Workfare taskmaster punched by angry Jobseeker in Ashton!

AS an old garrison town, Ashton-under-Lyne, has always had something of a reputation for being boisterous and rowdy. In Victorian times, the town had a reputation for being one of the most drunkenest towns in the North West. 

It therefore comes as no surprise to many of us, that we heard today during one of our regular weekly Ashton Jobcentre protest, that a downtrodden and miserable Jobseeker, had turned very nasty while on a placement with a so-called local training provider in Ashton-under-Lyne. We are reliably informed that this morning, a member of staff working for 'Avanta' in Ashton, was violently assaulted by a disgruntled inmate. 

We have been unable to establish why this incident occurred or whether the police were called. However, the CPS Jobcentre union, have reported that violent incidents directed against their own members have risen exponentially as benefit sanctions have increased and claimants have been put under greater pressure to meet targets.

One expects that violent incidents of this kind are likely to continue.

Ashton Jobcentre, New Charter Housing and Tameside Council, join forces to bully single mothers on benefits!

You really couldn't make this up. But in the delusional world of Tory welfare reform, anything is possible. It seems from a recent report that Ashton-under-Lyne, Jobcentre, are now targeting single mothers and re-branding them as 'troubled families', in order to get  people people off benefits or into work.

Under this bizarre scheme, which came to light when a single-parent jobseeker told protesters outside Ashton Jobcentre that she'd been assigned a social worker, because it was claimed she'd not done enough to find work, she was referred to a scheme called 'Troubled Families Wave 2 Joint Investment Agreement' being run by Tameside Labour Council in Greater Manchester. The scheme which is a joint effort between Tameside Council, Ashton Jobcentre, and New Charter Housing, assigns to single mothers, a social worker and key worker, who watch and monitor them until they find work.

Seemingly, Tameside Council have agreed to work with a minimum of 1,750 'troubled families'. In return the government provides a £1,000 fee per family. In addition, a further £800 result fee is provided to an agency which is to be 'New Charter Housing Ltd'. It is understood that tenders were not invited as no other outside agency was allowed to apply.

Nowadays, there is no shortage of tricks being used by Jobcentre staff as they are forced to hit 'targets' set by the government. In jobcentre parlance it is known as 'spinning plates'. However, using social workers to monitor and watch single-mothers now designated 'troubled families', seems to have worrying connotations. As social workers have 'statutory powers', we could see single-parents having their kids took off them if they don't do enough to find work.

For more about this story see above link.

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