Never heard of "workfare" before. Could you elaborate on why you think it's bad? Do they want to make it 40 hours/week, for example? Because at first glance it sounds like volunteering, besides, the unemployed could get to network that way.
As it exists in the UK at the moment, workfare is compulsory, unpaid work for unemployed people. In order to retain the £50/week allowance you receive to pay for food, transport, etc, you have to work wherever the job centre tells you. If you refuse, you lose your benefits and risk, well… your life.
The places where you work are usually places like supermarkets/chain stores, ie McDonalds, Asda, Primark, Argos, Poundland, etc, but there is a very long list of other companies that take workfare “employees". This is not an internship or a training opportunity; most people in workfare aren’t offered a paid job afterwards. The unpaid work will not necessarily have anything to do with your experience level, abilities, or career goals.
People in workfare are counted as “employed” in government statistics, making it look as if fewer people are unemployed overall.
Workfare workers take jobs that might have gone to paid employees. Companies have no incentive to hire paid workers when they can just get a government contract for free workfare staff.
So, businesses are profiting from unpaid labour.
Plenty of these are basically full-time jobs. The “Help to Work” scheme = 30-hour weeks, for 26 weeks in a row.
There is no indication that workfare helps anyone find a job. In fact, it takes time away from everyday networking and job hunting.
Working in an unpaid, mandatory job takes away your sense of personal worth and agency, because you have no control over your life or income.
TL;DR version: Workfare is not “volunteering,” and it doesn’t help unemployed people, it just helps the government massage unemployment stats, and allows businesses to profit from unpaid labour.
You can read personal accounts of people’s experiences with workfare here.
