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United Kingdom
Related: About this forumUnemployed bussed in to steward river pageant (The Guardian)
Coachloads of jobless people brought in to work unpaid on river pageant as part of Work Programme
A group of long-term unemployed jobseekers were bussed into London to work as unpaid stewards during the diamond jubilee celebrations and told to sleep under London Bridge before working on the river pageant.
Up to 30 jobseekers and another 50 people on apprentice wages were taken to London by coach from Bristol, Bath and Plymouth as part of the government's Work Programme.
Two jobseekers, who did not want to be identified in case they lost their benefits, said they had to camp under London Bridge the night before the pageant. They told the Guardian they had to change into security gear in public, had no access to toilets for 24 hours, and were taken to a swampy campsite outside London after working a 14-hour shift in the pouring rain on the banks of the Thames on Sunday.
One young worker said she was on duty between London Bridge and Tower Bridge during the £12m river spectacle of a 1,000-boat flotilla and members of the Royal family sail by . She said that the security firm Close Protection UK, which won a stewarding contract for the jubilee events, gave her a plastic see-through poncho and a high-visibility jacket for protection against the rain.
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/04/jubilee-pageant-unemployed
A group of long-term unemployed jobseekers were bussed into London to work as unpaid stewards during the diamond jubilee celebrations and told to sleep under London Bridge before working on the river pageant.
Up to 30 jobseekers and another 50 people on apprentice wages were taken to London by coach from Bristol, Bath and Plymouth as part of the government's Work Programme.
Two jobseekers, who did not want to be identified in case they lost their benefits, said they had to camp under London Bridge the night before the pageant. They told the Guardian they had to change into security gear in public, had no access to toilets for 24 hours, and were taken to a swampy campsite outside London after working a 14-hour shift in the pouring rain on the banks of the Thames on Sunday.
One young worker said she was on duty between London Bridge and Tower Bridge during the £12m river spectacle of a 1,000-boat flotilla and members of the Royal family sail by . She said that the security firm Close Protection UK, which won a stewarding contract for the jubilee events, gave her a plastic see-through poncho and a high-visibility jacket for protection against the rain.
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/04/jubilee-pageant-unemployed
Cross-posted in LBN.
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Unemployed bussed in to steward river pageant (The Guardian) (Original Post)
Anarcho-Socialist
Jun 2012
OP
fedsron2us
(2,863 posts)1. Trial run for the Olympics ?
Apparently they also made an 86 year old woman and a 90 year old man stand in the pouring rain for 4 hours. The latter wound up in hospital. All a bit pointless really when they could have achieved the same amount of celebration by giving away free beer in pubs across the country.
non sociopath skin
(4,972 posts)4. Phil the Greek might be an old right-wing curmudgeon ...
.... but having just been through a prostate crisis and op myself I had a great deal of empathy with the old bugger. Apparently, he wasn't able to either have a drink of water or to go for a piss during the whole charade - ridiculous for a man of his age.
In the old days, ritual or no ritual, yer royals would have just had a jimmy riddle over the side. Serve 'em right if he'd done the same.
The Skin
lunasun
(21,646 posts)2. work camp trials for the jobless!
T_i_B
(14,749 posts)3. Avaaz petition on this subject.
non sociopath skin
(4,972 posts)5. Done.
The Skin
Anarcho-Socialist
(9,601 posts)7. I've done too