benefits

Workfare is a growing problem, as demonstrated by recent stories of a number of supermarkets had volunteered to be providers for the scheme and that young people were providing 30 hours a week of unpaid labour. This presents a problem both for the claimants trapped by this scheme, essentially as slave labour, and for the providers' workforce who are being undercut by those doing their job at practically no cost. Equally worrying is that, despite the growing anger over government attacks and emergence of anti-cuts groups across the country, nothing is being done to challenge this.

Courtesy of our friends at the Brighton Benefits Campaign, what follows is a list of companies in Kent, Surrey and Sussex that have taken advantage of mandatory work placements through the Government’s Work Programme in which unemployed people are forced to work without pay. The placements are arranged by a private company called Avanta Enterprise Limited:

WYSF took part in the "Hardest hit" demo in Leeds against benefit cuts today. Overall a good turn out, and we were well received. We gave out "poverty pimps" leaflets against ATOS and the other companies as well as a leaflet about Scope and their attack on smaller disability organisations. Speeches were the usual with 2 exceptions, PCS union rep asked people to join the Nov 30th strike and pickets, and a young man who spoke passionately about the affects of the cuts, criticising all politicians including Miliband, this got a loud cheer. All in all a good day

ATOS healthcare are the private IT company tasked with kicking sick and disabled claimants off benefits by classifying them as fit to work using an automated program. The Brighton Benefits Campaign and Disabled People Against Cuts organised the local contribution to the national day of action against ATOS, which saw around 25 people assemble in Brighton, street theatre depicting the computerised 'fit for work' assessment and a short march to the nearby ATOS building.

The Level, Brighton, 12 noon.

The Brighton Benefits Campaign (BBC) are organising a demonstration against welfare cuts and privatisation on Saturday. Attacks on benefits are attacks on us all, lowering the floor of the labour market, hurting those in work and out of work alike. More info is available from BBC. We'll see you there!

Download as a pdf here.

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.

According to the headlines, UK unemployment fell 88,000 in the three months to April this year to 2.43 million, the biggest drop since the summer of 2000. This was heralded as proof that the government’s policies are working, and that the private sector is creating more jobs than the 143,000 public sector positions slashed during the same period. But dig a little deeper and the spin unravels.

The Office for National Statistics is open that the fall “was mainly due to an increase of 80,000 in the number of students not active in the labour market.” This seems to have been due to them simply being reclassified, rather than them all suddenly finding jobs. So that leaves just 8,000 jobs ‘created’.

ACCORDING TO the headlines, UK unemployment fell 88,000 in the three months to April this year to 2.43 million, the biggest drop since the summer of 2000. This was heralded as proof that the government’s policies are working, and that the private sector is creating more jobs than the 143,000 public sector positions slashed during the same period. But dig a little deeper and the spin unravels.

The Office for National Statistics is open that the fall “was mainly due to an increase of 80,000 in the number of students not active in the labour market.” This seems to have been due to them simply being reclassified, rather than them all suddenly finding jobs. So that leaves just 8,000 jobs ‘created’.

On Monday 9th May, Liverpool Solidarity Federation organised a picket of the offices of Atos Origin. This was as part of a national week of action against the company, being paid millions by the government to throw disabled people off benefits.

Atos's contact with the DWP to carry out "work capability assessments" is worth £300 million. Their system has previously provoked concern from the very doctors who carry them out, and over 8,000 appeals are heard every month for Employment and Support Allowance alone. Three people have even died as a result of having their support removed, and at the time of their death still awaiting the results of their appeal.

As with the last time we picketed the office, the response from the public was a positive one. With a larger turnout and more signs on show, it was also a lot easier to draw people's attention to what was going on and pique their curiosity so that they took a leaflet.