ICTU: 'Work for dole' scheme must not be mandatory
The ICTU has denied approving the 'work for dole' scheme.
Minister for Social Protection Eamon O’Cuív announced the pilot plan last weekend in which 10,000 unemployed people will get €210 a week for 19-and-a-half hours' work.
However the ICTU says participation in the initiative should not be mandatory.
Earlier today it was inadvertently reported that Congress had approved the scheme, but that was not the case.
The trade union has clarified its position saying that it does not favour any scheme that would force the unemployed to work for their benefits.
An ICTU statement read: "We are not opposed to unemployed people doing work, but it must be part of a voluntary scheme, not mandatory."
