard up you were? The answer of course is no. That is why we have such a thing as minimum wage. The government is seeing fit to bypass the laws regarding minimum wage because they see themselves as above the law. And so yes, I would say she has every right to take her case to court. I would also hope to God she wins her case because in this scheme the government is simply taking advantage once again of the younger and more vulnerable section of our society.
If Poundland or Tesco’s or Sainburys want someone to sweep their floors then they can afford to pay for it, but the government has decided that paying a fair wage for hours worked isn’t important anymore. Simply getting people out the house is. When I had been unemployed for over six months I was put into the Future Job Fund programme which offered menial work for minimum wage. I was a graduate from a respectable university and I was over the moon at this opportunity because it was a proper job that paid. If they had tried to put me into the same situation as they have put Cait Reilly in then I would be travelling down the same path she is now, because enforced slave labour can never be right.
The message to the unemployed is ‘If you want a job then you have to work to get it’, and that is fair enough. Most of us were perfectly willing to do that, for a fair price. What is unfair, unreasonable and I am right behind Cait Reilly when I say downright illegal, is expecting people to work for nothing and refusing to support them if they don’t. Any idiot knows that employers take voluntary references less seriously than full time paid work, and so anyone doing that job knows that is a pointless endeavor anyway. It is one thing to actually volunteer your services for a cause you believe in like Acorns or Cancer Research; it is another to be forced to take a role in one of todays society’s big names like Tesco’s or Poundland. The first is doing something worthwhile for society. The second is being taken advantage of pure and simple. Or in a more simple term; slavery.
I’ve been through the system when it was done correctly; offering a low paid six month contract with the promise of a proper reference if the job is done well. That is the moral and decent way to do it. To force someone to work full time for absolutely nothing under the threat of nothing to live off and therefore poverty is disgusting, disgraceful and completely below what I would expect of anyone, let alone our government. Cait Reilly is not complaining about the menial job or that she is better than that, what she is complaining about is that she is being forced to work for nothing. This is without a doubt a breach of human rights and the government should be ashamed of itself for even suggesting it, let alone enforcing it.
I wish Cait Reilly all the best in her court case and I hope it goes in her favour. Because slavery is never right no matter what name you call it. And the minimum wage was put in for a reason.
For more information on youth unemployment please read about possible solutions to the problem and about the Future Job Fund
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Post Commentavissado
On January 26, 2012 at 9:40 am
the situation sounds scary!
sloanie
On January 26, 2012 at 8:51 pm
I completely agree with your article.
No one should be expected too work for nothing.
I fear we are entering dangerous times.
Kristie Claar
On January 30, 2012 at 9:55 am
The only people who should work for nothing is those who are volunteering. Or those who may be on community service or on litter patrol from the prison, but to be honest, I think the prisoners actually recieve some wages for being a clean up crew. Well shared article.
Bruce Officer
On February 2, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Tricky one. I assume she is at least receiving benefits, and what they are asking her to do is to work to retain those benefits (I don’t keep up with the news so I’ve not heard the story). If someone is on benefits long term then I do think it is right that they should have to do some work to keep the benefits, but not full time (they need to be allowed time for training and for applying for proper jobs after all) and certainly not for a commercial company. Instead, they should have to do work that benefits the community, because it is the community (through their taxes) who are paying for the benefits.
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If, however, what’s happening is that she is being forced into voluntary unpaid work, then that is even worse. Voluntary ceases to be volutary when it’s done under the threat of something. I have severe reservations about the whole idea of voluntary work, anyway, when it’s for a commercial profit-making company. It seems, as you say, to be a way around paying the minimum wage.
Karen Gross
On February 4, 2012 at 2:30 am
The idea of having able bodied people who are living on government benefits work does make sense, but is very difficult to enforce. There should be some compensation for being willing to do menial labour while looking for a job.
In Canada, you have to prove that you are looking for work in order to continue to collect benefits. You have to go to a minimum number of job interviews and get the interviewer to sign a form that proves you were genuinely seeking employment.
Tiki33
On February 16, 2012 at 1:48 am
Wow! Many work full-time and still don’t bring enough home to their families. Slavery is here and it may take a long time for it to change. Working hard to get nowhere is depressing. Some make more working in their own homes. Thanks for sharing!