Workfare – a Blast from the Past? Contemporary Work Conditionality for the Unemployed in Historical Perspective

Abstract

During 2011 the UK Government introduced the Mandatory Work Activity scheme which requires JSA claimants to work in order to continue receiving benefit. Workfare has been viewed as a radical departure in the evolution of British labour market policy. However, an historical review of workfare in inter-war Britain reveals that the most recent proposals merely resuscitate a heritage of compelling the long-term unemployed to work for their benefit. Both then and now workfare has flourished in times of economic crisis and particularly where Governments have pursued economic theories which exalt the market. Historical analysis reveals important continuities and changes in the nature of contemporary workfare.

The changing shape of provision for rough sleepers: from conditionality to care

“…These measures are aimed at instilling the desirable individual qualities that will produce socially acceptable behaviour (Fletcher and Flint, 2018). The negative affects of this has been evidenced not only in the UK, but across other advanced liberal democracies that have likewise moved towards conditional welfare regimes (Parsell and Marston, 2016;Fletcher, 2015;Watts et al, 2014).…”

Vulnerability of the ‘Entrepreneurial Self’: Analysing the Interplay between Labour Markets and Social Policy

“…Moreover, following Fletcher (2015: 335), ‘[c]ontemporary conceptualisations of workfare have often focused on its compulsive and punitive function’, which is in line with the assessment of Deeming (2016) who states with respect to the case of Australia that punitive workfare is ‘designed not only to deter citizens from making welfare claims but also to act as a regulatory labour market push factor, forcing low-skilled workers to accept low-waged jobs’ (p.168) – a quote mirroring Dean's (2012: 354) assessment that, despite unemployed persons being generally motivated to regain employment, British governments have used ‘ever more draconian labour market, welfare-to-work or workfare schemes’ as sticks to increase labour market participation. Overall, we therefore agree with Lessenich's (2015) conclusion that the activating welfare state is not only subject to the transformations of global capitalism but acts itself as a key agent for the generalised mobilisation of society and its members – following a rationale that goes beyond the more narrow realm of activating labour market policies or workfare, that indicates a profound adjustment of the relationship between individuals and state agencies, and that is in itself a source of increased vulnerability.…”

Sosialhjelp som internasjonalt forskningsfelt: Utfordringer og muligheter

“…2012:263). Det kan virke harmløst, men å beskrive velferdsstatlig utvikling gjennom enkle dikotomier fremmer ikke innsikt i hvordan sosialpolitikken har blitt formet over tid og gjør det enkelt å overdrive hva nytt politiske reformer bringer med seg (Dostal 2008;Fletcher 2015). Dikotomien passiv/aktiv impliserer et narrativ om velferdsstatlig utvikling som innebaerer en grov forenkling av måten moderne velferdsstater har utviklet seg, og som det er lett å tenke kan låne augmentativ styrke til politiske aktører som ønsker å drive politikken i en bestemt retning.…”