Her Majesty's low subjects

Coachloads of jobless people brought in to work unpaid on river pageant as part of Work Programme

The Guardian, Monday 4 June 2012 22.29 BST

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.

Close Protection UK confirmed that it was using up to 30 unpaid staff and 50 apprentices, who were paid £2.80 an hour, for the three-day event in London. A spokesman said the unpaid work was a trial for paid roles at the Olympics, which it had also won a contract to staff. Unpaid staff were expected to work two days out of the three-day holiday.

The firm said it had spent considerable resources on training and equipment that stewards could keep and that the experience was voluntary and did not affect jobseekers keeping their benefits.

The woman said that people were picked up at Bristol at 11pm on Saturday and arrived in London at 3am on Sunday. "We all got off the coach and we were stranded on the side of the road for 20 minutes until they came back and told us all to follow them," she said. "We followed them under London Bridge and that's where they told us to camp out for the night … It was raining and freezing."

A 30-year-old steward told the Guardian that the conditions under the bridge were "cold and wet and we were told to get our head down [to sleep]". He said that it was impossible to pitch a tent because of the concrete floor.

The woman said they were woken at 5.30am and supplied with boots, combat trousers and polo shirts. She said: "They had told the ladies we were getting ready in a minibus around the corner and I went to the minibus and they had failed to open it so it was locked. I waited around to find someone to unlock it, and all of the other girls were coming down trying to get ready and no one was bothering to come down to unlock [it], so some of us, including me, were getting undressed in public in the freezing cold and rain." The men are understood to have changed under the bridge.

The female steward said that after the royal pageant, the group travelled by tube to a campsite in Theydon Bois, Essex, where some had to pitch their tents in the dark.

She said: "London was supposed to be a nice experience, but they left us in the rain. They couldn't give a crap … No one is supposed to be treated like that, [working] for free. I don't want to be treated where I have to sleep under a bridge and wait for food." The male steward said: "It was the worst experience I've ever had. I've had many a job, and many a bad job, but this one was the worst."

Both stewards said they were originally told they would be paid. But when they got to the coach on Saturday night, they said, they were told that the work would be unpaid and that if they did not accept it they would not be considered for well-paid work at the Olympics.

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www.guardian.co.uk...

Under the bridge - you are lows !

This topic has been covered elsewhere. Methinks you should use the search facility and also actually add some narrative.

Regards

reply to post by paraphi


Here it is here.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Seems nothing has really changed over a few thousand years.

Royalty can only be royal if they have slaves.

reply to post by NuclearPaul


Off topic,
Can I just say I love your avatar and that it is good to see another South Australian on here.


On topic,
This is just disgraceful at best, how much does the monarchy rake in every year through taxation? This is the spit in the face that they give to the people struggling beneath them.
I for one cannot wait till English people rise up and do away with those good for nothing leeches. Get rid of their presence here in Australia while we are at it as well.

Originally posted by ThedeadeyesofCharlieSheen
On topic,
This is just disgraceful at best, how much does the monarchy rake in every year through taxation? This is the spit in the face that they give to the people struggling beneath them.
I for one cannot wait till English people rise up and do away with those good for nothing leeches. Get rid of their presence here in Australia while we are at it as well.

I for one cannot wait until us English people do away with the leeching commonwealth nations and their uninvited and unwanted opinions of the way we run our country.

This has already been posted, so you've obviously not bothered to search.

You've also lazily just copied an entire article and offered no discussion or comment.

Poor.