by Joe Thorne
A coalition of grassroots organisations, including Feminist Fightback, the Disabled People’s Direct Action Network and London Coalition Against Poverty have called a week of action against the government’s plans for welfare ‘reform’. You can find out more about the government’s plans, and about the perspective of the workers charged with administering them, here and here.
Between 7th and 15th March, groups are being urged to come together to make the ‘welfare abolition bill’ a public issue for MPs, for financial institutions, for the Department of Work and Pensions, and, of course, for claimants. The ideas for action include:
• Talk to your friends, neighbors and colleagues about the Bill. Tell them about the Week of Action and direct them to the LCAP website for more information.
• Organise a group to take action during the week. This can be whatever you have capacity for – from large demonstration,
to a small picket or even an hour leafleting a Job Centre.
• Go to your local Job Centre, hand out leaflets on the Bill and speak with folks.
• Hold a small workshop or talk about the Bill in your group’s regular meeting or at your workplace.
The full ‘toolkit’ for the week of action can be found here. As Christine Hulme pointed out in the last issue of The Commune:
There are some immediate issues that we need to campaign around starting with a halt to blaming the unemployed for unemployment rather than the capitalist system, an increase in benefit rates and state pensions. No to workfare. The building of an effective claimants movement, money for proper skills training for all those out of work regardless of benefit ’status’ or length of unemployment. Job creation, in sectors desperate for government investment such as social housing and transport. A properly staffed and accessible welfare state service based on need, rather than an increasing selection of private companies who are in it for profit. Clearly this is not a full solution to the crisis; but we need to begin somewhere.
The week of action is a good start – but we have to be aware that we are almost starting from nothing. The claimants’ unions, once vibrant institutions in many areas, are often now weakened or non-existent, although some groups, such as Edinburgh Claimants and Newham Claimants are active. At this stage, then, and in the face of recession, perhps there is a need to return to the idea of the claimants’ movement. One part of this could be to educate ourselves about the history of this movement If any readers of The Commune would like to contribute material on the history of claimants’ unions, or the unemployed workers’ movement in general, please get in touch or post below. It would also be valuable to hear from claimants about their views on the potential for such a movement.
