Unemployed people need real experience of a proper paid job to get back into work

date: 1 October 2013

embargo: For immediate release

Commenting on proposals announced by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith today (Tuesday) that job seekers will have to spend 35 hours a week in job centres in order to claim unemployment benefits, TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said:

'Iain Duncan Smith always wants to blame the unemployed for not having a job. He is too out of touch to tell the difference between those who are cheating and those who are already trying their hardest.

'What long-term unemployed people need is proper support and real experience of a paid job, not a one-size-fits-all sanctions regime that cannot tell the difference between fraud and hardship, and too often drives people to food banks.'

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