The anti-workfare campaign is building up in Reading. Over the summer, SF members organised ad hoc pickets with local IWW and AF members. We decided to build up the basis of these joint efforts through coordinated planned actions. We held an initial meeting in August at which we decided to follow SF’s national target and to build our campaign with claimants. So we are aiming to alternate actions outside Poundland and JobCentrePlus.
Three weeks ago, two of us distributed propaganda on the rights of claimants in relation to the workfare schemes outside JobCentre. It became obvious that many of them did not know about it yet. Last Saturday, we held the first picket outside Poundland, which was met with overwhelming sympathy for the campaign from workers and members of the public alike.

Friday 7th of September saw a picket of the Gateshead branch of Poundland, organised by Newcastle Solidarity Federation, against the governments highly controversial workfare scheme. Poundland seek to profit from the exploitation of what is essentially forced free labour.

Following the SolFed's successful campaign against Holland and Barretts involvement in workfare and joined by members of the Anarchist Federation and others, the demo saw massive levels of public support, with car horns being pipped and hundreds of leaflets handed out.

This is a highly loathed and highly exploitative scheme, work will continue until workfare is consigned to the dustbin.

Poundland has been targeted after it announced that it is re-launching its participation in the Workfare scheme following a recent High Court ruling in its favour. The campaign comes on the back of successful action by the Solidarity Federation and other groups and individuals against Holland and Barrett who were forced to pull out of the various schemes. We expect to keep up the same levels of pressure against Poundland in the coming weeks and months.

Newcastle Solfed will be picketing the Gateshead highstreet branch of Poundland.

232-240 High Street, Town Centre, Gateshead, NE8 1AQ

Friday 7th September 16:00

We are living in times of unprecedented attacks on our living conditions on all fronts, of rising social tension and sometimes violent eruptions of class conflict. And yet if anything, the surprise is not that there have been riots and the odd strike, but that there have been so few. How are we to make sense of this? How are we to fight back, to take the initiative? Against capitalism, what do we want to put in its place? The 20th century discredited state socialism, and rightly so. But with it, a whole history of international class struggle, of revolutions and counter-revolutions, victories and defeats, spontaneous uprisings and vast workers’ organisation has been eclipsed too. This pamphlet aims to recover some of that lost history, in order to set out a revolutionary strategy for the present conditions.

Solfed members are organising a new local group in and around Croydon.

We believe that by standing up collectively against the forces that try to oppress and exploit us; bosses, bankers, landlords and the state we can win better working and living conditions and begin the process of undermining capitalism.

We envision that a future society based on co-operation, equality and direct democracy can replace the inequality and poverty, war, frustration, suffering, and environmental destruction we live with now.

If you want to get involved, or are just getting interested in anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian ideas and want to learn more get in touch.

On Saturday Brighton Solidarity Federation were joined by Brighton Benefits Campaign on our first picket in the national campaign against Workfare profiteers Poundland. Over the course of two hours we handed out a thousand leaflets and struck up many conversations with the public at their North Street store. This follows the high court ruling that the DWP were within the law to force two unemployed workers out of voluntary work and into unpaid labour at the store.

On Saturday Brighton Solidarity Federation were joined by Brighton Benefits Campaign on our first picket in the national campaign against Workfare profiteers Poundland. Over the course of two hours we handed out a thousand leaflets and struck up many conversations with the public at their North Street store. This follows the high court ruling that the DWP were within the law to force two unemployed workers out of voluntary work and into unpaid labour at the store.

The venue for the Weekend School in Oxford has been arranged for some time but, apparently the dates (10th-11th November) may be clashing with EWN Training weekend.

It has been suggested we move the Weekend School to another date in November. Before I get in touch with the venue I would like a firm date to reschedule to.

Can the organisers of the EWN event please let me know if they are indeed meeting on those dates & can we get some ideas on alternative dates for the Weekend School please?

Regards,

j

Una entrevista que se realizo con un companero del Centro General de Trabajadores y la Assamblea Llibertaria del Valles Oriental de Catalunya, Espana hace unos dias como parte de la nueva iniciativa de ambos Locales de Solidarity Federation en Londres para comunicarse en esa idioma:

http://www.ivoox.com/entrevista-amb-2-companyes-solidarity-federation-audios-mp3_rf_1391554_1.html

Invitamos a los castellano hablantes que actualmente se encuentran en Londres, incluso desde nuestra seccion hermana - la Confederacion Nacional del Trabajo de Espana - y otros, que se pongan en contacto con nosotros.

North London Solidarity Federation would like to extend our fullest solidarity to the anarchists who were wrongfully detained while returning from the St. Imier anarchist conference in Switzerland. These actions, executed by British anti-terrorist officers, at best constitute unlawful police harassment. At worst, they are illegal actions designed to intimidate and repress.

Although we are not at all surprised to see such blatant disregard for civil and legal rights by the British state, we are concerned that such actions indicate a turn towards a more aggressive policing of the global anti-capitalist movement. As such, North London Solidarity Federation pledges to stand in solidarity with not only these particular individuals and the organisations to which they belong -- the Anarchist Federation (UK) -- but to actively participate in defending anarchists who are victims of state repression.