After thirteen years of disgrace the New Deal programme is coming to an end and is being replaced by American style ‘workfare’ - a punishment for unemployment in the form of degrading unpaid work. We need to stand together and resist this new attack on the working class, but in the meantime we’re letting you know how you can win back some time for yourself.
As New Deal is being replaced the DWP have already stopped signing people back onto the course. There is nothing stopping you from signing off for personal reasons tomorrow, and signing back on to regular JSA in a day or two. You’ll lose one or two days of benefit and won’t get put back on New Deal. That’s a good deal.
Just don’t go into new deal tomorrow, and go to your local jobcentre and ask to sign off for personal reasons. When they ask you to write a statement just write the same thing, that you are signing off for personal reasons.
Job Centre workers in the PCS union are on strike today to defend their pensions, but this is our fight too. The government’s attacks on job centre workers go hand-in-hand with their attacks on claimants. On the one hand they lower the terms and conditions of job centre staff, on the other they force claimants onto privately-run workfare schemes like the Flexible New Deal, through for-profit companies like Maximus, Skills Training and Careers Development Group. Meanwhile they force ill and disabled people off the sick (ESA) and onto Jobseekers Allowance (JSA).
Job Centre workers in the PCS union are on strike today to defend their pensions, but this is our fight too. The government’s attacks on job centre workers go hand-in-hand with their attacks on claimants. On the one hand they lower the terms and conditions of job centre staff, on the other they force claimants onto privately-run workfare schemes like the Flexible New Deal, through for-profit companies like Maximus, Skills Training and Careers Development Group. Meanwhile they force ill and disabled people off the sick (ESA) and onto Jobseekers Allowance (JSA).
The North London Local of the Solidarity Federation would like to extend our fullest solidarity and support to the Guildhall cleaners who are struggling to claim their rightful wages. Despite the various international backgrounds of the cleaners, they've stood firm and held two days of strikes.
The past week has seen NLSF participate in two “distros”: handing out fliers, badges, and stickers in support of June 30th's public sector strike and giving out free copies of SolFed's national newspaper Catalyst.
Although we certainly hope to attract like-minded militants to our organisation, the overriding aims were practical: to promote the upcoming strike, inform the public of practical ways to participate and show support, to counter the government and media spin about the strike, and to argue for militant, self-organised acts of solidarity and struggle from across the working class. To this end, we gave out various fliers (see the right-hand side of NLSF webpage) and copies of the newest issue of Catalyst. When interested individuals stopped for a chat, we gladly offered them “Don't Work June 30th” stickers and various anti-cuts badges.
This map shows all the school closures, picket lines and demonstrations planned for the June 30th co-ordinated strikes in Brighton. It is a work in progress - please comment below if you spot any errors or have any additions! We will also be adding the planned route of the demonstration once we have spoken to the organisers. Parents may find the following information (via the RMT union) helpful - and if you are taking the day off to look after the kids, why not join the demonstration at 10:30 at the Level to show your support for the strikes?
Download the pdf 
Job Centre workers in the PCS union are on strike today to defend their pensions, but this is our fight too. The government’s attacks on job centre workers go hand-in-hand with their attacks on claimants. On the one hand they lower the terms and conditions of job centre staff, on the other they force claimants onto privately-run workfare schemes like the Flexible New Deal, through for-profit companies like Maximus, Skills Training and Careers Development Group. Meanwhile they force ill and disabled people off the sick (ESA) and onto Jobseekers Allowance (JSA).
