'Only secure jobs and decent wages can get people off sickness benefits'

Labour needs to think again in its bid to end worklessness, argues Mirror columnist Paul Routledge, when getting a proper job in the face of AI, mental health issues and employers who don't want staff is where the hard work begins

Nobody hates a skiver more than the worker who has to do his job. That’s the moral objection to people who can work but don’t, instead preferring an idle life on benefits.

But it’s a bit of a stereotype, based on the days – long gone – when there were plenty of jobs, at rates of pay you could live on.

Now, there’s plenty of work, but getting a real job is like finding a gold pig under your pillow.

Employers don’t want staff. They want what the Americans call “hands”: a casual labour force of short-term contractors, agency staff, zero-hours people and unpaid interns.

And employers are mad keen on Artificial Intelligence. It does the work without the workers – perfect for profits, but not for people. No wonder millions of people who could, and should, be in work sign on for long-term sickness benefits. It’s reliable and pays better than the dole.

The Government’s bid to end this worklessness scourge affecting millions relies on the use of a big stick – take the work that’s offered, or lose your benefits.

There’s also a carrot. Labour’s new deal for workers’ rights will offer some security of employment, but it won’t be fully operational before 2026. That’s a long time off, and getting claimants back into the workplace requires incentives as well as the stick of sanctions. Like the promise of secure jobs and decent wages.

Having said all that, I believe “mental ’elf” is the “bad back” of the 21st century – easy to self-diagnose, virtually impossible to disprove. New diagnostic tests promised but not yet specified for next year could expose an uncomfortable truth.

Three million people have signed a parliamentary petition demanding a new general election. It will be debated by MPs early in the new year. Meanwhile, I have news of the signatories.

Two million are grieving Tory voters who want Liz Truss back; 500,000 are aliases of failed wannabe Tory leader Grant Shapps; 250,000 are wives, ex-girlfriends and children (official and unofficial) of Boris Johnson; and 250,000 are dim blokes who thought they were voting for a general erection.