Call for welfare reform rethink

Public sector union leaders have called on the government to rethink welfare reform plans in the face of rising unemployment.

The general secretaries of the GMB and PCS unions are among those to have signed a joint statement issued at the weekend by a coalition of charities, campaign groups and academics.

Plans to make people work in order to receive benefits and proposals to increase the involvement of the private sector in provision, all expected in this week's Queen's speech, should be scrapped, the coalition has argued.

"Many of the plans were unacceptable when they were first published and the worsening economic situation should lead to a fundamental rethink," the statement said.

"However the government is pressing ahead despite the current global economic downturn which is leading to increasing levels of unemployment. As a result we have come together."

The protest has come after a senior government adviser on social security, Sir Richard Tilt, warned that welfare to work reforms could "push people into poverty" as unemployment rises.