I made sure today that I arrived at least five minutes early for my new fortnightly signing time at the Charles St Jobcentre in Cardiff. Three security guards were standing together talking inside but no security was on show at the entrance so I just walked in and went to the signing area. I sat down and waited for my name to be called. It looked fairly busy but on two occasions no one responded when names were called. Eventually my name was called by a woman who was sitting at a desk a little bit away from the usual signing area. Although she didn't say she was now my Personal Advisor or so called Work Coach she gave me photocopies of three forms that represent a sample of the new Claimant Commitment that she is going to go through with me in two weeks time and it is supposed to replace my Jobseekers Agreement. Once this Claimant Commitment form is done it says that the Work Coach and the claimant will agree to what steps the claimant will do over the next fortnight to find work. Then the claimant will fill in the booklet and it will be looked at every fortnight and reviewed and decided what the claimant will do over the next fortnight. She let me complete my fortnightly signing and I did ask a few questions that will be discussed more fully in two weeks time. She did mention changing my CV and suggested the odd website. She also mentioned going on twitter to look at the government webpage to see the job vacancies. She also mentioned volunteering and that many people find work while doing voluntary work. I know (stop laughing) we all hear that line but know of many people who have done loads of voluntary work and never get a chance of a real job. I mentioned that I had completed a number of work placements but she quickly replied that voluntary work was more or less a better option than work placements. On at least two of my work placements lasting five weeks each, the jobs were real work that had to be done but the employers wanted free labour and one of those companies was a multi million pound company. I didn't feel in the mood for any verbal sparring so I remained polite and look forward to the discussion in two weeks time. Although I say discussion, the forms I have appear to say that we will agree a Claimant Commitment and the word “agree” might mean in this situation “you will agree to what I suggest or your claim will be sent for a rubber stamped sanction”. I hope I'm wrong but over the next two weeks I will spend several hours searching the internet for information. It's important to know your rights before any confrontation. This Claimant Commitment appears to me to be nothing more than just a way of causing upset to the unemployed and pestering them until they get tired of it and stop claiming. I can imagine some people taking any job to avoid the hassle. This isn't about helping people into work, it's about causing as much stress as possible. Sadly the DWP have gone from bullying to mind games regardless of the stress their behaviour is causing. Decent people will be hounded like vermin just because they are unemployed.