SOME critics have condemned it as a return to the Victorian workhouse ethic.Others believe it to be a sensible use of resources in a time of cost-cutting and budget restraints.Either way, the proposal by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith to have jobless people doing manual labour has provoked a major debate.Mr Duncan Smith believes it is sensible for unemployed people to be given short placements to do manual tasks, such as picking up litter, gardening for the elderly or tidying up communal areas.He believes they would benefit from getting into a routine of turning up for work and denies the suggestion that they are being treated like criminals sentenced to do community service.Kirklees Council, leader Mehboob Khan is one of many who have opposed the idea.He said that people who lost their jobs were “workers not shirkers” and said it would lead jobless people to feeling victimised.Clr Khan is in the unfortunate position of having to oversee huge job cuts within the local authority, with the workforce being cut by at least 1,400 to meet tough budget constraints. That will inevitably mean some services previously offered by the council will not be there in the future.Is it right that some of the workload should fall on people who are out of work? Perhaps so, but not under duress.Read
