A gun held to my head

Saturday 21st February 2009, 12:41AM GMT.

Letter: As one of the many unemployed people in the West Midlands, I feel I must make a point about how the Jobcentres are treating people who have lost their jobs, many through no fault of their own.

As an HGV driver I am looking for full-time employment, but the Temple St Jobcentre tells me that if I do not attend an “intensive activity course” at Biscom, School Street, for 13 weeks, five days per week for the grand sum of £15 extra per fortnight on my jobseeker’s allowance, then I will lose the JSA as well as my housing and council tax allowance.

If I attend this American-owned, private enterprise course for this period it will severely restrict me from finding work. This course is supposed to educate people to find jobs that simply do not exist.

I have refused to attend the course because I feel as if the Jobcentres and Biscom are putting a gun to our heads. I want others out there, who are actively seeking work, to stand up with me and be counted.

S Johnson, Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton.



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