Another day, another appointment, another back to work initiative.
I'll sum it up right away: these organisations lack a class analysis. The response will be that these organisations are not built to topple governments. Moreover they aren't political. Obviously the former is true, but the latter? Notsomuch.
The organisation this time is called Fedcap Employment. As you can see from their website it is typical of the kind. A lot of positive sounding spiel, but where is the substance? Unfortunately from my phone call this morning, I'm still unsure. It is, they claim, a customer (that word again) led service. This is either very positive or an excuse to mess people around offering nothing. Sadly my experience is that such organisations invariably become authoritarian the longer you remain with them without providing a result they can score.
Maybe that's unfair in this case, maybe they are the exception, but I'm not encouraged. These organisations aren't really built to effect real change. They might help a school leaver get a job at a supermarket or an apprenticeship with a nail bar. But building lives and careers?
That's not to criticise those people in supermarkets and nail bars, and it's sad to have to point that it. A sad indictment of capitalism that it's necessary to do so. I however don't want to work for ASDA nor a nail bar. You do you, as they say. I make no apology for it.
Because of the "customer led" nature of their service it becomes impossible to get any answers about how this would work. I had concerns that, if things didn't work out, I could walk away without consequence - specifically without getting into trouble with the DWP. This seemed to be a confusing question, which itself is a problem. I'm still not entirely clear what happens if I decide I don't want to continue after six months and I'm damn sure I'm not interested in going through the crap I had with Team North Somerset last time.
In the end it's just a sales pitch. The person I spoke to was very nice. The person she said would be my "key worker" is likewise I'm sure very nice. But that doesn't really mean anything. I asked if he had any experience dealing with mental health. Beyond some perfunctory training, no. Hmnn, that is an issue. Or at least it could be. This appears not to be a specialist organisation. I don't know what he'll expect of me and my concern is that, sooner or later, within the fifteen months the scheme runs, they will want results. All these organisations do. At that point they pull the rug from beneath you and things start shifting against you, gaslighting you. I cannot go through that crap again. It's incredibly damaging.
I said I would like to think it over, and I asked if there was some more in depth information she could send me. In fairness she agreed, hopefully without thinking "yeah, that guy's a flake". Of course if that is what she thinks, that sort of proves the point.
To return to my initial summation, a class based approach is vital because only that can deal with the systemic nature of the problems people face with unemployment and society. Anything else is just a sticking plaster at best. Gaslighting and victim blaming at worst. But unfortunately the nature of these organisations and their place in society precludes the former and incentives the latter because they are not set up to effect real change, and that begins with a class analysis. Their very existence, as individual atomised institutions almost guarantees they will end up gaslighting and victim blaming, and that's the problem. How could this change? Well with that analysis you would recognise the nature of the system and, hopefully, be motivated to produce that real change. Do this by linking up with the broader labour movement and cause for class struggle. Build links with peers, collective, unionise, build a power structure to challenge the hegemony.
Until then it's just some well meaning (and, let's be frank, not so well meaning) people that think they know best.
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